Atomic layer etching of indium tin oxide

Abstract

This work presents the atomic layer etching (ALE) process for sputtered indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films using thermal surface modification with BCl3 and modified surface removal by low ion energy Ar plasma. In this approach, an elevated temperature is required for high synergy ALE due to the low volatility of indium chlorides, and 150°C is proved to be suitable. An etch per cycle (EPC) of 1.1 Å and ALE synergy of 82% was achieved. Both surface modification and modified surface removal steps exhibited self-limited EPC. The ALE process was developed in a conventional reactive ion etching tool and retains the thin film absolute uniformity on the wafer. ITO was photolithographically patterned on whole wafers using photoresist as an etch mask for the ALE, and clear smoothing of the unmasked areas is observed, which is a characteristic of an ideal ALE process. This confirms that the developed ALE process can be utilized to pattern ITO using conventional photolithography. The demonstrated ITO ALE can be used to fabricate, for example, thin channel or recessed channel transistors, with self-smoothened channels for reduced surface scattering.