US20020038681A1 - Masking material for dry etching - Google Patents

Masking material for dry etching Download PDF

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Publication number
US20020038681A1
US20020038681A1 US09/910,854 US91085401A US2002038681A1 US 20020038681 A1 US20020038681 A1 US 20020038681A1 US 91085401 A US91085401 A US 91085401A US 2002038681 A1 US2002038681 A1 US 2002038681A1
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Prior art keywords
etching
gas
film
magnetic
dry etching
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Isao Nakatani
Kimiko Mashimo
Naoko Matsui
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Canon Anelva Corp
Japan Science and Technology Agency
National Institute for Materials Science
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Individual
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Assigned to ANELVA CORPORATION, JAPAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR MATERIALS SCIENCE reassignment ANELVA CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: MASHIMO, KIMIKO, MATSUI, NAOKO, NAKATANI, ISAO
Publication of US20020038681A1 publication Critical patent/US20020038681A1/en
Priority to US11/601,737 priority Critical patent/US20070119811A1/en
Priority to US12/219,117 priority patent/US8524094B2/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23F—NON-MECHANICAL REMOVAL OF METALLIC MATERIAL FROM SURFACE; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL; MULTI-STEP PROCESSES FOR SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL INVOLVING AT LEAST ONE PROCESS PROVIDED FOR IN CLASS C23 AND AT LEAST ONE PROCESS COVERED BY SUBCLASS C21D OR C22F OR CLASS C25
    • C23F4/00—Processes for removing metallic material from surfaces, not provided for in group C23F1/00 or C23F3/00
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B82—NANOTECHNOLOGY
    • B82Y—SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES
    • B82Y10/00—Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B82—NANOTECHNOLOGY
    • B82Y—SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES
    • B82Y25/00—Nanomagnetism, e.g. magnetoimpedance, anisotropic magnetoresistance, giant magnetoresistance or tunneling magnetoresistance
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B82—NANOTECHNOLOGY
    • B82Y—SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES
    • B82Y40/00—Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
    • G11B5/127—Structure or manufacture of heads, e.g. inductive
    • G11B5/33—Structure or manufacture of flux-sensitive heads, i.e. for reproduction only; Combination of such heads with means for recording or erasing only
    • G11B5/39—Structure or manufacture of flux-sensitive heads, i.e. for reproduction only; Combination of such heads with means for recording or erasing only using magneto-resistive devices or effects
    • G11B5/3903—Structure or manufacture of flux-sensitive heads, i.e. for reproduction only; Combination of such heads with means for recording or erasing only using magneto-resistive devices or effects using magnetic thin film layers or their effects, the films being part of integrated structures
    • G11B5/3906—Details related to the use of magnetic thin film layers or to their effects
    • G11B5/3909—Arrangements using a magnetic tunnel junction
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01F—MAGNETS; INDUCTANCES; TRANSFORMERS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
    • H01F41/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties
    • H01F41/14—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties for applying magnetic films to substrates
    • H01F41/30—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties for applying magnetic films to substrates for applying nanostructures, e.g. by molecular beam epitaxy [MBE]
    • H01F41/302—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties for applying magnetic films to substrates for applying nanostructures, e.g. by molecular beam epitaxy [MBE] for applying spin-exchange-coupled multilayers, e.g. nanostructured superlattices
    • H01F41/308—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties for applying magnetic films to substrates for applying nanostructures, e.g. by molecular beam epitaxy [MBE] for applying spin-exchange-coupled multilayers, e.g. nanostructured superlattices lift-off processes, e.g. ion milling, for trimming or patterning
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/027—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34
    • H01L21/033—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 comprising inorganic layers
    • H01L21/0332—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 comprising inorganic layers characterised by their composition, e.g. multilayer masks, materials
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
    • H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
    • H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
    • H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
    • H01L21/3205—Deposition of non-insulating-, e.g. conductive- or resistive-, layers on insulating layers; After-treatment of these layers
    • H01L21/321—After treatment
    • H01L21/3213—Physical or chemical etching of the layers, e.g. to produce a patterned layer from a pre-deposited extensive layer
    • H01L21/32133—Physical or chemical etching of the layers, e.g. to produce a patterned layer from a pre-deposited extensive layer by chemical means only
    • H01L21/32135—Physical or chemical etching of the layers, e.g. to produce a patterned layer from a pre-deposited extensive layer by chemical means only by vapour etching only
    • H01L21/32136—Physical or chemical etching of the layers, e.g. to produce a patterned layer from a pre-deposited extensive layer by chemical means only by vapour etching only using plasmas
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
    • H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
    • H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
    • H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
    • H01L21/3205—Deposition of non-insulating-, e.g. conductive- or resistive-, layers on insulating layers; After-treatment of these layers
    • H01L21/321—After treatment
    • H01L21/3213—Physical or chemical etching of the layers, e.g. to produce a patterned layer from a pre-deposited extensive layer
    • H01L21/32139—Physical or chemical etching of the layers, e.g. to produce a patterned layer from a pre-deposited extensive layer using masks
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10N50/00—Galvanomagnetic devices
    • H10N50/01—Manufacture or treatment
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
    • G11B5/127—Structure or manufacture of heads, e.g. inductive
    • G11B5/31—Structure or manufacture of heads, e.g. inductive using thin films
    • G11B5/3109—Details
    • G11B5/3116—Shaping of layers, poles or gaps for improving the form of the electrical signal transduced, e.g. for shielding, contour effect, equalizing, side flux fringing, cross talk reduction between heads or between heads and information tracks
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
    • G11B5/127—Structure or manufacture of heads, e.g. inductive
    • G11B5/31—Structure or manufacture of heads, e.g. inductive using thin films
    • G11B5/3163—Fabrication methods or processes specially adapted for a particular head structure, e.g. using base layers for electroplating, using functional layers for masking, using energy or particle beams for shaping the structure or modifying the properties of the basic layers
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00—Metal working
    • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
    • Y10T29/49002—Electrical device making
    • Y10T29/4902—Electromagnet, transformer or inductor
    • Y10T29/49021—Magnetic recording reproducing transducer [e.g., tape head, core, etc.]
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00—Metal working
    • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
    • Y10T29/49002—Electrical device making
    • Y10T29/4902—Electromagnet, transformer or inductor
    • Y10T29/49021—Magnetic recording reproducing transducer [e.g., tape head, core, etc.]
    • Y10T29/49032—Fabricating head structure or component thereof
    • Y10T29/49048—Machining magnetic material [e.g., grinding, etching, polishing]
    • Y10T29/49052—Machining magnetic material [e.g., grinding, etching, polishing] by etching

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a masking material for etching which is used in a process for etching of magnetic materials such as Ni, Fe, Co, etc..
  • the present invention relates to a new masking material for dry etching, useful for production of magnetic heads, integrated magnetic memories, etc. used for writing on magnetic disks.
  • the present invention especially relates to a masking material used for fine processing by dry etching of a magnetic multi-layer film constituting magnetoresistive elements such as GMR (gigantic magnetoresistance), TMR (tunneling magnetoresistance), etc.
  • TMR tunnel magnetoresistive
  • MRAM magnetic random access memory
  • JP-A 11-92971 proposes a mask composed of a member selected from the group consisting of titanium, magnesium, aluminum, germanium, platinum and palladium, or at least one compound or alloy based on two or more metals described above, as a mask for reactive ion etching by plasma using a mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound.
  • JP-A 11-92971 did not refer to a selective ratio which is important as etching property.
  • JP-A 11-92971 has not studied about optimum masking materials taking the whole production process of TMR element, etc. into consideration.
  • An object of the present invention is to propose a masking material for dry etching which is suitable for fine processing of a magnetic film as thin as a few nm thick such as NiFe or CoFe constituting a TMR film.
  • Another object of the present invention is to propose a masking material for dry etching as the before described and being capable of simplifying the process for producing a TMR element and reducing production costs related to facilities and materials.
  • RIE reactive ion etching
  • etching proceeds in principle due to physical action such as vaporization action and sputtering action caused by ions vertically incident on the surface of a target material not covered with a mask and by the chemical action of chemically active species such as etching-gas ions and radicals generated in plasma which are bombarded against and adsorbed onto the surface of a target material thereby chemically reacting with the target material to form a surface reaction layer having low bonding energy thus permitting the resulting highly volatile product to be released.
  • physical action such as vaporization action and sputtering action caused by ions vertically incident on the surface of a target material not covered with a mask
  • chemically active species such as etching-gas ions and radicals generated in plasma which are bombarded against and adsorbed onto the surface of a target material thereby chemically reacting with the target material to form a surface reaction layer having low bonding energy thus permitting the resulting highly volatile product to be released.
  • the inventors of the present invention advanced their study using Ti proposed in JP-A 11-92971 as the most preferable material, and they found that the dry etching of the present invention is considered that it proceeds mainly due to sputtering.
  • the first effect is due to the difference in the sputtering yield between the magnetic material to be etched and Ti(titanium).
  • the sputtering yield of Ti is generally lower than that of a magnetic metal such as Co, Fe or Ni.
  • the sputtering yield by Ar ion at 500 eV is 0.51 for Ti, which is lower than 1.2 for Co, 1.1 or 0.84 for Fe, and 1.45 or 1.33 for Ni.
  • the first possible reason that the selective ratio of Ti can specifically be increased in dry etching where the sputtering action is considered as dominant as described above is that the sputtering yield of Ti is lower than that of other magnetic metals.
  • the etching rate of Ti can specifically be decreased while increasing the selective ratio of the magnetic material. This second effect bringing about the fact that Ti as the masking material is modified by a plasma mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound gas thereby attaining a more stable condition, as described below.
  • the inventors of the present invention further examined the cause for the low etching rate of Ti, and as a result, they found that the etching rate can be made particularly lower in a higher selective ratio by using a mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound than by using a nitrogenous compound gas (NH 3 gas or N 2 gas) only as the etching gas, as shown in FIG. 2.
  • a nitrogenous compound gas NH 3 gas or N 2 gas
  • the possible reason of higher selective ratio to Ti in the mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound as the etching gas is that, as carbon monoxide (CO gas) is increased, the etching rate of Ti as compared with the magnetic material NiFe is decreased.
  • the experiment of inventors of the present invention reveals that the etching rate of SiO 2 shows behavior similar to that of the magnetic film of NiFe or Fe under the condition of similar incident-ion energy, for example under the condition where the experimental results in FIG. 1 were obtained. This also suggests that the reason of higher selective ratio to Ti in the mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound is not by a significantly high etching rate of the magnetic material but by a lower etching rate of Ti in the mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound.
  • the inventors of the present invention estimated that the higher selective ratio of the etched material to Ti in the mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound is due to modification of the surface of Ti. They conducted the XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) analysis in the depth direction of a Ti film after dry etching treatment with a mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound as the etching gas. As a result, it can be confirmed that the surface of Ti film after etching treatment is nitrided to a depth of about several nm at high concentration, and the film is carbonized as a whole.
  • XPS X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
  • the decline of etching rate of a Ti film in the mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound as the etching gas is attributable to both carbonization and nitriding of Ti used as the masking material, the etching gas as a mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound in the state of plasma, the Ti film as the masking material is converted into a nitride or carbide, and become chemically or structurally more stable, thus further decreasing the sputtering yield.
  • the inventors of the present invention attracted their attention to melting or boiling point related to atomic energy as a physical property indicative of chemical or structural stability upon conversion into nitride or carbide, besides the property of a lower sputtering yield as described by the above-mentioned Ti as compared with a material to be etched. They estimated another condition for achieving higher selective ratios is that the masking material should be a metallic material in the group IV to VI metals in the periodic table and the melting or boiling point gets raising when it is converted the form of single metal into nitride or carbide. Thus, this invention was thereby completed.
  • a masking material for dry etching which is suitable for fine processing of a magnetic film as thin as a few nm such as NiFe or CoFe constituting a TMR film. And according to the masking material for dry etching of the present invention, the process for producing a TMR element can be simplified and production costs related to facilities and materials can be reduced.
  • FIG. 1 is a graph showing the experimental result of etching rate in a mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound (NH 3 ).
  • FIG. 2 is a graph showing a difference by reactive gas in NiFe etching rate and selective ratio to Ti.
  • FIG. 3 is a graph showing a CO/NH 3 etching property of a magnetic film for TMR element.
  • FIG. 4 is a graph showing the dependence of etching rate and selective ratio to Ti on the amount of Ar gas added.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an etching unit used for in etching a magnetic film with the Ta mask of the present invention by CO+NH 3 gas.
  • FIG. 6( a ) to FIG. 6( c ) are drawings showing the process for etching of a TMR element with Ta mask of the present invention, wherein:
  • FIG. 6( a ) is a schematic sectional view of the magnetic film before the process
  • FIG. 6( b ) is a schematic sectional view of the magnetic film upon etching of a Ta film with PR as the mask
  • FIG. 6( c ) is a schematic sectional view of the magnetic film after etched with the Ta mask.
  • a masking material for dry etching proposed in the present invention is a masking material, which is used for dry etching of a magnetic material with a mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound as etching gas, comprising a metal having a specific physical property that the melting or boiling point gets raising when it is converted the form of single metal into nitride or carbide.
  • the above-mentioned metal may be tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), zirconium (Zr) or hafnium (Hf).
  • these metals show that the sputtering yield is lower than magnetic metals and the melting or boiling points gets raising when they are converted the form of single metal into nitrides or carbides, and these metals tend to show high selective ratios to magnetic materials such as NiFe and CoFe in dry etching where a mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound is used as the etching gas.
  • these metals are useful as the masking material for dry etching of magnetic materials.
  • Ta is particularly effective for the following reason as a masking material for dry etching of magnetic materials constituting a TMR element.
  • FIG. 3 shows the measured selective ratios, to Ta, of NiFe or CoFe film constituting a magnetic film for TMR, and the selective ratio of CoFe film to Ta is 10-fold or more, so it can be confirmed that Ta can be used as a masking material for etching of magnetic materials such as NiFe film, CoFe film, etc.
  • the magnetic film constituting a TMR element has an electroconductive nonmagnetic film called a protective film formed thereon in order to prevent characteristics of the element from being deteriorated owing to oxidation and to secure chemical stability etc.. And usually this protective film makes use of Ta.
  • This protective film makes use of Ta.
  • the reason that Ta is used as a protective film is that Ta is stable as a protective film, and also that when the Ta film is used as a sublayer, a magnetic film of NiFe or the like laminated thereon having an important role as the element will grow on a preferable orientation face.
  • Ta formed as the protective film for TMR element has been used as the mask in the process for fine processing of a TMR element, so that after fine processing of a TMR element, it is not necessary to remove the mask, and this mask can be left as such for use as the protective layer.
  • Ta used in the mask acts as a component (protective film) for TMR element, so that the step of removing the mask after etching is unnecessary, thus leading to shortening and simplification of the production process, and further it is not necessary to eliminate separate preparation of another material for mask, thus the costs for facilities and materials can be reduced.
  • a third gas such as argon (Ar), helium (He), xenon (Xe), krypton (Kr), neon (Ne) or the like can be added as a gas to be added to the mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound used as the reactive gas.
  • the mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound can be diluted to control excessive dissociation of the gas and re-dissociation and re-adhesion of the etching product.
  • Tantalum (Ta) proposed in this invention was used as a masking material for dry etching of a magnetic material by using a mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound as etching gas, wherein etching of a TMR element was conducted using an etching unit with a helicon wave plasma source as shown in FIG. 5.
  • the TMR structure featuring the TMR element comprises two ferromagnetic layers of CoFe called a pin layer (layer above Al 2 O 3 ) and a free layer (layer below Al 2 O 3 ) respectively (the thickness of the pin layer is 5 nm while the thickness of the free layer is 10 nm) between which an Al 2 O 3 film of 1 nm in thickness is sandwiched as an insulating layer, and an anti-ferromagnetic layer of FeMn (thickness: 20 nm) as an upper layer on the pin layer.
  • the description of the basic principle and working of the TMR element is omitted.
  • Ta serving not only as a protective layer for TMR element but also as a mask for dry etching of magnetic layers including the insulating layer of Al 2 O 3 is laminated as the uppermost layer in contact with the air.
  • Ta film of 9 nm in thickness is laminated before dry etching so that the thickness of the protective layer can be secured after dry etching.
  • the protective layer (Ta), the anti-ferromagnetic layer (FeMn), the ferromagnetic layer (CoFe) and the insulating layer (Al 2 O 3 ) are formed in this order by sputtering deposition.
  • the Ta film with PR as the mask was first etched with SF 6 gas, and the Ta film formed as shown in FIG. 6( b ) was used as the mask for the magnetic layers (FeMn, CoFe) including the insulating layer of Al 2 O 3 . This process was conducted as follows.
  • a vacuum container 2 shown in FIG. 5 is exhausted with an exhaust system 21 , then a gate valve not shown in the drawing is opened, and a wafer 9 on which a TMR film serving as TMR element having the structure shown in FIG. 6( a ) has been laminated is transferred to the vacuum container 2 , maintained in an object holder 4 and kept at a predetermined temperature by a temperature control mechanism 41 . Then, a gas-introducing system 3 is operated, and an etching gas (SF 6 ) is transferred at a predetermined flow rate from a cylinder (not shown in the drawing) for storing the SF 6 gas, via a piping, a valve and a flow-rate regulator (not shown in the drawing), into the vacuum container 2 .
  • SF 6 etching gas
  • the etching gas thus introduced diffuses via the vacuum container 2 into a dielectric wall container 11 .
  • a plasma source 1 is operated.
  • the plasma source 1 is composed of the dielectric wall container 11 connected air-tightly to communicate with the vacuum container 2 , 2-turn antennas 12 inducing a helicon wave in the dielectric wall container 11 , a plasma high-frequency power source 13 connected to the antenna 12 via a regulator (not shown in the drawing) with a transmission path 15 and generating high-frequency electric power (source electric power) supplied to the antennas 12 , and electromagnets 14 for generating a predetermined magnetic field in the dielectric wall container 11 , etc.
  • the sidewall of the vacuum container 2 is provided in the outside thereof with a large number of sidewall magnets 22 in the peripheral direction thereof such that the magnetic poles of adjacent magnets facing the sidewall of the vacuum container 2 are mutually different, whereby a cusp magnetic field is formed continuously in the peripheral direction along the inner face of the sidewall of the vacuum container 2 , thus preventing diffusion of the plasma into the inner face of the sidewall of the vacuum container 2 .
  • the bias high-frequency power source 5 is actuated to apply a self-biased voltage i.e. a negative DC voltage to the wafer 9 as the material subjected to etching, to control the incident-ion energy from the plasma on the surface of the wafer 9 .
  • the plasma formed as described above diffuses from the dielectric wall container 11 into the vacuum container 2 to reach the surface of the wafer 9 .
  • the surface of the wafer 9 is thereby etched.
  • the process of etching the Ta film by PR mask using SF 6 as described above was conducted under the following conditions: the flow rate of the etching gas (SF 6 ) was 326 mg/min. (50 sccm); the source electric power, 1000 W; the bias electric power, 100 W; pressure in the vacuum container 2 , 0.5 Pa; and the temperature of wafer 9 , 50° C.
  • the flow rate of the etching gas (SF 6 ) was 326 mg/min. (50 sccm)
  • the source electric power 1000 W
  • the bias electric power 100 W
  • pressure in the vacuum container 2 0.5 Pa
  • the temperature of wafer 9 50° C.
  • the process of etching the magnetic film by the Ta-film mask was conducted under the following conditions: the flow rate of the etching gas was 12.5 mg/min. (10 sccm) for CO gas and 22.8 mg/min. (30 sccm) for NH 3 gas; the source electric power, 3000 W; the bias electric power, 1200 W; the pressure in the vacuum container 2 , 0.8 Pa; and the temperature of wafer 9 , 100° C.
  • the Ta mask having etching performance (CoFe etching rate, 63.1 nm/min.; Ta etching rate, 5.7 nm/min.; and selective ratio (to CoFe), 11) which is equal to or higher than that of Ti, as shown in FIG. 3, was obtained as a masking material for dry etching of a magnetic material constituting a TMR element by using a mixed gas of carbon monoxide and a nitrogenous compound as the etching gas, and after etching, the Ta film was left as such as the protective film of 5 nm in thickness.
  • an adhering material to the patterned sidewall which is attributable to reaction products generated by dry etching, can be reduced by using Ta as the masking material, it is possible to conduct etching with a larger taper angle and less adhering material to the patterned sidewall.
  • the structure of the TMR element is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. 6.
  • the etching unit used in the above-described experimental examples was an etching unit with a helicon wave plasma source, but the etching unit is not limited thereto, and parallel plate-type RIE, magnetron RIE, ECR and ICP etc. can be used.

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US20090078674A1 (en) * 2007-09-26 2009-03-26 Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd Reactive Ion Etching Process for Etching Metals
US20100022030A1 (en) * 2006-03-16 2010-01-28 Tegal Corporation Dry etch stop process for eliminating electrical shorting in mram device structures
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US20060166506A1 (en) * 2003-06-30 2006-07-27 Tdk Corporation Mask material for reactive ion etching, mask and dry etching method
US20060038246A1 (en) * 2004-08-20 2006-02-23 Anelva Corporation Magnetoresistance effect device and method of production thereof
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US20140154878A1 (en) * 2011-08-10 2014-06-05 Csmc Technologies Fab2 Co., Ltd. Nor flash device manufacturing method
US9564336B2 (en) * 2011-08-10 2017-02-07 Csmc Technologies Fab2 Co., Ltd. NOR flash device manufacturing method
US10388491B2 (en) 2011-10-31 2019-08-20 Canon Anelva Corporation Ion beam etching method of magnetic film and ion beam etching apparatus
US9378758B2 (en) 2012-12-17 2016-06-28 Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation Plasma etching method
US10153164B2 (en) 2016-12-09 2018-12-11 Toshiba Memory Corporation Method for manufacturing semiconductor device

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US8524094B2 (en) 2013-09-03

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