3D Level Set Anysotropic Etching Profile Evolution Simulations  
 

Professor Branislav Radjenovic
Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences
Serbia
E-mail: bradjeno@vin.bg.ac.yu
 

Abstract: Level set method, introduced by Osher and Sethian , is a highly robust and accurate computational technique for tracking of moving interfaces in etching, deposition and photolithography processes. It originates from the idea to view the moving front as a particular level set of a higher dimensional function, so the topological merging and breaking, sharp gradients and cusps can form naturally, and the effects of curvature can be easily incorporated. The corresponding equations of motion for the propagating surfaces, which resemble Hamilton-Jacobi equations with parabolic right-hand sides, can be solved using methods for solving hyperbolic conservation laws, ensuring in that the way correct entropy-satisfying solution . In this lecture we describe an application of the sparse field method for solving level set equations in 3D plasma etching simulations. Also, some examples of the profile evolution during anisotropic wet etching of silicon with potassium hydroxide (KOH) etchant are presented.