25 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
25 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Atomic layer etching"
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chunk: 1/1
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source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_layer_etching"
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category: "reference"
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tags: "science, encyclopedia"
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date_saved: "2026-05-05T10:46:01.933848+00:00"
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instance: "kb-cron"
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---
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Atomic layer etching (ALE) is an emerging technique in semiconductor manufacture, in which a sequence alternating between self-limiting chemical modification steps which affect only the top atomic layers of the wafer, and etching steps which remove only the chemically-modified areas, allows the removal of individual atomic layers. The standard example is etching of silicon by alternating reaction with chlorine and etching with argon ions.
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This is a better-controlled process than reactive ion etching, though the issue with commercial use of it has been throughput; sophisticated gas handling is required, and removal rates of one atomic layer per second are around the state of the art.
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The equivalent process for depositing material is atomic layer deposition (ALD). ALD is substantially more mature, having been used by Intel for high-κ dielectric layers since 2007 and in Finland in the fabrication of thin film electroluminescent devices since 1985.
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== See also ==
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Single layer etching
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== References ==
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== External links ==
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ECS-JSS focus journal on atomic layer etch
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Overview of atomic layer etching in the semiconductor industry |