Hitachi, Ltd.

Hiroji Saida

Keizo Suzuki

Sadayuki Okudaira

Shigeru Nishimatsu

Yoshio Sakai

Ken Ninomiya

Ichiro Kanomata

A microwave plasma etching system is disclosed which comprises a vacuum chamber for providing a discharge space and provided with an inlet for introducing a discharge gas containing a fluorine-containing gas, hydrogen and oxygen, magnetic field forming means for forming a magnetic field in the discharge space, microwave electric field forming means for forming a microwave electric field in the discharge space, and substrates holding means for holding substrates to be processed in the vacuum chamber. In the microwave plasma etching, the discharge gas containing fluorine, hydrogen with or without oxygen provides excellent etching almost free from side etching.

Microwave plasma etching

A plurality of silicon regions different in impurity concentration from each other are simultaneously subjected to dry etching in such a manner that neutral particles in a plasma do not substantially participate in etching and therefore etching is performed substantially by ions. Thus, the silicon regions different in impurity concentration from each other can be etched at substantially the same etching rate, independently of impurity concentration.

Uniform etching of silicon (doped and undoped) utilizing ions

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Kokubunji, Japan

Hiroji Saida