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Low-temperature plasma deposition and etching technologies play a vital role in plasma-assisted manufacturing fields such as semiconductor chip fabrication, flat-panel displays, and photovoltaic devices. The physical and chemical interaction mechanisms between plasma and materials form the fundamental scientific basis for elucidating the nature of process dynamics, optimizing processing parameters, and improving device performance and reliability. In this work, by using a fluid hybrid model coupled with a surface profile evolution model, the plasma discharge characteristics and the deposition/etching surface profile under different discharge parameters are self-consistently simulated, and the simulation results and discussions of some research cases are also presented. During amorphous silicon thin-film deposition, it is found that the radial distribution of electron density generated in the plasma discharge process is non-uniform, which can lead to the non-uniform distribution of neutral and ion fluxes on the substrate surface, as well as the non-uniformity of film thickness or film quality. Moreover, the ion energy distribution strongly influences the composition and bonding configurations in the film, thereby affecting its quality and performance. In the studies of SiO2 etching using fluorocarbon mixed-gas discharges, it is found that under voltage waveform tailoring, adjusting the electrode gap, phase, and harmonic number can flexibly control ion and neutral fluxes. This allows the discharge parameters to be optimized in order to improve etching performance. During Si etching with inductively coupled Ar/Cl2 plasma, the application of tailored bias waveform causes the ion energy to accumulate predominantly in the high-energy range, which can significantly enhance etching efficiency. In summary, this work systematically investigates how the self-consistent coupling between plasma discharge and deposition/etching processes can be achieved through the hybrid simulation, while further elucidating the essential synergistic roles of ions and neutral radicals. It is hoped that these findings will serve as valuable references for the optimizing plasma processes and equipment. -
Keywords:
- plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition /
- plasma etching /
- the synergistic effect of ions and neutrals
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图 1 不同气压(2—4 Torr)下, SiH4/H2混合气体放电中, 放电条件为电极长度11 cm, 电极间距2 cm, 驱动频率13.56 MHz, 电压幅值50 V, 气体比例固定为SiH4/H2 = 1/9 (a)—(c) 周期平均电子密度; (d)—(f) SiH3基团密度的空间分布
Figure 1. In the discharge of SiH4/H2 at different pressures (2–4 Torr), the discharge conditions are two parallel plates with a length of 11 cm and a distance of 2 cm between them, driving frequency is 13.56 MHz and a voltage amplitude of 50 V, and SiH4/H2 gas ratio is fixed at 1/9: (a)–(c) Period-averaged electron density; (d)–(f) spatial distribution of SiH3 density.
图 3 不同气压(2—4 Torr)下SiH4/H2混合气体放电中的离子能量分布, 放电条件与图1一致 (a) 径向中心处; (b) 电极边缘处接地电极表面
Figure 3. The ion energy distribution in SiH4/H2 mixed gas discharge at different pressures (2–4 Torr): (a) At the radial center; (b) ground the electrode surface at the edge of the electrode; the discharge conditions are the same as in Fig. 1.
图 5 SiH4/H2混合气体放电中, 不同SiH4含量(10%—90%)下(a)—(c) 周期平均电子密度和(d)—(f) SiH3基团密度的空间分布. 放电条件: 电极长度 11 cm, 电极间距2 cm, 驱动频率13.56 MHz, 电压幅值50 V, 气压2 Torr
Figure 5. Spatially resolved and RF period-averaged electron density (a)–(c) and SiH3 density (d)–(f) for different SiH4 contents (10%–90%). Discharge condition: Two parallel plates with a length of 11 cm and a distance of 2 cm between them. The frequency used in this work is 13.56 MHz and a voltage amplitude of 50 V. The discharge pressure is 2 Torr.
图 7 不同SiH4含量(10%—90%)下SiH4/H2混合气体放电中(a) 径向中心处和(b) 电极边缘处接地电极表面的离子能量分布, 放电条件与图5一致
Figure 7. The ion energy distribution in SiH4/H2 mixed gas discharge at different SiH4 contents (from 10% to 90%): (a) At the radial center; (b) ground the electrode surface at the edge of the electrode. The discharge conditions are the same as in Fig. 5.
图 13 刻蚀时间为150 s时, 在接地电极处的刻蚀形貌 (a) N = 1, (b) N = 2, (c) N = 3; 在功率电极处的刻蚀形貌 (d) N = 1, (e) N = 2, (f) N = 3; 放电条件与图3相同, 灰色部分为光刻胶, 黑色部分为SiO2, 其余颜色表示材料表面上的聚合物或钝化层[35]
Figure 13. Etching profiles at the grounded electrode for (a) N = 1, (b) N = 2, (c) N = 3; and at the powered electrode for (d) N = 1, (e) N = 2, (f) N = 3 after an etching time of 150 s, the discharge conditions are the same as those in Fig. 3, grey material is the photoresist, black material is SiO2, other colors represent polymer or passivation layers on the material surface[35].
图 14 N = 1, 2, 3 (a) 功率电极与接地电极处的总离子通量; (b) CF2, CF和H通量之和; (c) 中性通量与离子通量比值$ (({\varGamma}_{{\text{CF}}_{2}}+ $$ {\varGamma}_{\text{CF}}+\varGamma_{\text{H}})/{\varGamma}_{{i}, \text{Total}}) $; (d) 平均离子能量[35]
Figure 14. Total ion flux (a), the sum of the CF2, CF and H fluxes (b), the Syn value (defined as $ (({\varGamma}_{{\text{CF}}_{2}}+{\varGamma}_{\text{CF}}+\varGamma_{\text{H}})/{\varGamma}_{{i}, \text{Total}}) $ (c) , and the mean ion energy (d) at the powered and the grounded electrodes at N = 1, 2, 3[35].
图 15 (a) 放电腔室结构和网格剖分示意图; (b) 下极板施加的裁剪电压波形
Figure 15. (a) The schematic of discharge chamber structure and mesh grid; (b) the schematic of the tailored bias waveform applied to the lower electrode.
图 16 密度剖面图 (a) Cl; (b) Ar+; (c) Cl+; (d) $ {\text{Cl}}_{2}^{+} $
Figure 16. Density profiles: (a) Cl; (b) Ar+; (c) Cl+; (d) $ {\text{Cl}}_{2}^{+} $.
图 17 离子能量分布 (a) 裁剪电压波形; (b) 射频偏压波形
Figure 17. Ion energy distribution: (a) The tailored bias voltage waveform; (b) radio frequency (RF) bias waveform.
图 18 (a) 裁剪电压波形和(b) 射频偏压波形下的放电中心处刻蚀形貌图(刻蚀时间: 9 s)
Figure 18. Etching profiles at the discharge center under the tailored bias waveform (a) and the RF bias waveform (b) (etching time: 9 s).
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