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Dry etching of nanosized Ge1Sb2Te4 patterns using TiN hard mask for high density phase-change memory.
Gaoming Feng1, Bo Liu, Zhitang Song
1Laboratory of Nanotechnology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, CAS, 865 Changning Road, Shanghai 200050, P. R. China.
Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
|May 16, 2009
Summary
This study details a dry etching method for patterning germanium-antimony-tellurium (Ge1Sb2Te4) films for high-density memory. Optimized conditions achieved 170 nm lines, crucial for advanced chalcogenide random access memory fabrication.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Semiconductor Device Fabrication
Background:
- Nanoscale patterning of chalcogenide materials is critical for high-density random access memory (RAM).
- Reactive-ion etching (RIE) is a key technique for precise material modification in semiconductor manufacturing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and optimize dry etching methods for patterning germanium-antimony-tellurium (Ge1Sb2Te4) films at the nanometer scale.
- To establish reliable fabrication processes for high-density chalcogenide RAM.
Main Methods:
- Utilized reactive-ion etching (RIE) with a CHF3/O2 gas mixture for Ge1Sb2Te4 film etching.
- Employed electron-beam lithography with hydrogen silsesquioxane resist for defining nanosized patterns.
- Selected a titanium nitride (TiN) hard mask with high selectivity for Ge1Sb2Te4 etching.
Main Results:
- Achieved etched features with smooth sidewalls and a taper angle of 86 degrees using CHF3/O2.
- Demonstrated successful patterning of Ge1Sb2Te4 lines with a width of 170 nm.
- Confirmed good profile and uniformity of the etched nanostructures.
Conclusions:
- Optimized dry etching and lithography processes enable precise nanoscale patterning of Ge1Sb2Te4.
- The developed method is highly suitable for the fabrication of high-density chalcogenide random access memory devices.
