Applied Materials, Inc.

Luc Van Autryve

Abhilash J Mayur

Mark Yam

Chentsau Chris Ying

Haifan Liang

Jeng H Hwang

Wendy H Yeh

Chris D Bencher

Richard A Brough

Stefan Oswald Lang

Disclosed herein is a method of etching platinum using a silicon carbide mask. The method comprises providing an etch stack including a patterned silicon carbide layer overlying a layer of platinum, then pattern etching the platinum layer using a plasma generated from a source gas comprising Cl , BCl , and a nonreactive, diluent gas. The silicon carbide mask can be deposited and patterned using standard industry techniques, and can be easily removed without damaging either the platinum or an underlying doped substrate material. The method provides a smooth platinum etch profile and an etch profile angle of about 75&deg; to about 90&deg;. Also disclosed herein are methods of forming semiconductor structures useful in the preparation of DRAM and FeRAM cells.

Method of etching platinum using a silicon carbide mask

A process for etching a substrate 20 in a process chamber 25 having sidewalls 30 and a sacrificial collar 100, and for cleaning the sacrificial collar without eroding or otherwise damaging the sidewalls. The process comprises an etching stage in which a substrate 20 is placed in the process chamber 25, and the sacrificial collar 100 is maintained around the substrate to add or remove species from a process gas to affect a processing rate of the substrate periphery. The process further comprises a localized cleaning stage in which the substrate 20 is removed, a cleaning gas introduced into the process chamber 25, and a localized cleaning plasma sheath 95 is formed to clean process residues formed on the sacrificial collar 100 substantially without extending the localized cleaning plasma sheath 95 to the sidewalls 30 of the process chamber.

Localizing cleaning plasma for semiconductor processing

A plasma etch process for an insulating layer, such as silicon dioxide, overlaying a silicide layer having a high selectivity with respect to the silicide layer is disclosed, comprising the use of a mixture of a nitrogen-containing gas and one or more other fluorine-containing etch gases in an etch chamber maintained within a pressure range of from about 5 millitorr to about 400 millitorr. The high selectivity exhibited by the etch process of the invention permits operation of the etch process at reduced pressures of from as low as 5 millitorr to about 30 millitorr to achieve complete etching of vertical sidewall openings in the oxide layer with significant overetch capability.

Etch process for forming contacts over titanium silicide

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Voinsles, France

Luc Van Autryve