Ar ion beam and CCl4 reactive ion etching: A comparison of etching damage and of damage passivation by hydrogen

Abstract

Damage produced in single-crystal silicon by two distinctly different dry etching techniques, Ar ion beam etching and CCl4 reactive ion etching is characterized and compared using spectroscopic ellipsometry, reflected high- energy electron diffraction, and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of Au contacts to the etched Si. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy is also used to further characterize the CCl4 exposed samples. The effectiveness of low-energy hydrogen ion implants in passivating this dry etching induced damage is explored. The restoration of I-V characteristics caused by H+ implants is correlated with the evolution of the spectroscopic ellipsometry, reflected high- energy electron diffraction, and secondary ion mass spectroscopy data.