Atomic layer etching

Atomic layer etching is an emerging technique in semiconductor manufacture, in which a sequence alternating between self-limiting chemical modification steps which affect only the top atomic layers of the wafer, and etching steps which remove only the chemically-modified areas, allows the removal of individual atomic layers. The standard example is etching of silicon by alternating reaction with chlorine and etching with argon ions.

This is a better-controlled process than reactive ion etching, though the issue with commercial use of it has been throughput; sophisticated gas handling is required, and removal rates of one atomic layer per second are around the state of the art[1].

The equivalent process for depositing material is atomic layer deposition (ALD). ALD is substantially more mature, having been used by Intel for high-κ dielectric layers since 2007 and in Finland in the fabrication of thin film electroluminescent devices since 1985.[2]

References
  1. "Atomic Layer Etch now in Fab Evaluations". 2014-08-04.
  2. Puurunen, Riikka L. (2014-12-01). "A Short History of Atomic Layer Deposition: Tuomo Suntola's Atomic Layer Epitaxy". Chemical Vapor Deposition. 20 (10–11–12): 332–344. doi:10.1002/cvde.201402012. ISSN 1521-3862.


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