Pulse-Modulated Plasma Etching of Copper Thin Films via CH₃COOH/Ar

Pulse-modulated plasma etching of copper masked using SIO₂ films was conducted via a CH₃COOH/Ar. The etch characteristics were examined under pulse-modulated plasma. As the duty ratio of pulse decreased and the frequency of pulse increased, the etch selectivity and etch profile were improved. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and indicated that more copper oxides (Cu₂O and CuO) and Cu(CH₃COO)₂ were formed using pulse-modulated plasma than those formed using continuous-wave (CW) plasma. As the concentration of CH3COOH gas in pulse-modulated plasma increased, the formation of these copper compounds increased, which improved the etch profiles. Optical emission spectroscopy confirmed that the active ingredients of the plasma increased with decreasing pulse duty ratio and increasing frequency. Therefore, the optimized pulsed plasma etching of copper via a CH₃COOH/Ar gas provides better etch profile than that by CW plasma etching.