GATE ELECTRODE ETCHING USING A TRANSFORMER COUPLED PLASMA

Gate electrode etching using a transformer coupled plasma (TCP) was st udied for future device fabrication. The influence of-chamber hardware configuration on plasma characteristics and etching performance has b een studied for polysilicon and polycide etching. It has been found th at etching and plasma uniformities greatly depend upon dielectric plat e shape and position of the inductive coil on the dielectric plate, an d that distance between the inductive coil and the dielectric plate ha s a big impact on the etching performance. This impact on the etching performance is caused by changing the capacitively coupled component i n the inductively coupled plasma.