Reactive Ion Etching

Lithography & Patterning (Patterning, replication, and sample navigation)

RIE is used to etch various materials under vacuum in the presence of reactive ions. Typically a wide range of materials can be etched by use of various gas mixtures containing fluorine, chlorine, oxygen and other elements. An RF source accelerates stray electrons between a pair of plates in the presence of a low-pressure gas and reactive ions and free radicals (like monoatomic fluorine) are created. The surface to be etched is bombarded by the reactive ions and the material is etched by forming a volatile component. The etching mechanism can either be physical (sputtering mechanism) where the target material is mechanically sputtered away by the accelerated ions, chemical where the ions react with the target material to form a volatile compound, or both. The selection of the etch parameters (gas mixture, gas flow, pressure, RF power and bias) can give control over the anisotropy, selectivity, etching rate, and surface roughness by controlling this etching mechanism.

                   

i
@
          provided at NFFA-Europe laboratories by:
CNR-IOM @TS
Italy
C2N-CNRS
France
CSIC-CNM
Spain
CSIC-ICMAB
Spain
FORTH
Greece
ICN2
Spain
INL
Portugal
KIT
Germany
LUND + MAX IV
Sweden
PSI
Switzerland
INESC-MN
Portugal
@
          provided by:
EURONANOLAB
France

Instruments datasheets

CNR-IOM @TS
Italy
RIE
Dry etching of Si, SiO2, Si3N4 and resist residual layer removing, Ar milling and surface activation by O2 plasma
Operation Gas: O2, N2, Ar, CF4, SF6, H2, CHF3
Sample size: up to 5"
LUND + MAX IV
Sweden
Etcher RIE Trion Sirus T2 Plus
Reactive ion etching (RIE) for etching Si, SiO2, Si3N4, W, Mo and polymers
Plasma excitation with RF (13.56 MHz) Gases available: SF6, O2, Ar, CF4, CHF3
Up to 8 inch wafer size samples Room temperature operation only
RF power up to 600 W, room temperature operation only
End point detector Intellevation LEP400
Process chamber base pressure ~10-3 Torr Process pressure 10 - 500 mTorr
Laser interferometric dry etch depth monitor
Graphite plates for 2" and 4"wafers are available.
PSI
Switzerland
Oxford plasmalab Systems 100 @ Laboratory for Micro and Nanotechnology
Reactive Ion Etching
Two RIE-ICP systems one dedicated to the Bosch process (Au-free) and one for general purpose etches (F-based) Typical gases C4F8, CF4, SF6, O2, Ar
Up to 4" wafers
High Vacuum, LN2 cooled stage
ICP
Relevant clean room tools Cl-based plasma etching tool dedicated to Cr etching
ICN2
Spain
PlasmaPro Cobra100 (Oxford Instruments)
Plasma etching of different materials
Power sources ICP 3000W and RIE 600W System based on fluorinated gases, plasma gases available: SF6, CHF3, C4F8, CF4,Ar,O2,He,N2
Samples sizes up to 8" wafers
Power sources ICP 3000W and RIE 600W
Laser endpoint detection available
Base pressure 3e-7Torr, process pressures up to 100mTorr
Yes
EURONANOLAB
France
RIE at EURONANOLAB - MMI
na
no
no
na
na
0
EURONANOLAB
France
RIE at EURONANOLAB - IMT
C2N-CNRS
France
CCP-RIE NEXTRAL (2)
This Fluorine Reactive-ion etcher (RIE) is dedicated for insulators, semimetals and semiconductor materials (crystalline, glasses and ceramics) .Other applications are dielectric etching mask like SiO2, SiN, resist etching or descum. Moreover metal like W is accepted.
Gas Line: SF6, CHF3, 02
Wafer Holder: 6” to small piece. Wafers thermalization: 5°C à 40°C. Mask: electro-and photo-sensible resist, SiO2, Si3N4 / No Metals.
HF generators power: 300 Watt at 13,56 MHz
End point detector: Laser interferometry 670nm
EURONANOLAB
France
RIE at EURONANOLAB - IEMN
EURONANOLAB
France
RIE at EURONANOLAB - FEMTO-ST
EURONANOLAB
France
RIE at EURONANOLAB - LAAS
EURONANOLAB
France
RIE at EURONANOLAB - PoliFAB
EURONANOLAB
France
RIE at EURONANOLAB - IMM
EURONANOLAB
France
RIE at EURONANOLAB - Nanotec
INL
Portugal
SPTS Pegasus
System dedicated for deep reactive ion etching of silicon using the Bosch Process.
Alternating cycles of SF6 plasma etching and C4F8 plasma for polymeric deposition.
INESC-MN
Portugal
SPTS reactive ion etch for metals and dielectrics
EURONANOLAB
France
RIE at EURONANOLAB - FBK
i
@
          provided at NFFA-Europe laboratories by:
CNR-IOM @TS
Italy
C2N-CNRS
France
CSIC-CNM
Spain
CSIC-ICMAB
Spain
FORTH
Greece
ICN2
Spain
INL
Portugal
KIT
Germany
LUND + MAX IV
Sweden
PSI
Switzerland
INESC-MN
Portugal
@
          provided by:
EURONANOLAB
France

Also consider

Nano to Micro/Macro

Standard depos. Standard chemical and physical deposition cleanroom/lab processes

A set of classical microelectronic processes for deposition, of ancillary materials that are co-adjuvant to the obtention in the micro or nano domain of the functional materials that are the object of the Growth and Synthesis installation. It includes LPCVD and PECVD layers deposition or deposition of metal layers by PVD.

Nano to Micro/Macro

UVL Ultra Violet Lithography

Ultraviolet lithography also known as optical or photolithography is the most commonly used patterning technique in microfabrication. A photosensitive material (photoresist) is spin-coated onto the substrate to be patterned. The photoresist is illuminated with UV light through a photomask which contains the relevant geometric patterns.

Nano to Micro/Macro

Standard etching Standard dry/wet patterning cleanroom/lab processes

A set of classical microelectronic processes for pattern transfer through etching of thin films than are co-adjuvant to the functional materials of a given sytem under study in the micro or nano domain. It includes wet and dry etching of all those ancillary dielecric or conducting materials.

Growth & Synthesis

CVD Chemical Vapour Deposition

It is a chemical process used to produce high quality, high-performance, solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films. In typical CVD, the wafer (substrate) is exposed to one or more volatile precursors, which react and/or decompose on the substrate surface to produce the desired deposit.

Structural & Morphology Characterization

SEM Scanning Electron Microscopy

In SEM a beam is scanned over a sample surface while a signal from secondary or back-scattered electrons is recorded. SEM is used to image an area of the sample with nanometric resolution, and also to measure its composition, crystallographic phase distribution and local texture.