Work was supported by the Semiconductor Research Corporation. Publisher Identifier S XXXX-XXXXXXX-X Conceptual Design of Advanced Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching Tools Using Computer Modeling

Fig. 1. Plasma characteristics for a dual plasma zone ICP etching tool. The maximum values of the variables are shown at the top of each figure (densities have units of cm-3). Contours are labeled by their fraction of the maximum value. FIGURE Abstract- Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) reactors for semiconductor etching are attractive in that the location of plasma generation and the plasma density can be controlled by placement of the inductive coils. This feature has been used to perform a conceptual design of an ICP etching tool having two plasma sources which provide additional control over the magnitude and composition of the reactive fluxes to the wafer. Images of plasma properties in the reactor are presented. Inductively Coupled Plasmas (ICP) are being developed for etching of dielectrics and metals for semiconductor microelectronics fabrication.[1] ICP reactors operate at low gas pressures (< 10-20 mTorr) and hig