Method for plasma etching of Ir-Ta-O electrode and for post-etch cleaning

A method of forming an electrode in an integrated circuit includes preparing a silicon-base substrate, including forming semiconductor structures on the substrate to form an integrated substrate structure; depositing a layer of electrode material on a substrate structure; patterning the layer of electrode material to form electrode elements, wherein said patterning includes plasma etching the layer of electrode material in a plasma reactor in an etching gas atmosphere having a fluorine component therein; and cleaning the substrate structure and electrode elements in a distilled water bath.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to etching of electrode in integrated circuits, and specifically to a method of plasma etching an iridium tantalum oxide electrode in a ferroelectric integrated circuit, and a method for cleaning the etching debris.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electrodes used in ferroelectric devices are usually formed from platinum or iridium, and are generally etched using ion milling or chlorine-based chemistries. Etching is usually preceded by physical sputtering, but occasionally may be preceded by plasma-assisted chemical etching. Such processes result in a low etching rate, poor selectivity in that the etching removes materials not intended to be removed, and re-deposition of etch-removed materials. Poor sidewall profiles are also frequent occurrences.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method of forming an electrode in an integrated circuit includes preparing a silicon-base substrate, including forming semiconductor structures on the substrate to form an integrated substrate structure; depositing a layer of electrode material on a substrate structure; patterning the layer of electrode material to form electrode elements, wherein said patterning includes plasma etching the layer of electrode material in a plasma reactor in an etching gas atmosphere having a fluorine component therein; and cleaning the substrate structure and electrode elements in a distilled water bath.

It is an object of the invention to provide accurate patterning of Ir-Ta-O electrodes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of rapid etching of an electrode in a ferroelectric device.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reliable manufacturing process for Ir-Ta-O electrodes when used with ferroelectric devices.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method for removing etching debris from the structure.

This summary and objectives of the invention are provided to enable quick comprehension of the nature of the invention. A more thorough understanding of the invention may be obtained by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention in connection with the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Etching using the method of the invention may incorporate use of any state-of-the-art high density plasma reactor. One such reactor is an Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) plasma reactor. In the ECR reactor, ion density and ion energy may be separately controlled by adjusting the ECR microwave power and the RF bias power, respectively. Etching parameters are set forth in Table 1, which depicts the parameter ranges and the specific parameters used for the examples described herein.

As previously noted, chlorine gas chemistries are generally used in etching processes for Ir-Ta-O electrodes. The use of various etch gas chemistries resulted in significantly different etch rates, as shown in FIG. 1 , generally at 10 . Etching using a Cl 2 /O 2 /Ar gas chemistry, at a flow rate of 30/5/25 sccm, results in an etch rate 12 less than half of that of a gas chemistry incorporating fluorine. Intermediate results, 14 , were obtained from a CF 4 /O 2 /Ar gas chemistry at a flow rate of 30/5/25 sccm. The use of a gas having a fluorine component, such as CF 4 , mixed with O 2 , at a 55 sccm/5 sccm flow rate, resulted in the highest etch rate 16 . Other suitable fluorine gas chemistries include CHF 3 , C 2 F 6 , SF 6 and NF 3 , in combination with oxygen and an inert gas component, such as argon. Physical sputtering is not required to obtain the results shown in FIG. 1 , and the etch process may be preceded by a plasma-assisted chemical etch process.

FIGS. 2-4 depict SEM photos of Ir-Ta-O electrode structures, or electrode elements, following plasma etching and post-etch cleaning. A water rinse in hot deionized (DI) water, at a temperature of about 80 C., completely dissolves the etch-induced sidewall residue, also referred to as fences. To obtain the results of FIGS. 2 and 3 , the etch gases used were CF 4 /O 2 /Ar having flow rates of 30 sccm/5 sccm/25 sccm, or, a total etch gas flow rate of 60 sccm. The post etch cleaning was in 80 C. DI water for 20 minutes. In the case of FIG. 4 , the etch gases used were CF 4 /O 2 /Ar having flow rates of 30 sccm/5 sccm/5 sccm. The post etch cleaning was in 80 C. DI water for 100 minutes.

To summarize, plasma etching is used to pattern the Ir-Ta-O electrode material in a ferroelectric device. A fluorine-containing etch gas is used to increase the etch rate of the Ir-Ta-O material. Finally, a hot DI water wash is used as a post etch cleaner to dissolve any post-etch induced sidewall residue. Thus, a method of plasma etching of Ir-Ta-O electrode and post-etch cleaning has been disclosed. It will be appreciated that further variations and modifications thereof may be with the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.