High-performance and damage-free neutral-beam etching processes using negative ions in pulse-time-modulated plasma

For the past 30 years, plasma-etching technology has led efforts to shrink the patterns of ultralarge-scale integrated (ULSI) devices. However, inherent problems with plasma processes, such as charge build-up and UV photon radiation, have limited etching in the future devices. To overcome these and fabricate sub-50 nm devices in practice, neutral-beam etchings have been proposed. In this paper, we introduce damage-free etching processes using neutral beam with negative ions in pulse-time-modulated plasmas. These techniques can achieve damage-free etching processes. They are promising candidates for the practical technology that will be required to fabricate future devices.