Suppression of Microloading Effect by Low-Temperature SiO 2 Etching

The generation mechanism of the microloading effect in magnetron enhanced reactive ion etching (MERIE) and its suppression have been investigated. The suppression of damage to the substrate was achieved with fluorocarbon gases of high molecular weight in MERIE, however, strong microloading effect generation was observed. In this study, it was found that low-temperature etching is the most effective technique for reducing the microloading effect.