Utilization of ß-Diketones for Etching and Cleaning of Metal Oxide and Sulfide Thin Films

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe are examining dry processes for wafer cleaning and producing patterned thin films of metal oxides. This research focuses on determining the kinetics and mechanism of the reaction between ß-diketones and selected metal oxides. Preliminary experiments indicated that CuO, MgO, PbO and ZnO all react readily with 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoroacetylacetone (hfacH). Thin films of CuO and MgO were fabricated via pulsed laser deposition, characterized by various analytical techniques such as Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry and Scanning Electron Microscopy, etched using hfacH, and then further characterized. Etching rates for CuO and MgO were measured in order to develop a mechanistic understanding of the reaction.