Patent Description:
Lithium Niobate (LN) crystals are ferroelectrics having an oxygen octahedral structure, which integrates the piezoelectric, electrooptical, acousto-optic, nonlinear optical properties and photorefractive effects, and has extensive applications in the fields such as optical modulation, optical amplification, optical switch, optical storage and optical waveguide, so that LN crystals are one of the artificial crystals with the most optical properties and best comprehensive index. With the development of integrated optics, the requirements on the performance and the integration level of devices are continuously increased, and more requirements are also put forward on the etching process of LN.

The dry etching is a process for forming volatile substances or directly bombarding the surface of a sample to enable the sample to be etched by utilizing the action of atoms and molecules in a plasma state on the surface of the material. The dry etching can implement anisotropic etching, namely the longitudinal etching rate is far greater than the transverse etching rate, so that the fidelity of a fine pattern after transfer is ensured. Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) etching technology in dry etching is increasingly applied to the manufacturing of semiconductor devices due to the advantages such as high control precision, good largearea etching uniformity, less pollution.

However, LN is an extremely difficult material to be etched. Traditionally, ICP is used to etch LN, typically a combination of fluorine-based gases (e.g., CF<NUM>, CHF<NUM>, SF<NUM>) and inert gases (e.g., Ar) is chose to be used to etch LN. For chlorine-based gases such as Cl<NUM>, which are commonly used in dry etching, there are rare descriptions in literature and patents for etching LN. Nb element in LN reacts with F ion chemically, generating easily volatile NBF<NUM>, NBF<NUM> and NBF<NUM>; Li in the lithium niobate reacts with F ions to generate LiF which is not easy to volatilize and deposits on the etched surface, thereby reducing the etching rate and increasing the roughness on the etched surface. The ion bombardment of Ar gas can remove LiF sediment, increase the physical action in the etching reaction, improve the etching rate and improve the smoothness on the etched surface.

LN has a relatively slow etching rate, and in order to obtain a relatively deep etching depth, a metal film layer which is resistant to etching under F-based gas, such as Cr, Cu and Al, is currently selected as a mask. However, the metal film needs special equipment for manufacturing, the manufacturing process is complicated, the cost is relatively high, and the metal film is difficult to be removed after etching; in the process of forming a pattern by a lift-off process, metal can damage an LN crystal wafer, so that the wafer is subjected to dark cracking to influence the subsequent process; after the metal mask forms a pattern, vertical stripes currently exist on the side wall, and the stripes are brought to the etched LN side wall by dry etching, so that the smoothness on the etched LN side wall is insufficient. Documents <CIT>, <NPL>, and <CIT> relate to methods of etching lithium niobate. Document <CIT> relates to a method of etching PLZT.

The invention is defined in appended claim <NUM>, with dependent claims defining additional features.

In one embodiment, in the etching gas in Step <NUM>, H<NUM> accounts for <NUM>%-<NUM>% of the total gas flow.

In one embodiment, in the etching gas in Step <NUM>, Cl<NUM> accounts for <NUM>%-<NUM>% of the total gas flow.

In one embodiment, an upper radio frequency power of the etching machine during the etching ranges from <NUM> w to <NUM> w and a lower radio frequency power ranges from <NUM> w to <NUM> w.

In one embodiment, a cavity pressure of the etching machine in the etching is less than <NUM> mT.

In one embodiment, a temperature of cooling liquid of the etching machine in the etching process ranges from <NUM> to <NUM>.

A method for dry-etching lithium niobate is adopted in the present disclosure and the adopted gas is Cl<NUM>/H<NUM> to etch lithium niobate, which is different from the traditional fluorine-based etching lithium niobate system. The present disclosure uses a dielectric material or photoresist as a mask, which not only optimizes the production flow, but also greatly improves productivity and saves cost after being applied to the production line.

Because the method for dry-etching lithium niobate is adopted in the present disclosure, the traditional photoresist mask or dielectric materials such as SiO, SiN, Si can be used as the hard mask in the dry-etching lithium niobate, and a better selection ratio and good morphology are obtained.

Because the method for dry-etching lithium niobate is adopted in the present disclosure, the lithium niobate has a high selection ratio to the mask, so the thickness of the dielectric mask or the photoresist mask can be made thinner, and the patterning process and the removing process of the mask are simplified.

In a traditional production line, metal masks such as Cr, Al, Cu are currently used for etching lithium niobate. There are many disadvantages in using metal masks to etch LN.

The metal mask adopted by the prior art has a complex manufacturing process and a relatively high cost; special equipment is required in the metal mask deposition, and photoetching is firstly required in the metal mask patterning, and then a complex procedure is adopted to transfer the pattern to the metal film layer. Whereas, the photoresist mask adopted by the method for dry-etching lithium niobate of the present disclosure forms a pattern through a photolithography process; the deposition cost of the dielectric mask is low, the dielectric mask deposition is easy to be patterned, and the patterning can be even completed in the same etching cavity with the dry-etching step.

The metal mask adopted in the prior art is difficult to be removed after etching, and the removing cost is high. Whereas, the dielectric and the photoresist adopted by the method for dry-etching the lithium niobate of the present disclosure are easy to be removed after dry-etching, the removing cost is low, and the method is mature; the mask removing process can even be carried out without breaking vacuum after etching.

For the lithium niobate crystal wafer, in the metal mask deposition and patterning process, the lithium niobate crystal is easily damaged by related processes, causing crystal hiddent cracks. The method for dry-etching lithium niobate adopted by the present disclosure can avoid the hiddent cracks by using the dielectric mask or the photoresist mask.

The method for dry-etching lithium niobate adopted by the present disclosure is an effective way for reducing the cost and simplifying the flow for the process of the lithium niobate device; the method has the potential to become a new process route in the production line, greatly saves the production cost and improves the productivity.

In order to make the objectives and technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. It is apparent that the embodiments described are merely parts of embodiments in the present disclosure, and not all embodiments.

The basic principle of the method for dry-etching lithium niobate is as follows.

In the process of dry-etching lithium niobate, it is extremely important that the generated product can exist in a gaseous state under a vacuum condition and is pumped away; the boiling point of the Nb compound is generally low, and the Nb compound is easy to exist in a gaseous state and is pumped away under the high vacuum condition, so that the etching is not influenced; however, the compound of Li generally has a high boiling point, and is prone to forming a non-volatile deposition even under the condition of high vacuum, thereby blocking the etching, reducing the steepness on the side wall and causing the roughness on the side wall.

LiF is generated when lithium niobate is etched by traditional fluorine-based gas which has a boiling point of <NUM> at the normal temperature. In the present disclosure, H<NUM>, and Cl<NUM> undergo a chemical reaction with Li<NUM>NbO<NUM>, and the compound of LI includes LiH and LiCl; the boiling point of LiH at the normal temperature and pressure is <NUM>, and the boiling point of LiCl at the normal temperature and pressure is <NUM>. Compared with LiF, LiH and LiCl have lower boiling points and are more volatile, the side wall inclination and the roughness caused by deposition are reduced, which is beneficial for obtaining a steep etching morphology and a smooth etched surface. In a traditional fluorine-based etched LN system, the steepness on the obtained side wall generally ranges from <NUM> degrees to <NUM> degrees; whereas in the system, the steepness on the side wall can be obtained greater than <NUM> degrees after etching LN.

The present disclosure adopts traditional PR mask or dielectric being SiO, SiN, or Si as the hard mask to etch LN, to obtain a better selection ratio and a good morphology, which is an effective way for reducing the cost and simplifying the flow for the LN process, and avoids the defects caused by using the metal mask to etch the LN, such as fussy manufacturing process, relative high cost, difficult removing, easy damage to LN crystal in lift-off process and easy roughness on LN side wall; meanwhile, the SiO and PR masks are easy to enable the side wall to be smooth, so that a smooth LN side wall can be obtained after etching.

The main etching gases used in the process of the present disclosure are Cl<NUM> and H<NUM>, and an appropriate amount of inert gas is used as an auxiliary gas; the ME (Main Etch) step with stable parameters is used in the etching process. The upper radio frequency power ranges from <NUM> w to <NUM> w, the lower radio frequency power ranges from <NUM> w to <NUM> w, the proportion of H<NUM> to the total gas flow ranges from <NUM>% to <NUM>%, the proportion of Cl<NUM> to the total gas flow ranges from <NUM>% to <NUM>%, the cavity pressure is less than <NUM> mT, and the temperature of the cooling liquid ranges from <NUM> to <NUM> during the process. When the etching material is crystal LN or thin film LN, with unlimited patterns and appropriate parameters, the etching process can obtain an ideal morphology, a faster etching rate and a higher selection ratio to masks.

In this example as illustrated in <FIG>, the etching machine used in the etching process is an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etcher with a model number HAASRODE-E200. The used sample is LN crystal plate, the size is <NUM>*<NUM>, the film structure is <NUM> SiO/<NUM> Z-cut LN Sub, the SiO hard mask has completed the patterning process. The pattern is a line with a CD of approximately <NUM>.

The sample is transferred into the etcher chamber. Appropriate etching parameters are set, such as the upper radio frequency power is <NUM> w, the lower radio frequency power is <NUM> w, the cavity pressure is <NUM> mT, the process temperature is <NUM>, and the process ME time is <NUM> minutes; the mixed Cl<NUM>, H<NUM> and Ar are introduced and ignited by radio frequency to start etching.

The sample is transferred into the etcher chamber. Appropriate etching parameters are set, such as the upper radio frequency power is <NUM> w, the lower radio frequency power is <NUM> w, the cavity pressure is <NUM> mT, the process temperature is <NUM>, and the process ME time is <NUM> minutes; and the mixed Cl<NUM>, H<NUM> and Ar are introduced and ignited by radio frequency to start etching. After reaching the etching time, the etching is completed, and the etching time refers to the length of time required for the etching process. After the etching is completed, the sample is taken out and the etching morphology is checked using SEM cross-sectional photography.

With reference to <FIG>, according to the experimental results after etching, that is, ER=<NUM>/min, LN/SiO selection ratio is <NUM>, the steepness is approximately <NUM> degrees, the side wall is smooth, and the bottom is rough, which is brought by the pre-etching value, hence, it can be seen that in the traditional fluorine-based etched LN system, the obtained side wall steepness is approximately <NUM> degrees to <NUM> degrees; whereas in the system, the steepness on the side wall can be obtained greater than <NUM> degrees after etching LN.

In Example <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>, the etching machine used in the etching process is an inductively coupled plasma etcher with a model number HAASRODE-E200. The used sample is LN crystal plate, the size is <NUM>*<NUM>, the film structure is <NUM> PR/<NUM> Z-cut LN Sub, the pattern is a trench with a CD of approximately <NUM>.

The sample is transferred into the etcher chamber. Appropriate etching parameters are set, such as the upper radio frequency power is <NUM> w, the lower radio frequency power is <NUM> w, the cavity pressure is <NUM> mT, the process temperature is <NUM>, and the process ME time is 10minutes; and the mixed Cl<NUM>, H<NUM> and Ar are introduced and ignited by radio frequency to start etching. After the etching is completed, the sample is taken out and the etching morphology of the sample is checked using SEM cross-sectional photography.

ER=<NUM>/min, LN/PR selection ratio is <NUM>, the steepness is approximately <NUM> degrees, the side walls and the bottom are smooth. According to the experimental results of the above two examples, the selection ratio of lithium niobate to dielectric material or photoresist during etching is approximately <NUM>:<NUM>. In the traditional fluorine-based etched LN system, the obtained side wall steepness is approximately <NUM> degrees to <NUM> degrees; whereas in the system, the steepness on the side wall can be obtained greater than <NUM> degrees after etching LN. And the SiO mask and the PR mask are easy to enable the side wall to be smooth, the products in etching are more volatile compared with the traditional process, the deposition of the side wall is less, which is beneficial for obtaining the smooth side wall after etching.

Claim 1:
A method for dry-etching lithium niobate comprising:
Step <NUM>, putting patterned lithium niobate into an etching machine;
Step <NUM>, introducing a mixed etching gas of Cl<NUM>, H<NUM> and an inert gas into an etching cavity of the etching machine, and starting the etching machine by radio frequency ignition to start to etch; and
Step <NUM>, completing the etching after etching time is reached, wherein
the lithium niobate in Step <NUM> is a lithium niobate wafer serving as a material to be etched, or a wafer made from a lithium niobate thin film grown above a substrate, and the lithium niobate thin film serves as a material to be etched, and either
wherein a SiO thin film or SiN thin film or Si thin film is adopted as a mask material during dry-etching in the lithium niobate wafer or the wafer containing a lithium niobate thin film, the mask material has been patterned; the SiO thin film or SiN thin film or Si thin film is a hard mask; or wherein
a photoresist is adopted as a mask material during dry-etching in the lithium niobate wafer or the wafer containing a lithium niobate thin film, the mask material has been patterned.