Characterization of thin oxide damage during aluminum etching and photoresist ashing processes

Plasma-induced damage can be simulated and modeled as damage produced by constant voltage electrical stress. The voltage produced by plasma process increases with the `antenna´ size of the device structure. Photoresist ashing is capable of degrading oxide integrity even more rapidly than Al etching. However, the stress voltage produced during ashing exhibits a large spread and is randomly distributed across the wafer. CV measurement is shown to be a more sensitive technique for characterizing plasma-etching induced damage than oxide breakdown