"Plasma and Reactive Ion Etching of Refractory Metal Oxides" 

Xiaoling Shen, MSE PhD Candidate 

Advisors: Profs. Jeffrey Youngblood & Mike Titus

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ABSTRACT

Refractory metals and their oxides, valued for their thermal stability, corrosion resistance, and high melting points, are essential in aerospace and microelectronics. However, their stability presents challenges for precise patterning through plasma etching. The comparison between capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) on etching refractory oxides, such as Nb2O5, Ta2O5, and HfO2, is shown in the document to present potential solutions to the challenges. The Hybrid Plasma Equipment Model (HPEM) and Surface Kinetics Module (SKM) are introduced for improving the efficiency of refractory oxide processing, as their combination generates important species density profiles and examines how each species influences the etching process. Experiment results of optimum parameter of etching refractory metals oxides are discussed, along with the application of neural network models to predict the relationship between etching parameters and etch rate as well as uniformity. Based on this document, a cost- and time-efficient method for optimizing refractory oxide etching involves using HPEM and SKM models to predict theoretically ideal parameters, followed by minimal experiments to refine performance.