Feature etching using varying supply of power pulses

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9401263-B2
Application number	US-201314031563-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 19, 2013
Priority date	Sep 19, 2013
Publication date	Jul 26, 2016
Grant date	Jul 26, 2016

Abstract

Etching a feature of a structure by an etch system is facilitated by varying supply of radio frequency (RF) power pulses to the etch system. The varying provides at least one RF power pulse, of the supplied RF power pulses, that deviates from one or more other RF power pulses, of the supplied RF power pulses, by at least one characteristic.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
facilitating etching a feature of a structure by an etch system, the feature comprising varying widths including a first width and a second width, the first width being a narrower width than the second width, and the facilitating comprising:
varying supply of radio frequency (RF) power pulses in the form of a power wave to the structure, the varying providing at least one RF power pulse, of the supplied RF power pulses, that deviates from one or more other RF power pulses, of the supplied RF power pulses, by at least one characteristic, wherein the varying facilitates formation of the varying widths of the feature of the structure during the etching,

wherein the structure is positioned within a chamber of the etch system that includes a controlled volume of a first gas during the varying supply of RF power pulses.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic comprises peak power level, in which the at least one RF power pulse has a peak power level that is greater or lesser than a peak power level of the one or more other RF power pulses.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein varying the supply of RF power pulses comprises increasing peak power level across at least two consecutive RF power pulses of the supplied RF power pulses, wherein the increasing peak power level facilitates formation of the narrower width of the feature of the structure at a top portion of the structure.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein varying the supply of RF power pulses comprises decreasing peak power level across at least two consecutive RF power pulses of the supplied RF power pulses, wherein the decreasing peak power level facilitates formation of the narrower width of the feature of the structure at a bottom portion of the structure.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic comprises trough power level, in which the at least one RF power pulse has a trough power level that is greater or lesser than a trough power level of the one or more other RF power pulses.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic comprises tough power level and peak power level, wherein varying the supply of RF power pulses comprises increasing or decreasing trough power level across at least two consecutive RF power pulses of the supplied RF power pulses while increasing or decreasing peak power level across the at least two consecutive RF power pulses of the supplied RF power pulses.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic comprises power pulse duration, in which the at least one RF power pulse has a pulse duration that is longer or shorter than a pulse duration of the one or more other RF power pulses.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic comprises power pulse cycle time, in which a duration of time between an RF power pulse of the at least one RF power pulse and an RF power pulse following the RF power pulse of the at least one RF power pulse is longer or shorter than a duration of time between an RF power pulse of the one or more other RF power pulses and an RF power pulse following the RF power pulse of the one or more other RF power pulses.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic comprises:
power pulse duration, in which the at least one RF power pulse has a pulse duration that is longer or shorter than a pulse duration of the one or more other RF power pulses; and
at least one of: peak power level, in which the at least one RF power pulse has a peak power level that is greater or lesser than a peak power level of the one or more other RF power pulses, or trough power level, in which the at least one RF power pulse has a trough power level that is greater or lesser than a trough power level of the one or more other RF power pulses.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic comprises at least one of:
power pulse duration, in which the at least one RF power pulse has a pulse duration that is longer or shorter than a pulse duration of the one or more other RF power pulses;
peak power level, in which the at least one RF power pulse has a peak power level that is greater or lesser than a peak power level of the one or more other RF power pulses; or
trough power level, in which the at least one RF power pulse has a trough power level that is greater or lesser than a trough power level of the one or more other RF power pulses.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the varying facilitates etching the feature to have substantially uniformly sloped sidewalls extending between the first and second widths.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first gas is sulfur hexafluoride.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the power wave fluctuates between periods of high RF power and periods of low or no RF power.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein each power pulse comprises a first period of high RF power and a first period of low or no RF power immediately following the first period of high RF power.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein portions of the feature are etched during the periods of high RF power, and wherein portions of the feature passivate during the periods of low or no RF power.

16. A system comprising:
a controller to facilitate etching a feature of a structure by an etch system, the feature comprising varying widths including a first width and a second width, the first width being a narrower width than the second width, and the controller configured to:
vary a supply of radio frequency (RF) power pulses in the form of a power wave to the structure, the varying providing at least one RF power pulse, of the supplied RF power pulses, that deviates from one or more other RF power pulses, of the supplied RF power pulses, by at least one characteristic, wherein the varying facilitates formation of the varying widths of the feature of the structure during the etchings
wherein the structure is positioned within a chamber of the etch system that includes a first gas during the varying supply of RF power pulses.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the at least one characteristic comprises at least one of:
peak power level, in which the at least one RF power pulse has a peak power level that is greater or lesser than a peak power level of the one or more other RF power pulses; or
trough power level, in which the at least one RF power pulse has a trough power level that is greater or lesser than a trough power level of the one or more other RF power pulses.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the at least one characteristic comprises at least one of:
power pulse duration, in which the at least one RF power pulse has a pulse duration that is longer or shorter than a pulse duration of the one or more other RF power pulses; or
power pulse cycle time, in which a duration of time between an RF power pulse of the at least one RF power pulse and an RF power pulse following the RF power pulse of the at least one RF power pulse is longer or shorter than a duration of time between an RF power pulse of the one or more other RF power pulses and an RF power pulse following the RF power pulse of the one or more other RF power pulses.

19. A computer program product comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing program instructions readable by a processor for execution to perform a method comprising:
facilitating etching a feature of a structure by an etch system, the feature comprising varying widths including a first width and a second width, the

Assignees

• Globalfoundries Inc

Inventors

• Hu Xiang
• Padron Wells Gabriel
• Chang Jack Chao-Hsu
• Wang Mingmei
• Han Taejoon

Classifications

• H10P50/268

  of silicon-containing layers · CPC title

• H10P50/242

  of Group IV materials · CPC title

• H01J2237/3348

  control of ion bombardment energy · CPC title

• H01J2237/3341

  Reactive etching · CPC title

• H01J37/32174

  Circuits specially adapted for controlling the RF discharge · CPC title