Wet etching of heat treated atomic layer chemical vapor deposited zirconium oxide in HF based solutions

Alternative materials are being considered to replace silicon dioxide as gate dielectric material. Of these, the oxides of hafnium and zirconium show the most promise. However, integrating these new high-k materials into the existing complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process remains a challenge. One particular area of concern is the wet etching of heat treated high-k dielectrics. In this paper, work done on the wet etching of heat treated atomic layer chemical vapor deposited (ALCVD) zirconium oxide in HF based solutions is presented. It was found that heat treated material, while refractory to wet etching at room temperature, is more amenable to etching at higher temperatures when methane sulfonic acid is added to dilute HF solutions. Selectivity over SiO₂ is still a concern.