SBIR Phase I: Integrated Gas Phase - Surface Reaction Simulator for Plasma Etch and Chemical Vapor Deposition Process Development

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop state-of-the-art computational models to accurately simulate the next generation of plasma-etch tools for SiO2 and low-k dielectric materials. Modeling tools necessary to address these challenges are not currently available, and will be developed by two companies specializing in chamber scale multi-dimensional and surface reaction chemistry simulations. The Phase I effort will focus on plasma sheath model (unified plasma sheath model of Riley/Bose) implementation, software integration and development of new ion assisted reaction formalism. Feasibility of the proposed integrated simulator will be demonstrated utilizing simple C2F6 plasma mechanism of CFDRC and complex C2F6 plasma etch mechanism developed by SEMATECH. The commercial availability of the proposed capability will allow process engineers to design better processes and identify equipment/process deficiencies before they are performed on a R&D or production scale. Implementation of the proposed computational innovation will produce major impact on technology readiness, and affordability through better process chamber designs and higher throughput