Tokyo Electron Limited

Nayoung Bae

Alok Ranjan

Sergey Alexandrovich Voronin

Shyam Sridhar

Sidewall etching of substrate features may be achieved by employing an etch stop layer formed over the features. The etch stop layer is thinner on sidewalls of the features as compared to the bottom of the features. The lateral etching of the features is achieved by use of an over etch which breaks through the etch stop layer on the sidewalls of the features but does not break through the etch stop layer formed at the bottom of the features. The use of the etch stop layer allows for lateral etching while preventing unwanted vertical etching. The lateral etching may be desirable for use in a number of structures, including but not limited to 3D structures. The lateral etching may also be used to provide vertical sidewalls by reducing the sidewall taper angle.

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Nayoung Bae