Plasma and Characterization

Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M) 431

The etching and characterization room contains a suite of tools for dry etching and characterization of samples. This includes three dry etchers with a range of capabilities, while characterization tools include an ellipsometer, FTIR, and wafer curvature system. This room also has the following resources:

  • Safety glasses
  • Gloves
  • Cleanroom wipes
  • Dry nitrogen gun
  • Fume hood

Dry Etch Systems

Trion Technology Phantom II

The Trion ICP/RIE Etch PHTII-4301 (TRION) is a reactive ion etcher with the addition of a inductively coupled plasma to achieve a high density plasma for enhanced anisotropic etching. This system is limited to non-metal samples and currently is used for the etching of silicon oxide, silicon and descumming samples before metal deposition. It can process wafers up to 10 inches.

Available Gases

  • Oxygen
  • Trifluoromethane (CHF3)
  • Tetrafluoromethane (CF4)
  • Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6)
Trion Technology Phantom II equipment
 Trion Technology Phantom II

March Jupiter II RIE

The March Jupiter II is a reactive ion etcher. Samples containing metals can be etched in this system.

Available Gases

  • Argon
  • Oxygen
  • Trifluoromethane (CHF3)
  • Tetrafluoromethane (CF4)
  • Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6)
March Jupiter II RIE equipment
 March Jupiter II RIE

Characterization Systems

J.A. Woollam VASE Ellipsometer

Ellipsometry is a sensitive measurement system that helps to characterize the microstructure of a thin film or a bulk material. The ellipsometer is also used to measure the thickness and optical constant of a material.

Possible Measurements

  • Optical constant
  • Thin film thickness
  • Doping concentration
  • Surface roughness
  • Alloy ratio
  • Crystallinity
  • Optical anisotropy
  • Depth profile of material properties
  • Growth or etch rate
J.A. Woollam VASE Ellipsometer equipment
 J.A. Woollam VASE Ellipsometer

Wafer Curvature System (Non-calibrated)

The wafer curvature system uses a laser to scan the reflection angle of the surface to determine the curvature of the wafer. This system can measure wafers up to 8 inches.

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)

FTIR is used to obtain an infrared spectrum of absorption or emission from a sample. This can give information about the surface termination or contamination that may be present on a silicon wafer.