Reactive ion etching of tin oxide films using silicon tetrachloride reactant gas

#This invention relates to the etching of tin oxide coatings. More specifically, it relates to reactive ion etching of very high resolution patterns in thin films of tin oxide.

#Liquid phase, i.e., wet, chemical etching is a typical technique for delineating patterns in blanket coatings. However, where higher resolution patterns are involved, gas phase chemical etching has become of greater interest. Gas phase chemical etching can be accelerated by forming a plasma of the reactant gas at low pressure. However, techniques such as the latter still involve etching by chemical reaction. In addition, if the by-products of the chemical reaction are not volatile under the low pressure conditions, a second etching step may be required to remove them. In some instances one may even need to repeat the first and second steps a multiplicity of times to etch completely through a coating.

#Tin oxide is a difficult material to etch. It is resistant to attack by many liquid chemicals, requiring special procedures to etch it. For example, one can etch it with nascent hydrogen that is produced by dissolution of zinc in hydrochloric acid. In such a technique the nascent hydrogen reduces the tin oxide to free tin, which is then removed by reaction with additional hydrochloric acid that is not reacted with the zinc. Such an etching procedure does not produce good resolution and is difficult to control. Electrochemical etching, using a platinum counter-electrode and a hydrochloric acid electrolyte, is generally unsatisfactory in that it has a tendency to leave unetched patches. Sputter etching is not an acceptable alternative because of non-selectivity and low etch rates.