MICROLOADING EFFECT IN REACTIVE ION ETCHING

The etch rate of silicon, during reactive ion etching (RIE), depends on the total exposed area. This is called the loading effect. However, local variations in the pattern density will, in a similar way, cause local variations in the etch rate. This effect is caused by a local depletion of reactive species and is called the microloading effect. Silicon wafers patterned with silicon dioxide have been etched in order to study the microloading effect. The pattern consists of a large exposed area and narrow lines at different distances from the edge of the large area. This arrangement makes it possible to study how the distance from the large area, which depletes the etchants, influences the etch rate. The influence of different processing parameters like, e.g., pressure, gas flow rate, and flow direction on the microloading effect have been investigated. It has been found that the microloading effect is small (<10%) compared to other pattern dependent nonuniformities. It is also shown that the nonuniformities caused by the microloading effect can be decreased by, e.g., decreasing the pressure or increasing the gas flow rate.