Abstract: A dry etch process is described for selectively etching silicon nitride from conductive oxide material for use in a semiconductor fabrication process. Adding an oxidant in the etch gas mixture could increase the etch rate for the silicon nitride while reducing the etch rate for the conductive oxide, resulting in improving etch selectivity. The disclosed selective etch process is well suited for ferroelectric memory device fabrication using conductive oxide/ferroelectric interface having silicon nitride as the encapsulated material for the ferroelectric.

Abstract: A dry etch process is described for selectively etching silicon nitride from conductive oxide material for use in a semiconductor fabrication process. Adding an oxidant in the etch gas mixture could increase the etch rate for the silicon nitride while reducing the etch rate for the conductive oxide, resulting in improving etch selectivity. The disclosed selective etch process is well suited for ferroelectric memory device fabrication using conductive oxide/ferroelectric interface having silicon nitride as the encapsulated material for the ferroelectric.

Abstract: A method of low-temperature oxidation of a silicon substrate includes placing a silicon wafer in a vacuum chamber; maintaining the silicon wafer at a temperature of between about room temperature and 400° C.; introducing an oxidation gas in the vacuum chamber; dissociating the oxidation gas into O(1D) radical oxygen and irradiating the surface of the silicon wafer with a xenon excimer lamp generating light at a wavelength of about 172 nm to eject electrons from the surface of the silicon wafer and forming the reactive oxidizing species over the silicon wafer; and forming an oxide layer on at least a portion of the silicon wafer.