Self-limited layer-by-layer etching of Si by alternated chlorine adsorption and Ar+ ion irradiation
- 15 November 1993
- journal article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Applied Physics Letters
- Vol. 63 (20) , 2803-2805
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.110340
Abstract
We report the observation of self‐limited layer‐by‐layer etching of Si by alternated chlorine adsorption and low energy Ar+ ion irradiation using an ultraclean electron‐cyclotron‐resonance plasma apparatus. The etch rate per cycle increased with the chlorine supplying time and saturated to a constant value of about 1/2 atomic layer per cycle for Si(100) and 1/3 for Si(111), which was independent of the chlorine partial pressure in the range of 1.3–6.7 mPa. These results indicate that etching was determined by self‐limited adsorption of chlorine. Moreover, the chlorine adsorption rate was found to be described by a Langmuir‐type equation with an adsorption rate constant k=83 and 110 (Pa s)−1 for Si(100) and Si(111), respectively.Keywords
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