| Katsuya Watanabe | Semiconductor Equipment Design Dept., Kasado Div., |
| Kenetsu Yokogawa | Advanced Technology Research Dept., Central Research Lab., |
| Yutaka Omoto | R&D Center, Kasado Div., |
| Hiroyuki Makino | Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Sales Div., Device Manufacturing Systems Business Gr., |
As semiconductor device technology evolves with shrinking of feature dimensions, this is driving demand for dielectric film etchers supporting tight CD (critical dimension) control and stable processing. Particularly, as the era of 90-nm feature semiconductor devices fast approaches, the need for a dielectric etcher has emerged as a high-priority concern that will accommodate (1) HARC (high aspect ratio contact) control with an aspect ratio greater than 20, (2) tight CD control with ArF and hard mask etching for gates, and (3) low-k (dielectric constant of less than 2.5) materials for damascene processes. To address these needs, Hitachi Group has developed a dielectric etcher that uses UHF-ECR (ultra-high frequency electron cyclotron resonance) and achieve excellent plasma control. Able to accommodate 200- to 300-mm size wafers, the etcher can be applied to a broad range of etching processes including HARC, gate mask etching, damascene processing of organic and inorganic low-k materials. The favorable assessment of customers in how well the system meets their performance needs is reflected in the large number of orders for the system. The system has the same base frame as previous systems that already have a solid track record on quantity production fab lines, so excellent reliability is assured.
UHF, ECR, dielectric, etcher, low-k
