Optical method could improve semiconductor etching process

‘You can use light to image the topography and you can use light to sculpture the topography,’ said electrical and computer engineering professor Gabriel Popescu in a statement. ‘It could change the future of semiconductor etching.’



Chip makers and semiconductor researchers need to very precisely control the dimensions of their devices as the scope of the components affects performance, speed, error rate and time to failure.



Semiconductors are commonly shaped by etching with chemicals, but etching errors, such as residual layers, can affect the ability to further process and etch as well as hamper device performance. Consequently, researchers use time-consuming and costly processes to ensure precise etching that, for some applications, are accurate to within a few nanometres.



The Illinois team’s new technique can reportedly monitor a semiconductor’s surface as it is etched, in real time, with nanometre resolution. It uses a microscope that uses two beams of light to very precisely measure topography.