Equipment
| Lab and Coral Name | ICL / Oxford-100_Etch |
| Model | Oxford Plasmalab System 100 |
| Specialist | Robert Bicchieri (Eric Lim) |
| Physical Location | 2F 1-NorthExtension Deposition |
Classification
| Process Category | Deposition, Etch |
| Subcategory | RIE |
| Material Keywords | SiO2, SiNx, Dielectrics, CMOS Metals, Non-CMOS Metals, Other Polymers |
| Sample Size | 6" Wafers, 4" Wafers, Pieces |
| Alternative | TRL / sts-CVD, TRL / plasmaquest |
| Keywords | single wafer, multiple pieces, load lock, top side of sample, anisotropic etch, conformal dep, vacuum, plasma, temperature |
Description
The Oxford-100 is a dual chamber plasma etch and deposition tool. It can deposit silicon dioxide, nitride, SiC, a-Si, and TEOS. The deposition can take place at low and high frequencies (similar to sts-CVD), allowing stress-balancing of deposited films. For dielectric deposition, this is the only RED tool that can deposit TEOS. For other dielectrics, the sts-CVD is an equivalent tool, but the Oxford-100 has lower pinhole densities. The etch chamber of the Oxford-100 is able to etch dielectrics and certain metals. However, it is not a dedicated metal etcher (it does not do a post-etch water rinse to remove trapped chlorine that may continue to attack the metal).
| Best for | Depositing dielectrics and etching both dielectrics and metals |
| Limitations | The loadlock and venting is slow, adding 5-7 minutes of roundtrip time per wafer. This makes recipe developing time consuming. For large number of wafes, alternative tools may offer a better throughput. |
| Characteristics/FOM | Gases: C2F6,SF6,Cl2,He,O2,NH3,SiH4,BCl3,CH4. N2O is for etchback cleaning in the dep chamber. Materials: TEOS,a-Si,SiC,SiO2,SiNx |
| Caution with | The control software's timer is poorly implemented, and sometimes can run behind by forgetting to count. This can result in longer than expected run times. Be present during the run and use manual timer to check when using a timed etch oir deposition. The loadlock O-ring comes loose during opening, and needs to be carefully placed back |
| Machine Charges | 7/wafer + 0.1/um |
Documents
Process Matrix Details
Permitted
Not Allowed
Ever been in EMLSamples from EML are never permitted to return to ICL or TRL
For more details or help, please consult PTC matrix, email ptc@mtl.mit.edu, or ask the research specialist (Robert Bicchieri)