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oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/2438662026-03-27T11:05:30Zcom_10217_100532com_10217_100000com_10217_100411com_10217_100303col_10217_100538col_10217_100415

Shaw, Denis M., author Collins, George, advisor 2026-03-26T18:34:01Z 2007 https://hdl.handle.net/10217/243866 https://doi.org/10.25675/3.026553 A new type of electron beam source employing ion-induced secondary electron emission from cold cathodes is developed for feature charge neutralization during plasma etching. A low pressure (approximately 2 – 20 mTorr) inductively coupled plasma provides ions which impinge on a high secondary electron emission coefficient anodized aluminum (Al2O3) cathode surface. A separate 13.56 MHz radio frequency bias voltage is applied to the cathode, which through the rectifying behavior of the plasma sheath provides the effective DC field for both ion impingement and electron beam acceleration. The electron beam energy spectra are measured at a location 14 cm from the cold cathode using a differentially pumped retarding potential analyzer. The measured electron beam energy spectra is related to the time varying cathode sheath potential provided by the rf bias using collisionless Child-Langmuir rf sheath model with good agreement. The electron beam source is installed on an inductively coupled plasma etcher in an attempt to increase etch pattern transfer fidelity in silicon oxide feature etching. When used during CF4 plasma etching of 0.45 pm diameter via holes, the electron beam is shown to reduce microtrenching as compared to standard ion-assisted etching, as verified with scanning electron microscopic photos. A simple electrostatic model is used to explain the etch profile improvement. doctoral dissertations English eng Colorado State University. Libraries 2000-2019 Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright. Per the terms of a contractual agreement, all use of this item is limited to the non-commercial use of Colorado State University and its authorized users. electrical engineering Radio frequency driven direct current electron beam source Text Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Doctoral Electrical and Computer Engineering Colorado State University This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). open.access