TSP 305 DRM Oxide

Tokyo Electron manufactures the TSP 305 DRM as an oxide etcher. The TSP 305 DRM is an oxide etch system. The TSP 305 DRM is grouped under the Etch category of process equipment.^[1][2]

Oxide etchers operate by generating a plasma in a low-pressure vacuum chamber. Process gases are ionized in the plasma to form reactive species that react with oxide material at the wafer surface. The reaction products are volatile and are pumped away, leaving a patterned dielectric profile.

Etch processing follows lithography, which defines a mask pattern, and precedes photoresist stripping and subsequent cleaning steps. In a typical dielectric etch sequence, an oxide etcher removes exposed oxide from areas not covered by the mask.

Dielectric etch steps are used to create contacts and vias through insulating layers and to define trench structures. The oxide etcher is one of several process tools in a wafer fabrication line that work together to build the layer stack of a semiconductor device.

Applications of oxide etchers include contact and via etching, interlayer dielectric patterning, and spacer etching in transistor structures. The tools process dielectric materials such as silicon dioxide and related oxide films.

An oxide etcher is also used to remove hardmask or sacrificial oxide layers during integration. The process recipe determines the etch rate, profile, and selectivity required by the device integration scheme.