Plasma Etching
Issues critical to the abatement of plasma etch processes include: loss of production time due to clogging of Metal Etch exhaust lines; corrosion of ducting by aggressive etch – especially bromine – chemistries; the global warming potential of PFC gases; emissions of toxic etch by-products to air and water (e.g. arsenic from GaAs etching).
Plasma Etch Process | Typical Gases Used |
---|---|
Metal Etch | Cl2, BCl3, HCl, CF4, SF6 |
Polysilicon Etch | Cl2, HBr, SF6, CF4, NF3, C4F8 |
Dielectric Etch | CF4, CHF3, C2F6, C3F8, C4F8, CH2F2, NF3 |
Tungsten Etchback | SF6 |
III-V (GaAs) Etch | Cl2, BCl3, HBr, SF6, CH4 |
