Process Optimization and Characterization of Tight Pitch Dielectric Etch for CFET MOL Integration
Master projects/internships - Leuven | Just now
Advanced Dielectric Etch Strategies for CFET MOL at Tight Pitch Nodes
Summary of Research Project:
As the semiconductor industry moves beyond FinFETs toward Complementary FETs (CFETs) to enable continued transistor scaling, the Middle of Line (MOL) interconnect region faces new challenges. CFET requires tight-pitch dielectric etching to integrate vias and contacts in vertically stacked N/P devices. The project aims to investigate and optimize dielectric etch processes for ≤50nm pitch CFET middle-of-line (MOL) integration.
The reliability and performance of CFET devices depend on the etch process quality in these dense regions, especially:
- Minimizing etch-induced damage to underlying or adjacent features.
- Maintaining critical dimension (CD) control and profile control.
- Achieving high anisotropy with low line edge roughness (LER).
- Etch process selectivity to hardmask and spacer material etc.
The intern will work on:
- CFET MOL dielectric etch process development at pitch 60nm and 50nm – Dep/Etch cyclic etch process vs. QALE (quasi atomic layer etching).
- Understanding and compare etching process challenges for two different pitch – 60nm vs. 50nm (or even smaller, for example 42nm).
- Investigating hardmask and spacer strategies to enable tight pitch fidelity.
- Evaluating plasma etch chemistries (e.g., fluorocarbon-based, H2/N2-based) for high anisotropy and selectivity.
- Evalutaing low temperature (cryo) plasma etch benefit compared to conventional etch process.
- Studying etch-induced damage and its impact on downstream metallization.
- Using SEM/CD-SEM and TEM analysis to assess profile, CD, and etch residue.
Type of Project: Combination of internship and thesis
Master's degree: Master of Science; Master of Engineering Science
Master program: Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Materials Engineering; Nanoscience & Nanotechnology; Physics
Duration: 1 year
For more information or application, please contact the supervising scientist Tanushree Sarkar (tanushree.sarkar@imec.be).
