Specific Process Knowledge/Etch/AOE (Advanced Oxide Etch)

Etching using the dry etch technique AOE (Advanced oxide etch)

AOE: positioned in cleanroom 2

The AOE can be used for etching silicon oxide, silicon (oxy)nitride and quartz. Look in the manuals for the AOE to see how to operate the machine (you can find the manuals in LabManager [1]).

Process information

• Etch of Silicon Oxide using AOE
• Si mask etch using AOE

A rough overview of the performance of AOE and some process related parameters

Purpose	Dry etch of	Silicon oxide Silicon (oxy)nitride Quartz Silicon mask etching
Performance	Etch rates	~0.2-0.6 µm/min
	Anisotropy	Typical profiles: 86-90 degrees
Process parameter range	Process pressure	~2-20 mTorr
	Gas flows	C$_{4}$F$_{8}$: 0-40 sccm O$_{2}$: 0-100 sccm CF$_{4}$: 0-100 sccm H$_{2}$: 0-30 sccm He: 0-500 sccm N$_{2}$: 0-1000 sccm SF$_{6}$: 0-300 sccm
Substrates	Batch size	1 6" wafer per run (only when the system is setup to 6") 1 4" wafer per run 1 2" wafer per run (needs carrier) Or several smaller pieces (needs carrier)
	Substrate material allowed	Silicon with layers of silicon oxide or silicon (oxy)nitride Quartz wafers
	Possible masking material	Photoresist/e-beam resist Silicon/PolySi Aluminium Chromium