Ain Shams University ICs Technology

Faculty of Engineering ECE-482

Electronics & Communications 4th Year
Engineering Dept. (ECE) Fall 2021

Sheet 3: Etching

I. State whether the following statements are true or false, give reasons and use
neat sketches wherever possible.

a) Etching aims to remove any underlying material protected by a hardened photoresist.

b) Etching rate is independent of crystallographic directions for anisotropic materials.
c) Dry etching processes are more suitable for small feature sizes.
d) BOSCH process is used for etching shallow patterns in the wafer surface.
e) Wet etching is a highly directional process whereas sputtering/ion milling are usually
used for their high selectivity.
f) Radiation damages may result during RIE.

II. Complete the following statements.

a) Dimensions drawn on the wafer are different than those on the mask due to . . . and . . . .
b) Etching rate depends on . . . ,. . . , and . . . .
c) Different . . . for different . . . are responsible for etching selectivity.
d) . . . etching is known for its high selectivity, isotropy and high etching-rates.
e) . . . process is used for deep etching by successive cycles of etching and deposition.
f) . . . is used for etching deep trench isolation.

III. Make the following comparisons; arrange your answers in a table.

a) Wet and dry etching concerning cost, control, etch rate, selectivity, resolution,
anisotropy, waste disposal problem and energy consumption.
b) Wet, plasma and RIE concerning pressure, energy, selectivity and anisotropy.

IV. Explain with neat sketches the BOSCH etching process. Provide numerical
example about typical etching rate, uniformity and possible aspect ratios for
this process. List some examples for potential applications of the BOSCH
process.

1
V. The Poly-Si structure shown in figure 1 is to be etched using a completely
anisotropic dry-etch process, to remove poly-Si at a rate of 0.1μm/min.
However, this etching process has poor selectivity: selectivity to SiO2 is 5,
selectivity to photoresist is 2.

a) Sketch the cross-section after 5 minutes of etching.

b) Calculate the angle of the SiO2 sidewalls after 5 minutes of etching.

Figure 1 A Poly-Si structure subjected to an anisotropic dry-etch process.

Best Wishes
Prof. Hani Fikry