Comparison of CF4 and SF6 based plasmas for ECR etching of isotopically enriched 10boron films

Isotopically enriched 10boron films have been successfully etched in an Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) etching tool using CF4 and SF6 based plasmas. Comparisons between the two are made with regard to etch rate, selectivity to the underlying Si device structure, and morphology of the 10boron post-etching. Our present film etching development is expected to be critical for the fabrication of next generation thermal neutron solid state detectors based on 10boron.