One-Step Etching Characteristics of ITO/Ag/ITO Multilayered Electrode in High-Density and High-Electron-Temperature Plasma

Abstract

This paper presents the dry etching characteristics of indium tin oxide (ITO)/Ag/ITO multilayered thin film, used as a pixel electrode in a high-resolution active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) device. Dry etching was performed using a combination of H2 and HCl gases in a reactive ion etching system with a remote electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source, in order to achieve high electron temperature. The effect of the gas ratio (H2/HCl) was closely observed, in order to achieve an optimal etch profile and an effective etch process, while other parameters—such as the radio frequency (RF) power, ECR power, chamber pressure, and temperature—were fixed. The optimized process, with an appropriate gas ratio, constitutes a one-step serial dry etch solution for ITO and Ag multilayered thin films.