Post‐Treatments for Reactive Ion Etching of Al‐Si‐Cu Alloys

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Abstract
Aluminum alloy (Al‐0.9%Si‐0.4%Cu) conductors etched with chlorine‐containing plasma corrode in humid atmosphere or in aqueous solutions of a cleaning step unless appropriate post‐treatments are performed. The effect of the post‐treatments of , , plasmas, and rinse on suppressing the corrosion of the conductors was investigated using Auger electron and x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopies. Residual chlorine deposited on the sidewall of the conductor, which was exposed to the etching plasma, was found to contribute to the corrosion. The corrosion was accelerated with increasing chlorine concentration. Some chlorine atoms on the as‐etched metal surface were bound to aluminum and the others were bound to carbon. An rinse drastically removed chlorine bound to aluminum but had little effect on chlorine bound to carbon. plasma treatment removed chlorine bound to carbon but hardly removed chlorine bound to aluminum. plasma, particularly plasma, was found to be the most effective in removing chlorine, since it removed chlorine bound not only to aluminum but also to carbon. Also, a protecting film formed on the sidewall of conductors with fluorine‐containing plasma was found to work as an excellent mask against the corrosion.

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