Dry Etching Techniques

This lecture covers various dry etching techniques used in semiconductor processing, starting from the barrel reactor developed in the late 1960s to modern plasma sources like inductively coupled plasma (ICP), electron cyclotron resonance (ECR), and helicon sources. It explains the principles behind each technique, such as the use of oxygen plasma for photoresist removal, chemical downstream reactors for critical etching processes, and the importance of ion bombardment in accelerating the etch rate. The limitations of diode reactors are discussed, along with solutions to control ion energy and flux. Newer reactors developed in the early 1990s are also introduced, highlighting their advantages in reducing ion-induced damage and improving layer-to-mask selectivity.