TW201608662A - Atomic layer etching device and atomic layer etching method using same - Google Patents

Abstract

An atomic layer etching device and an atomic layer etching method using same. The atomic layer etching device comprises a reaction cavity, a baffle assembly, a first plasma generation device and a second plasma generation device, wherein the baffle assembly divides a reaction chamber into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, and the baffle assembly comprises a baffle capable of being grounded or connected to a direct-current bias power supply, so as to prevent charged particles in the upper chamber from entering the lower chamber and permit active neutral particles to enter the lower chamber. The first plasma generation device is used for exciting gas entering the upper chamber into plasma. The second plasma generation device is used for exciting gas entering the lower chamber into plasma. By replacing the traditional reaction gas adsorption with the chemical adsorption of active adsorption particles, the etching rate can be significantly increased, the etching cycle time can be shortened, the amount of etching reaction gas used can be reduced, and process costs can be reduced.

Description

Atomic layer etching device and atomic layer etching method using same

The present invention relates to the field of etching, and more particularly to an atomic layer etching apparatus and an atomic layer etching method using the same.

At present, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a mainstream process for preparing field-effect transistor high-k gate dielectric layers, and has been widely used in the semiconductor industry. The corresponding subtractive process, Atomic Layer Etching (ALE), was also developed with the application requirements. The GaAs atomic layer etching was first implemented by alternating the two processes of Cl2 adsorption and electron beam etching. The atomic layer etching technique in the related art has disadvantages such as long etching period, low etching efficiency, and complicated equipment.

The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems in the related art to some extent. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an atomic layer etching apparatus which can significantly increase the etching rate, shorten the etching cycle time, and which has a simple structure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an atomic layer etching method using the atomic layer etching apparatus provided by the present invention, which can also significantly increase the etching rate, shorten the etching cycle time, and reduce the complexity of the apparatus used.

An atomic layer etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprising: a reaction chamber having a reaction chamber therein; a separator member, the separator member being disposed in the reaction chamber and partitioning the reaction chamber into a chamber and a lower chamber, the spacer element comprising at least one spacer having a through hole extending through the spacer in a thickness direction thereof, the spacer being grounded or connected to a DC bias power source to block the Charged particles in the upper chamber enter the lower chamber and allow active neutral particles to enter the lower chamber; the upper chamber has an inlet for supplying gas to the reaction chamber; the lower chamber has a space for placement a support device for the slide, and an exhaust port for exhausting from the reaction chamber; a first plasma generating device for exciting a gas entering the upper chamber into a plasma; and a second plasma generating device And for exciting the gas entering the lower chamber into a plasma.

Wherein, the plurality of partition plates are disposed, and the plurality of partition plates are disposed at a distance from each other in the up and down direction, and the partition plate located at the uppermost portion is grounded.

The distance between the lowermost partition and the supporting device is 5 cm to 50 cm.

Wherein, the spacing between adjacent partitions is 0.1 mm to 10 mm.

Wherein, the separator has a thickness of 0.5 mm to 20 mm.

Wherein, the through hole has a radial dimension of 10 um to 10 mm.

Wherein, the partition is a metal piece, a graphite piece or a coated metal piece.

Wherein the first plasma generating device comprises a coil and a first RF power source, the coil is disposed on a dielectric window located at a top of the reaction chamber; the second plasma generating device comprises a second RF power source, the second RF power source Connected to the support device.

Wherein, the top of the upper chamber is provided with a first air inlet for introducing a reaction gas into the reaction chamber; the side of the upper chamber is provided with a second air inlet for accessing the reaction chamber Purge the gas.

According to the atomic layer etching apparatus provided by the present invention, by disposing a spacer element in a reaction chamber and grounding or connecting a DC bias power source, separation of active neutral particles from charged particles in the plasma can be achieved, and active neutral particles can be obtained. It passes through the separator element and is adsorbed on the surface of the slide located in the lower chamber, thereby realizing the adsorption of active reactants instead of the conventional reaction gas. Since the adsorbed particles in the present invention are active particles, not only the etching rate can be remarkably increased, but also the etching cycle time can be shortened; and the active particle adsorbing ability can greatly reduce the amount of etching reaction gas used in the chemisorption stage, and the process is lowered. cost. In addition, since the plasma ion desorption of the purge gas is used in the present invention, the complexity of the device can be reduced relative to the device using the ion beam/neutrophil beam desorption, and the atomic layer etching device with simple and reliable structure can be obtained. , which is conducive to large-scale production applications.

In another aspect, the present invention also provides a method for performing atomic layer etching using the atomic layer etching apparatus provided by the present invention, comprising the steps of: S1: placing a slide to be reacted on a supporting device; S2: reacting The gas is introduced into the reaction chamber, and the first plasma generating device is activated to excite the reaction gas entering the upper chamber into a plasma, wherein the active neutral particles in the plasma pass through the separator member from the upper chamber to the lower portion. Inside the chamber and adsorbed on the surface of the slide, the charged particles in the plasma are prevented from entering the lower chamber from the upper chamber by the separator element; S3: stopping the introduction of the reaction gas, and closing the first plasma generating device; S4: the purge gas is introduced into the reaction chamber, and the reaction residue is discharged out of the reaction chamber through the exhaust port; S5: the purge gas is stopped; S6: the reaction gas is introduced into the reaction chamber, and the reaction is started. The second plasma generating device excites the reaction gas entering the lower chamber into a plasma to irradiate the surface of the carrier to which the active neutral particles are adsorbed; S7: stopping the introduction of the reaction gas, and turning off the second electricity a generating device; S8: introducing a purge gas into the reaction chamber, and discharging the reaction residue through the exhaust port; S9: stopping the flow of the purge gas; repeating the above steps S2 to S8 until the etching depth The preset value is reached.

The first plasma generating device includes a coil and a first RF power source, the coil is disposed on a dielectric window located at a top of the reaction chamber, the coil is connected to the first RF power source, and the first power is activated in the step S2. The slurry generating device sets the output power of the first RF power source to 100 W to 1000 W. The step S3 turns off the first plasma generating device to set the output power of the first RF power source to 0.

The second plasma generating device includes a second RF power source, and the second RF power source is connected to the supporting device. The step S5 starts the second plasma generating device to set the output power of the second RF power source to 30 W. 100W, the step S7 turns off the second plasma generating device to set the output power of the second RF power source to zero.

Wherein, the reaction gases in the step S2 are CF ₄ , CHF ₃ , CH ₂ F ₂ , CH ₃ F, Cl ₂ , HF, HCl, HBr, SF ₆ , NF ₃ , Br ₂ , BCl ₃ , SiCl ₄ , O ₂ At least one of SiO ₂ .

The reaction gas in the step S2 is Cl ₂ and the flow rate is 5 to 200 sccm.

The reaction gas in the step S6 is an inert gas.

The inert gas in the step S6 is at least one of He, Ni, Ar, Kr, and Xe.

The reaction gas in the step S6 is He, and the flow rate is 10 to 200 sccm.

Wherein the top of the upper chamber is provided with a first air inlet through which the reaction gas enters the reaction chamber; the side of the upper chamber is provided with a second air inlet through which the purge gas enters Inside the reaction chamber.

Wherein, the baffle assembly comprises three baffles, and the three baffles are disposed at a distance from each other in the up and down direction, and the partitions disposed at the uppermost and lowermost portions are grounded, and the intermediate partition and the DC bias power supply connection.

The output voltage of the DC bias power supply is 5~100V. Preferably, the output voltage of the DC bias power supply is 10 to 50V.

The atomic layer etching method provided by the invention can realize the separation of the active neutral particles and the charged particles in the plasma, so that the active neutral particles can be adsorbed onto the surface of the slide, thereby realizing the replacement of the traditional reaction by the active particle chemical adsorption. Gas adsorption. Since the adsorbed particles in the present invention are active particles, not only the etching rate can be remarkably increased, but also the etching cycle time can be shortened; and the active particle adsorbing ability can greatly reduce the amount of etching reaction gas used in the chemisorption stage, and the process is lowered. cost. In addition, since the plasma gas ion desorption of the purge gas is used in the present invention, the complexity of the atomic layer etching apparatus used can be reduced, and the scale is facilitated, relative to the method of desorbing the ion beam/neutral particle beam. produce.

The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, and the examples of the embodiments are illustrated in the drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals are used to refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are intended to be illustrative of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "thickness", "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "radial", etc. indicate the orientation or The positional relationship is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is merely for the convenience of the description of the present invention and the simplified description, and is not intended to indicate or imply that the device or component referred to has a specific orientation, and is constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, it should not be construed as limiting the invention.

Moreover, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defining "first" and "second" may include one or more of the features either explicitly or implicitly. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more unless specifically and specifically defined otherwise.

An essence of the present invention is to provide an atomic layer etching apparatus and a method of etching using the atomic layer etching apparatus. Provided in the reaction chamber of the atomic layer etching apparatus is a partition member capable of dividing the reaction chamber into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, the separator member including at least one partition, each of which is provided along the partition The thickness direction penetrates through the through hole of the separator, and each of the separators is electrically grounded (hereinafter referred to as "grounding") or connected to a DC bias power source, which can prevent charged particles in the upper chamber from entering the lower chamber and allowing active neutral particles. Entering the lower chamber; and the atomic layer etching apparatus further has a first plasma generating device for exciting a gas entering the upper chamber into a plasma, and exciting the gas entering the lower chamber into a plasma Two plasma generating devices. Based on the atomic layer etching apparatus and the atomic layer etching method, the adsorption of active particles is used instead of the conventional reaction gas. Further, the adsorbed particles in the present invention are active particles, which not only can significantly increase the etching rate and shorten the etching cycle time, but also can greatly reduce the amount of etching reaction gas used in the chemisorption stage and reduce the process cost. In addition, in the present invention, the plasma gas ion desorption is used, which can not only reduce the complexity of the atomic layer etching apparatus used but also facilitate mass production, compared with the method of desorbing the ion beam/neutrophil beam. .

The structure of the atomic layer etching apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The atomic layer etching apparatus 100 provided in this embodiment is used for etching the carrier 201. The carrier 201 may be a single element carrier material such as Si, Ge or C, or may be a compound slide of GaAs or GaN. Material parts.

The atomic layer etching apparatus 100 provided in this embodiment includes a reaction chamber 1, a separator element 203, a first plasma generating device, a purging member 207, an extracting device 212, a supporting device 202, and a second plasma generating device.

Wherein the reaction chamber 1 defines a reaction chamber 10, and a separator assembly 203 is disposed in the reaction chamber 10 to partition the reaction chamber 10 into an upper chamber 213 and a lower chamber 214. An exhaust port 217 is provided on the bottom wall of the lower chamber 214, and the extracting device 212 is directly connected to the exhaust port 217, and the extracting device 212 may be a vacuum pump set. At the top of the upper chamber 213 (ie, the top wall of the upper chamber 213) is provided with a first air inlet 216 having an inlet nozzle 204 for introducing a reaction gas into the reaction chamber 10; The side of the upper chamber 213 (i.e., the side wall of the upper chamber 213) is provided with a second air inlet 215 connected to the purge assembly 207 for supplying a purge gas into the reaction chamber 10. It can be understood that in practical applications, the second air inlet 215 can also be disposed on the side wall of the lower chamber 214. By separating the first intake port 216 and the second intake port 215, the evacuation effect of the reaction gas remaining at each corner in the reaction chamber 10 can be improved, thereby avoiding a defect in the desorption process in the next cycle. influences.

The spacer member 203 includes three spacers 303 which are disposed at a distance from each other in the up and down direction, that is, the first spacer 303a, the second spacer 303b, and the third spacer 303c. The spacing between adjacent partitions 303 is 0.1 mm to 10 mm, and among the three partitions 303, the partition 303 is in direct contact with the plasma 402 in the upper chamber 213 (ie, at the top in FIG. 2) The first partition 303a) is grounded, the second partition 303b in the middle is connected to the DC bias power source, and the third partition 303c located at the bottom is grounded. Each of the partition plates 303 has a thickness of 0.5 mm to 20 mm, and is provided with a through hole 302 penetrating the partition plate 303 in the thickness direction of the partition plate 303. The through holes 302 of each of the partitions 303 are evenly distributed and the same size. The shape of the through holes 302 may be circular, rectangular or other shapes, and each of the through holes 302 has a radial dimension of 10 um to 10 mm. Each partition 303 is a metal piece (such as aluminum, stainless steel, etc.), a graphite piece or a coated metal part, for example, the partition 303 may be anodized aluminum, aluminum containing Y ₂ O ₃ , TIN, Si coating. Pieces and so on. Preferably, the material of the separator 303 is graphite.

In the present invention, the separator assembly 203 functions primarily to repel and trap charged particles to prevent charged particles in the upper chamber 213 from entering the lower chamber 214 and to allow the active neutral particles 403 to pass through the through holes 302 to reach the lower chamber. The surface of the slide 201 in the chamber 214. Briefly, the baffle assembly 203 is configured to prevent charged particles within the upper chamber 213 from entering the lower chamber 214 but allowing active neutral particles to enter the lower chamber 214. It can be understood that, in practical applications, the number of the partitions 303 is not limited to three in the embodiment, but may be one, two or more. Regardless of the number of spacers 303, each of the spacers 303 can be placed grounded or connected to a DC bias power source for grounding to capture charged particles, and the DC bias power source is for repelling charged particles. Moreover, when the number of the partition plates 303 in the partition plate assembly 203 is plural, the plurality of partition plates 303 are disposed at a distance from each other in the up and down direction, and the distance between the lowermost partition plate 303 and the supporting device 202 is higher. Good for 5cm~50cm. Further, in practical applications, the number of the separators 303 and the shape of the separator 303 may not be specifically limited as long as the separator member 203 can function to prevent passage of charged particles but allow passage of active neutral particles.

In this embodiment, the first plasma generating device includes a coil 205, a first matching unit 208, and a first RF power source 209 for exciting the reaction gas entering the upper chamber 213 into a plasma 402. The plasma 402 It is a high density plasma, so the upper chamber 213 can also be referred to as a high density plasma generating chamber. Specifically, coil 205 is disposed over dielectric window 206 at the top of reaction chamber 10 and is coupled to first RF power source 209 via first matcher 208. The dielectric window 206 functions as an energy coupling, and the material thereof may be a medium such as ceramic or quartz. When the coil 205 is an inductive coil, the first RF power source 209 supplies RF power to the coil 205, and the RF energy coupling on the coil 205 is coupled to the reaction chamber 10 in an inductively coupled manner by the cooperation of the coil 205 and the dielectric window 206. The internal reaction gas is caused to generate a plasma 402 comprising charged particles and active neutral particles 403; that is, when the coil 205 is an inductive coil, the plasma generated in the reaction chamber 10 is an inductively coupled plasma. It can be understood that the structure of the first plasma generating device is not limited thereto, as long as the reaction gas entering the upper chamber 213 can be excited into the plasma 402 under the action of the first plasma generating device. Moreover, the plasma generated by the first plasma generating device is not necessarily limited to inductively coupled plasma, but may be other types of plasma, such as capacitively coupled plasma, microwave plasma, continuous plasma, pulse. Plasma and so on.

In this embodiment, the second plasma generating device includes a second RF power source 211, a second matching unit 210, and a supporting device 202 for exciting the reaction gas entering the lower chamber 214 into a plasma. Specifically, the second RF power source 211 is connected to the supporting device 202 via the second matching device 210 to provide the RF power to the supporting device 202. The second matching device 210 ensures that the RF power provided by the second RF power source 211 can meet different requirements. Demand for use. The second plasma generating device can be controlled to ensure that the energy of the ions 405 in the plasma is controlled to react only with the surface atoms to which the active neutral particles 403 are adsorbed, that is, the energy can only be interrupted by the carrier 201. The surface atoms are bonded, but not enough to cause significant physical sputtering with atoms below the surface atomic layer. That is to say, the plasma in which the reaction gas in the lower chamber 214 is excited is a low-energy plasma. Similar to the first plasma generating device, the second plasma generating device may also be of any configuration.

The process of etching the carrier 201 by using the atomic layer etching apparatus 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 3, and specifically includes the following steps:

In step S11, the surface-removed slide 201 to be reacted is placed on the support device 202.

Step S12, the chemical adsorption phase: the reaction gas is introduced into the reaction chamber 10 through the inlet nozzle 204. The etching reaction gas selected in the embodiment is Cl ₂ , the flow rate is 5 sccm to 200 sccm, and the gas pressure in the reaction chamber 10 is controlled. At 0.5mT~100mT. Since the first RF power source is 100~1000W, and the second RF power source loaded on the support device 202 is 0W, the reaction gas can generate high density in the upper chamber (ie, the high density plasma generation chamber) 213. The plasma 402, that is, Cl _{2 is} ionized and decomposed under the excitation of radio frequency energy, wherein the generated particles mainly include Cl ions, Cl atoms, Cl ₂ molecules, electrons, etc., at which time the first separator 303a and the third partition are separated. The board 303c is grounded to capture most of the charged particles, and the second partition 303b is connected to the DC bias power source and the voltage is set at 5 to 100 V (preferably 10 to 50 V) to charge the Cl ions having higher energy. The particles are repulsive so as to be confined in the upper chamber 213 such that the resulting low-energy active neutral particles 403 (excited Cl ₂ molecules, excited Cl atoms) are passed through the separator element 203 under the action of the gas stream. The chamber 214 is quickly adsorbed on the surface of the slide 201. Since it is an active particle, its adsorption rate is much larger than that of the reaction gas in the conventional etching process.

Step S13, purging the residual reaction gas phase: stopping the introduction of the reaction gas, and closing the first plasma generating device; allowing the purge gas to enter the reaction chamber 10 via the purge assembly 207 to be in the reaction chamber 10 The residual reaction gas is purged; and finally, the residual reaction gas and the purge gas in the reaction chamber 10 are discharged through the exhaust port 217 by means of the extraction device 212. Among them, the purge gas may be an inert gas.

Step S14, desorbing the etching phase: the reaction gas is introduced into the reaction chamber 10 via the inlet nozzle 204, and the second plasma generating device is activated to excite the reaction gas entering the lower chamber 214 into a plasma. The surface of the slide 201 to which the active neutral particles are adsorbed is irradiated. Specifically, the reaction gas selected in the present embodiment is an inert gas He, the flow rate is 10 to 200 sccm, and the gas pressure of the reaction chamber 10 is controlled at 200 mT to 4 Torr. Since the first RF power is 0 W and the second RF power loaded on the support device 202 is 30 W to 100 W, the reactive gas can generate low energy (<100 eV) in the lower chamber (ie, the low energy plasma generating chamber) 214. The plasma 404 is irradiated to the surface of the slide 201. By controlling the power of the second RF power source, the energy of the ions 405 in the plasma 404 can be controlled to react only with the surface atoms adsorbing the active neutral particles, and the atoms of the surface of the carrier 201 are broken, but insufficient. Significant physical sputtering occurs with atoms below the surface atomic layer.

Step S15: the purge gas is introduced into the reaction chamber 10 via the purge element 207, and finally the residual reaction gas and the purge gas in the reaction chamber 10 are discharged through the exhaust port 217 through the extraction device 212 to evacuate Etching byproduct 406 in reaction chamber 10.

After step S11 to step S15, the carrier 201 is etched with a layer of surface atoms. In order to achieve different depths of etching, steps S12 to S15 are repeated to realize that the surface of the carrier 201 is etched by one layer of atoms and one layer of atoms until the etching depth reaches a preset value. That is to say, the etching method provided by the embodiment of the present invention can achieve an atomic level etching precision. The so-called atomic level means that when the surface of the carrier 201 is etched, it can be layer by layer and atomic layer by layer.

According to the atomic layer etching apparatus 100 of the embodiment of the present invention, by disposing the spacer element 203 and grounding it or connecting a DC bias power source, the active neutral particles in the plasma can be separated from the charged particles to make the active neutral particles. The separator element 203 is passed through and adsorbed on the surface of the slide 201 located in the lower chamber 214, thereby realizing the use of active particle chemisorption instead of the conventional reaction gas adsorption. Since the adsorbed particles in the embodiment of the present invention are active particles, not only the etching rate can be significantly increased, but also the etching cycle time can be shortened; and the use amount of the etching reaction gas can be greatly saved in the chemisorption stage due to the strong adsorption capacity of the active particles. Reduce process costs. In addition, since the plasma gas ion desorption is used in the embodiment of the present invention, the complexity of the device can be reduced compared to the device using the ion beam/neutrophil beam desorption, and the atomic layer having a simple and reliable structure can be obtained. The device 100 is etched to facilitate large scale production applications.

As another technical solution, the present invention also provides an atomic layer etching method. The atomic layer etching method provided by a specific embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to FIG. 4, which is implemented by the atomic layer etching apparatus provided by the foregoing embodiments of the present invention, and specifically includes the following steps:

S1: The slide to be reacted is placed on a support device in the reaction chamber.

S2: introducing a reaction gas into the reaction chamber, setting the output power of the first RF power source to 100W~1000W, that is, starting the first plasma generating device to excite the reaction gas entering the upper chamber into high-density plasma And causing the active neutral particles in the plasma to pass from the upper chamber into the lower chamber through the separator element and adsorbed on the surface of the slide, the charged particles in the plasma are blocked by the separator element and blocked by the upper chamber The chamber enters the lower chamber. That is, the reaction chamber in this embodiment is partitioned into an upper chamber and a lower chamber by a separator assembly having a function of preventing charged particles in the upper chamber from entering the lower chamber but allowing the upper chamber to be activated. The role of neutral particles entering the lower chamber.

In a specific example of the present invention, the spacer member may include three spacers, and the three spacers are spaced apart from each other in the up and down direction, and the spacers disposed at the uppermost and lowermost portions are grounded, and the intermediate spacers and the DC bias are Press the power supply connection. The output voltage of the DC bias power supply is 5~100V, preferably 10~50V.

In this step S2, the reaction gas enters the upper chamber through an intake nozzle disposed in the first intake port at the top of the upper chamber, and the reaction gas may be CF ₄ , CHF ₃ , CH ₂ F ₂ , CH. _{At least one of 3} F, Cl ₂ , HF, HCl, HBr, SF ₆ , NF ₃ , Br ₂ , BCl ₃ , SiCl ₄ , O ₂ , SiO ₂ . Preferably, the reaction gas in the step S2 is Cl ₂ and the flow rate is 5 to 200 sccm.

S3: Stop the introduction of the reaction gas, and turn off the first plasma generating device, that is, set the output power of the first RF power source to zero.

S4: The purge gas is introduced into the reaction chamber, and the reaction gas remaining in the reaction chamber is discharged through the exhaust port. Specifically, the purge gas may be introduced into the reaction chamber through the purging member, for example, the reaction gas is introduced into the reaction chamber through the second air inlet disposed at the side of the upper chamber, and finally the extraction device is utilized. The reaction residue was withdrawn.

S5: Stop the purge gas.

S6: the reaction gas is introduced into the reaction chamber, and the output power of the second RF power source is set to 30W~100W, that is, the second plasma generating device is activated, and the reaction gas entering the lower chamber is excited into low-energy plasma. The surface of the slide to which the active neutral particles are adsorbed is irradiated.

The reaction gas in this step S6 is an inert gas, and may be, for example, at least one of He, Ni, Ar, Kr, and Xe. Preferably, the reaction gas may be He and the flow rate is 10 to 200 sccm.

S7: Stop the introduction of the reaction gas, and turn off the second plasma generating device, that is, set the output power of the second RF power source to zero.

S8: The purge gas is introduced into the reaction chamber, and the reaction gas remaining in the reaction chamber is discharged through the exhaust port.

S9: Stop the purge gas.

The above steps S2 to S9 are repeated until the etching depth reaches a preset value.

The atomic layer etching method provided by the embodiment of the present invention can realize the separation of the active neutral particles in the plasma and the charged particles, so that the active neutral particles can be adsorbed to the surface of the slide, thereby realizing the replacement by the active particle chemical adsorption. Conventional reaction gas adsorption. Since the adsorbed particles in the embodiment of the present invention are active particles, not only the etching rate can be significantly increased, but also the etching cycle time can be shortened; and the use amount of the etching reaction gas can be greatly saved in the chemisorption stage due to the strong adsorption capacity of the active particles. Reduce process costs. In addition, since the plasma gas ion desorption is used in the embodiment of the present invention, the complexity of the atomic layer etching apparatus used can be reduced, and the utility of the ion beam/neutral particle beam desorption is reduced. Mass production.

In the description of the present specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" and the like means a specific feature described in connection with the embodiment or example. A structure, material or feature is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In the present specification, the schematic representation of the above terms is not necessarily directed to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in a suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. In addition, various embodiments or examples described in the specification, as well as features of various embodiments or examples, may be combined and combined.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. The embodiments are subject to variations, modifications, substitutions and variations.

1‧‧‧Reaction chamber
10‧‧‧Reaction chamber
100‧‧‧Atomic layer etching device
201‧‧‧ slides
202‧‧‧Support device
203‧‧‧Baffle element, separator assembly
204‧‧‧Inlet nozzle
205‧‧‧ coil
206‧‧‧Media window
207‧‧‧purging components
208, 210‧‧‧matcher
209, 211‧‧‧ RF power supply
212‧‧‧ extraction device
213‧‧‧Upper chamber
214‧‧‧ lower chamber
215, 216‧‧ ‧ air inlet
217‧‧‧Exhaust port
302‧‧‧through hole
303a, 303b, 303c‧‧ ‧ partition
402‧‧‧ Plasma
403‧‧‧Active Neutral Particles

1 is a schematic view of an atomic layer etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a spacer element according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 3 is an etching using an atomic layer etching apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention; A schematic diagram of a process; FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an etching method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

1‧‧‧Reaction chamber

10‧‧‧Reaction chamber

100‧‧‧Atomic layer etching device

201‧‧‧ slides

202‧‧‧Support device

203‧‧‧Baffle element, separator assembly

204‧‧‧Inlet nozzle

205‧‧‧ coil

206‧‧‧Media window

207‧‧‧purging components

208, 210‧‧‧matcher

209, 211‧‧‧ RF power supply

212‧‧‧ extraction device

213‧‧‧Upper chamber

214‧‧‧ lower chamber

215, 216‧‧ ‧ air inlet

217‧‧‧Exhaust port

Claims (21)

An atomic layer etching apparatus, comprising: a reaction chamber having a reaction chamber; a separator element, the separator element being disposed in the reaction chamber and dividing the reaction chamber into an upper chamber And a lower chamber, the spacer element comprising at least one spacer having a through hole extending through the spacer in a thickness direction thereof, the spacer being grounded or connected to a DC bias power source to block the upper cavity The charged particles in the chamber enter the lower chamber and allow active neutral particles to enter the lower chamber; the upper chamber has an air inlet for supplying gas into the reaction chamber; the lower chamber has a slide for placing the slide a supporting device, and an exhaust port for exhausting from the reaction chamber; a first plasma generating device for exciting a gas entering the upper chamber into a plasma; and a second plasma generating device for The gas entering the lower chamber is excited into a plasma. The atomic layer etching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of spacers are disposed at a distance from each other in the up and down direction, and are located at an uppermost interval. The board is grounded. The atomic layer etching apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the distance between the lowermost partition and the supporting device is 5 cm to 50 cm. The atomic layer etching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a pitch between adjacent separators is 0.1 mm to 10 mm. The atomic layer etching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separator has a thickness of 0.5 mm to 20 mm. The atomic layer etching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the through hole has a radial dimension of 10 um to 10 mm. The atomic layer etching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separator is a metal member, a graphite member or a coated metal member. The atomic layer etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first plasma generating device comprises a coil and a first RF power source, the coil being disposed on a dielectric window at a top of the reaction chamber; The second plasma generating device includes a second RF power source coupled to the support device. The atomic layer etching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a top of the upper chamber is provided with a first air inlet for introducing a reaction gas into the reaction chamber; and a side portion of the upper chamber A second air inlet is provided for introducing a purge gas into the reaction chamber. An atomic layer etching method using the atomic layer etching apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: S1: placing the slide to be reacted on the supporting device; S2: passing the reaction gas Into the reaction chamber, the first plasma generating device is activated to excite the reaction gas entering the upper chamber into a plasma, wherein the active neutral particles in the plasma enter the lower chamber from the upper chamber through the separator element And adsorbing on the surface of the slide, the charged particles in the plasma are prevented from entering the lower chamber from the upper chamber by the separator element; S3: stopping the introduction of the reaction gas, and closing the first plasma generating device; S4: The purge gas is introduced into the reaction chamber, and the reaction residue is discharged out of the reaction chamber through the exhaust port; S5: the purge gas is stopped; S6: the reaction gas is introduced into the reaction chamber to start the second The plasma generating device excites the reaction gas entering the lower chamber into a plasma to irradiate the surface of the slide on which the active neutral particles are adsorbed; S7: stopping the introduction of the reaction gas and closing the second plasma Loading S8: the purge gas is introduced into the reaction chamber, and the reaction residue is discharged out of the reaction chamber through the exhaust port; S9: the purge gas is stopped; the above steps S2 to S8 are repeated until the etching depth is reached default value. The atomic layer etching method of claim 10, wherein the first plasma generating device comprises a coil and a first RF power source, the coil being disposed on a dielectric window at a top of the reaction chamber, The coil is connected to the first RF power source. In the step S2, the first plasma generating device is activated to set the output power of the first RF power source to 100W~1000W, and the step S3 is to close the first plasma generating device. The output power of an RF power supply is set to zero. The atomic layer etching method of claim 10, wherein the second plasma generating device comprises a second RF power source, the second RF power source is connected to the supporting device, and the step S5 starts the second battery. The slurry generating device sets the output power of the second RF power source to 30 W to 100 W. The step S7 turns off the second plasma generating device to set the output power of the second RF power source to 0. The atomic layer etching method according to claim 10, wherein the reaction gas of the step S2 is CF ₄ , CHF ₃ , CH ₂ F ₂ , CH ₃ F, Cl ₂ , HF, HCl, HBr, At least one of SF ₆ , NF ₃ , Br ₂ , BCl ₃ , SiCl ₄ , O ₂ , and SiO ₂ . The atomic layer etching method according to claim 13, wherein the reaction gas in the step S2 is Cl ₂ and the flow rate is 5 to 200 sccm. The atomic layer etching method according to claim 10, wherein the reaction gas in the step S6 is an inert gas. The atomic layer etching method according to claim 15, wherein the inert gas in the step S6 is at least one of He, Ni, Ar, Kr, and Xe. The atomic layer etching method according to claim 16, wherein the reaction gas in the step S6 is He, and the flow rate is 10 to 200 sccm. The atomic layer etching method according to claim 10, wherein the top of the upper chamber is provided with a first air inlet through which the reaction gas enters the reaction chamber; the side of the upper chamber A second air inlet is provided through which the purge gas enters the reaction chamber. The atomic layer etching method according to claim 10, wherein the spacer member comprises three spacers, and the three spacers are disposed at a distance from each other in the up and down direction, and are disposed at the uppermost portion. The bottommost partition is grounded, and the middle partition is connected to a DC bias power supply. The atomic layer etching method according to any one of claims 10 to 19, wherein the output voltage of the DC bias power source is 5 to 100V. The atomic layer etching method according to claim 20, wherein the output voltage of the DC bias power source is 10 to 50V.