Atomic layer etch systems for selectively etching with halogen-based compounds

Abstract

A substrate processing system includes a processing chamber, a substrate support, a heat source, a gas delivery system and a controller. The substrate support is disposed in the processing chamber and supports a substrate. The heat source heats the substrate. The gas delivery system supplies a process gas to the processing chamber. The controller controls the gas delivery system and the heat source to iteratively perform an isotropic atomic layer etch process including: during an iteration of the isotropic atomic layer etch process, performing pretreatment, atomistic adsorption, and pulsed thermal annealing; during the atomistic adsorption, exposing a surface of the substrate to the process gas including a halogen species that is selectively adsorbed onto an exposed material of the substrate to form a modified material; and during the pulsed thermal annealing, pulsing the heat source multiple times within a predetermined period to expose and remove the modified material.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.