Study on the Etching Characteristics of Nitrogen-Doped Cobalt Silicide

• Main Authors: Yeong-Jyh Chen, 陳勇志
• Other Authors: C.Y. Kung
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2002
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/75712909554935478957

碩士 === 國立中興大學 === 電機工程學系 === 90 === A cantilever beam is widely employed in actuator device including support posts, hinges, and cantilevers (actuators). Hinge characteristics play an important role in actuator reliability and lifetime. In this study, nitrogen-doped cobalt silicide film deposited by reactive sputtering is developed as a cantilever beam hinge material. A detailed analysis of this film is reported. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) shows that the atomic ratio of cobalt to silicon in CoSixNy film remains unchanged with increasing nitrogen flow during deposition. Although the nitrogen concentration itself increases proportionally to nitrogen flow, its effect of on the hardness and elastic modulus of CoSixNy film is not significant. Both etch rate and selectivity can be improved by increasing substrate bias voltage and decreasing Cl2/BCl3 flow ratio. The selectivity obtained in this research is around 0.2. Since the thickness of CoSixNy film needed in MEMs device is very thin as compared with the device size, the low etching selectivity of the process developed in this research can be still very useful for making cantilever beam.