Digital Etching of Molybdenum Interconnects Using Plasma Oxidation
Abstract Molybdenum (Mo) has a high potential of becoming the material of choice for sub‐10 nm scale metal structures in future integrated circuits (ICs). Manufacturing at this scale requires exceptional precision and consistency, so many metal processing techniques must be reconsidered. In particul...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley-VCH
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Advanced Materials Interfaces |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202400558 |
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| author | Ivan Erofeev Antony Winata Hartanto Muhaimin Mareum Khan Kerong Deng Krishna Kumar Zainul Aabdin Weng Weei Tjiu Mingsheng Zhang Antoine Pacco Harold Philipsen Angshuman Ray Chowdhuri Han Vinh Huynh Frank Holsteyns Utkur Mirsaidov |
| author_facet | Ivan Erofeev Antony Winata Hartanto Muhaimin Mareum Khan Kerong Deng Krishna Kumar Zainul Aabdin Weng Weei Tjiu Mingsheng Zhang Antoine Pacco Harold Philipsen Angshuman Ray Chowdhuri Han Vinh Huynh Frank Holsteyns Utkur Mirsaidov |
| author_sort | Ivan Erofeev |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Molybdenum (Mo) has a high potential of becoming the material of choice for sub‐10 nm scale metal structures in future integrated circuits (ICs). Manufacturing at this scale requires exceptional precision and consistency, so many metal processing techniques must be reconsidered. In particular, present direct wet chemical etching methods produce anisotropic etching profiles with significant surface roughness, which can be detrimental to device performance. Here, it is shown that polycrystalline Mo nanowires can be etched uniformly using a cyclic two‐step “digital” method: the metal surface is first oxidized with isotropic oxygen plasma to form a layer of MoO3, which is then selectively removed using either wet chemical or dry isotropic plasma etching. These two steps are repeated in cycles until the intended metal recess is achieved. High uniformity of plasma oxidation defines the etching uniformity, and small metal recess per cycle (typically 1–2 nm) provides precise control over the etching depth. This method can replace wet etching where high etching precision is needed, enabling the reliable manufacturing of nanoscale metal interconnects. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8fbea89bece141a68a805055e826eef7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2196-7350 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley-VCH |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advanced Materials Interfaces |
| spelling | doaj-art-8fbea89bece141a68a805055e826eef72025-01-03T08:39:29ZengWiley-VCHAdvanced Materials Interfaces2196-73502025-01-01121n/an/a10.1002/admi.202400558Digital Etching of Molybdenum Interconnects Using Plasma OxidationIvan Erofeev0Antony Winata Hartanto1Muhaimin Mareum Khan2Kerong Deng3Krishna Kumar4Zainul Aabdin5Weng Weei Tjiu6Mingsheng Zhang7Antoine Pacco8Harold Philipsen9Angshuman Ray Chowdhuri10Han Vinh Huynh11Frank Holsteyns12Utkur Mirsaidov13Centre for BioImaging Sciences Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore 117557 SingaporeCentre for BioImaging Sciences Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore 117557 SingaporeCentre for BioImaging Sciences Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore 117557 SingaporeCentre for BioImaging Sciences Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore 117557 SingaporeCentre for BioImaging Sciences Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore 117557 SingaporeInstitute of Materials Research and Engineering Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore 138634 SingaporeInstitute of Materials Research and Engineering Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore 138634 SingaporeInstitute of Materials Research and Engineering Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore 138634 Singaporeimec Kapeldreef 75 Leuven B‐3001 Belgiumimec Kapeldreef 75 Leuven B‐3001 BelgiumDepartment of Chemistry National University of Singapore Singapore 117543 SingaporeDepartment of Chemistry National University of Singapore Singapore 117543 Singaporeimec Kapeldreef 75 Leuven B‐3001 BelgiumCentre for BioImaging Sciences Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore 117557 SingaporeAbstract Molybdenum (Mo) has a high potential of becoming the material of choice for sub‐10 nm scale metal structures in future integrated circuits (ICs). Manufacturing at this scale requires exceptional precision and consistency, so many metal processing techniques must be reconsidered. In particular, present direct wet chemical etching methods produce anisotropic etching profiles with significant surface roughness, which can be detrimental to device performance. Here, it is shown that polycrystalline Mo nanowires can be etched uniformly using a cyclic two‐step “digital” method: the metal surface is first oxidized with isotropic oxygen plasma to form a layer of MoO3, which is then selectively removed using either wet chemical or dry isotropic plasma etching. These two steps are repeated in cycles until the intended metal recess is achieved. High uniformity of plasma oxidation defines the etching uniformity, and small metal recess per cycle (typically 1–2 nm) provides precise control over the etching depth. This method can replace wet etching where high etching precision is needed, enabling the reliable manufacturing of nanoscale metal interconnects.https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202400558atomic layer etching (ALE)integrated circuits (ICs)interconnectsmetal etchingplasma oxidation |
| spellingShingle | Ivan Erofeev Antony Winata Hartanto Muhaimin Mareum Khan Kerong Deng Krishna Kumar Zainul Aabdin Weng Weei Tjiu Mingsheng Zhang Antoine Pacco Harold Philipsen Angshuman Ray Chowdhuri Han Vinh Huynh Frank Holsteyns Utkur Mirsaidov Digital Etching of Molybdenum Interconnects Using Plasma Oxidation Advanced Materials Interfaces atomic layer etching (ALE) integrated circuits (ICs) interconnects metal etching plasma oxidation |
| title | Digital Etching of Molybdenum Interconnects Using Plasma Oxidation |
| title_full | Digital Etching of Molybdenum Interconnects Using Plasma Oxidation |
| title_fullStr | Digital Etching of Molybdenum Interconnects Using Plasma Oxidation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital Etching of Molybdenum Interconnects Using Plasma Oxidation |
| title_short | Digital Etching of Molybdenum Interconnects Using Plasma Oxidation |
| title_sort | digital etching of molybdenum interconnects using plasma oxidation |
| topic | atomic layer etching (ALE) integrated circuits (ICs) interconnects metal etching plasma oxidation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202400558 |
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