High etch rates of poly-crystalline 3C-SiC films in magnetron enhanced CHF3 plasmas

Magnetron enhanced reactive ion etching (RIE) of poly-crystalline 3C-SiC thin films grown on thermally oxidised Si substrates has been investigated in CHF₃ plasmas. The magnetron enhanced RIE can stably etch the poly-crystalline 3C-SiC thin film at a lower ion energy (70 W) without any damage than can the commercial RIE system. The best vertical structure was improved by the addition of 40% O₂ and 16% Ar with the CHF₃ reactive gas.