III-V Etcher and Atomic Layer Etching (ALE): Oxford Instruments PlasmaPro 100 Cobra 300 ICP-RIE with ALE

Cobra III-V Etcher with ALE Instrument Type Etching Techniques III-V Semiconductor Etching Atomic Layer Etching Staff Manager Kelly McKenzie Staff Email kmmckenz@caltech.edu Staff Phone 626-395-5732 Reserve time on FBS Request training via FBS User Dashboard Lab Location B235 Steele Lab Phone 626-395-1532 Manufacturer Oxford Instruments Model PlasmaPro 100 Cobra

Description

The Cobra inductively-coupled plasma reactive-ion etcher (ICP-RIE) with ALE is an Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology PlasmaPro 100 Cobra 300 system that is optimized for the etching of compound semiconductors and also features an ALE gas dose kit. In addition to a wide range of gases for etching a variety of III-V materials, this system is also configured with an atomic layer etching gas dose kit enabling controlled pulses of gas doses down to 10ms over a table temperature range of -150 to 400 °C. The system is also available for etching of more novel optical materials such as lithium niobate. This system supports wafer sizes up to 6 inches.

Applications

• III-V material etch
• Lithium niobate etch
• Atomic layer etch

Allowed Material in Etcher

• Etch materials: Si, Si_xN_y, SiO₂, Ge, InP, GaAs, GaN, Nb, Ta, LiNbO₃, YVO₄, MgB₂, BaTiO₃
• Masks: PMMA/ZEP/SPR/AZ/maN resists, SiO₂/Al₂O₃, Cr hard masks
• Other: Metal in etch stack (not exposed to plasma)

Etching Gas List

• SF₆
• O₂
• Ar
• Cl₂
• BCl₃
• CH₄
• H₂
• HBr
• SiCl₄

Resources

SOPs & Troubleshooting

• General Use SOP
• Oxfords reservation and use policy
• Etcher toxic gas handling SOP
• Power Up Oxford ICP-RIE SOP

Process Documents

• Process Standards
• AlGaN/GaN Etch with Photoresist Mask
• InP Etch
• InP/ InGaAsP Laser Facet ICP Etching
• GaAs Via Hole Etch
• Selective GaAs Etch
• Hard Mask Oxide Etch
• Etch chamber cleaning recipes
• Comparison of etch rates using different sample-fixing oils

Review Articles

• Etch rates for MEMS Processing - Part I
• Etch Rates for MEMS Processing - Part II
• Dry Etching of Electronic Oxides, Polymers, and Semiconductors
• Alumina etch masks for fabrication of high-aspect-ratio silicon micropillars and nanopillars

Manufacturer Manuals

• Oxford III-V Metal Etcher System Manual (login to LabRunr required)
• Edwards QDP 80 dry vacuum pump Manual

Specifications

Manufacturer Specifications

• Manufacturer Data Sheet

System Features

• Process module frame and separate control rack that house the electronic sub systems, control units, pneumatics, and turbomolecular pump
• PTiQ operating system
• ICP process chamber with 200 mm pumping port, view port and end-point-detection ports for optical emission spectrometer and laser interferometer
• 240 mm Cryo RIE electrode
• 100-mTorr, temperature-stabilized capacitance manometer for process control with an active penning gauge for base pressure measurement
• 200 mm pumping port is fitted with a 200 mm variable gate valve for chamber isolation and process pressure control
• Twelve line gas pod with four non-toxic and six toxic digital mass-flow-controlled gas lines
• Adixen ATH1600MT turbo pump backed by Pfeiffer A124H ELT dry pump
• Single-wafer automatic insertion load lock with wafer presence sensor
• Verity SD1024GH variable wavelength optical endpoint detection kit

System Specifications

• Chamber wall heating 50 °C
• Cryo table range -150 to 400 °C
• ICP 300 mm remote high-density plasma source with 3 kW RF generator and automatic matching unit
• Substrate bias control by 600 W RIE source with low power bias kit to allow accurate control <30 W
• ALE gas dose kit enabling controlled, reproducible gas doses down to 10ms
• Helium back-side wafer cooling and mechanical wafer clamping

Related Tools

• Oxford Dielectric ICP-RIE
• Oxford DRIE ICP-RIE
• Oxford III-V ICP-RIE
• XeF2 Etcher
• Oxford PECVD
• Oxford ALD