Patent ID: 11882771
Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Field: nan (nan)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 11:
12. A method for fabricating a smooth layer in a device, the method comprising:
adjacently coupling a layer of first material to a selected surface of a device layer;
adjacently coupling a layer of second material to the layer of first material; and
performing plasma etching on the layer of second material and the layer of first material to form an etched surface of the layer of first material, wherein the etched surface of the layer of first material is smoother than the initially deposited surface of the layer of first material adjacently coupled to the selected surface of the device layer, wherein the smoother layer of the first material after the plasma etching has less surface roughness than the initially deposited surface of the layer of first material on the selected surface of the device layer, wherein the plasma etching process employs at least one of: an argon/chlorine mixture (Ar/Cl2), an argon/boron trichloride mixture (Ar/BCl3), or either one of the Ar/Cl2 or the Ar/BCl3 with the addition of a nitrogen (N2) diluent gas.