Comparison of Pt etching characteristics with SF/sub 6/ and Cl/sub 2/ plasma chemistries

Ferroelectric thin films have been studied for applications in random access memory (RAM). Owing to the decreasing feature size and increasing density of integrated circuit devices, the requirements for patterning techniques suitable for the fine features of bottom electrodes have been increased. Platinum (Pt) has been the most widely used electrode material for ferroelectric capacitors due to its good thermal stability and low resistivity. Several studies have been reported on the etching of Pt thin films using CF/Ar chlorine-based chemistry and H/sub 2/S/HBr gases. In this study, we have used SF/sub 6/ gas chemistry in the etching of Pt thin film and compared this with the etching characteristics with Cl/sub 2/ gas chemistry.