NANOSTRUCTURED RUTHENIUM ETCHING IN THREE-COMPONENT Cl/O/Ar PLASMA

Using spectral and probe diagnostic methods for the radical composition and electronic component of the removed plasma of an RF discharge in a mixture of 50%Ar/Cl/O, low-energy (E ~80 eV) etching of a nanometer-thick Ru film was studied depending on pressure, RF power, and relative content of Cl/O. With a 10–30 percent chlorine content in the plasma, a wide maximum of the Ru etching rate is observed. In a plasma of this composition, using an array of amorphous silicon nanocones as a mask, vertical nanocolumned Ru structures with a height of 35 nm and a distance between them of 10–20 nm were obtained. The mechanism of Ru etching in plasma of 50%Ar/Cl/O is discussed.