Gas-assisted etch with oxygen
AssigneeAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc.
InventorsRosalinda M. Ring, Susan Xia Li, Richard Blish, II
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Gas-assisted etching (GAE) for integrated circuit dies is enhanced via a method and system that enable halide-assisted etching of dies having copper material. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, an integrated circuit die having copper is etched using a focused ion beam (FIB) and a halide etch gas, such as chlorine. A selected amount of oxygen-containing gas is supplied to the die to react with the halide and prevent the corrosion of exposed copper material in the die. In this manner, the benefits of halide-assisted etching are realized while inhibiting the corrosion of copper that typically occurs with integrated circuit dies having copper material.
Claims14
A method for focused ion beam (FIB) gas-assisted etching (GAE) of an integrated circuit die having copper the method comprising:
- supplying etch gas, including a halide gas, to the die;
- etching a selected portion of the die using the etch gas and an ion beam directed at the selected portion;
- and
- while etching the die, supplying sufficient oxygen-containing gas to the die to inhibit corrosion of a portion of the copper in the die being exposed to the etch gas.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.