rr Ga2O3 RF - MOSFET Recessed Gate Process Flow

SOG Blanket doping for SD ohmic contact (For EPI structure without ohmic cap layer
only)
(Take SOG out of the refrigerator, let it warm up to room temperature before using for
good coating reproducibility.)
1. Clean wafer with A/I/D, standard cleaning process.
115 ºC dehydration 4 mins.

2. Dispense enough SOG to coat ~80% of the wafer.

SOG -3500 rpm/ 30s (Thickness= 160 nm), wait 1 min.
Bake at 200 °C for 5 minutes on hot plate.
Start from cold plate, ramp up temperature slowly.
Bake at 250 °C for 30 mins (pre-baking, remove water).

3. Drive in diffusion:
RTA – 1100 °C for 5 mins in strict N2 ambient.
Ramp up rate 50 °C/sec, same down rate.

4. Immerse sample in HF solution for 10 mins to strip SOG

Cr/Au Markers for alignment (both global and chip marks)

1. Standard cleaning process with A/I/D followed by dehydration @ 115 ℃

2. Resists: (thick PMMA to sustain UV ozone clean)

PMMA 950 A8 – 4000 RPM – 180 ℃ - 150 s

3. Exposure & development:

910 μC/cm2 – 30 sec development in MIBK:IPA (1:3) – (base dose with PEC)
850 nm step
15+ min UV ozone cleaning to remove residue

4. Metal deposition & liftoff

Cr/Au – 50/100

Device Isolation (Day 2) (Alignment 1)

1. Standard cleaning and dehydration

2. Resist:
HSQ 2500 RPM/1500 RPMS / 45 s (430 nm), 120 ℃ for 120 s

3. Exposure: (Exposed area protected)

3000 µC/cm2
 4. Development
4 min in 1% NaOH + 4% NaCl at room temperature followed by rinse in flowing DI
water to reduce residue

5. Curing
Post development bake @ 350 ℃ for 10 mins.

6. Isolation etch
RIE – BCl3/Ar (35/5) –25 mT – Bias 100 W – ICP 500 W – Temp 20 ℃ - 4 min 50 sec
(In steps of 90 s + 90 s + 90 s + 30 s)
Monitor the color of HSQ mask. Blue color indicates the thickness close to 100 nm.

7. HSQ stripping
HF (1:6 BOE) dip for 2 mins followed by DI rinse.

Source/Drain Metallization (Alignment 2):

1. Standard cleaning process with A/I/D followed by dehydration @ 115 ℃

2. Resists: (thick PMMA to sustain UV ozone clean)

PMMA 950 A8 – 4000 RPM – 180 ℃ - 150 s

3. Exposure & development:

910 μC/cm2 – 30 sec development in MIBK:IPA (1:3) – (base dose with PEC)
850 nm step
15+ min UV ozone cleaning to remove residue

4. Contact:
Ti/Au (50/120) @ 0.7 Å/s

5. Lift-off:
Immerse in Acetone @ 65 ℃ for at least 4 hours. Gentle sonication in fresh acetone
followed by IPA/DI clean and N2 blow dry to complete lift-off.

6. Contact RTA:
520 ℃ - 1 min in N2 ambient.

Gate Recess Etch (Alignment 3): 3 runs

1. Standard cleaning and dehydration

2. UV Ozone clean for 15 mins

3. Resist: (chemically amplified ZEP 520 for enhanced etch resistance)

ZEP520A (undiluted/100%) – 3000 RPM/1500 RPM per s / 60 sec (~500 nm), 180 ℃
180 sec

4. Exposure:
Dose – 220 µC/cm2 @ 100 kV (base dose with PEC)
 5. Development:
2 min in Amyl Acetate followed by rinse in IPA
N2 blow dry

6. Recess Etch:
RIE – BCl3/Ar (35/5) –25 mT – Bias 100 W – ICP 500 W – Temp 20 ℃ - 1 min
(Expected etch in Ga2O3 – 60 nm, expected etch in ZEP – 250 nm)

7. Stripping:
Immerse in 1165 remover @ 80 ℃ (~ 15 min) followed by clean in AID

Check device Isolation quality by I-V measurement and send the device for oxide
deposition
(20 nm ALD SiO2)

Oxide Anneal - 450 ℃ - 1 min in N2 ambient to improve oxide and interface quality

Source/Drain oxide etching (Day 4) (Alignment 3)

1. Standard cleaning and dehydration

2. Resist:
PMMA 950 A4 – 4000 RPM / 2000 RPM per s / 50 s (250 nm), 180 ℃ 150 s

3. Exposure:
Dose – 670 μC/cm2 @ 100 kV (base dose with PEC)

4. Development:
45 s in MIBK:IPA (1:3) followed by rinse in IPA
N2 blow dry

5. Oxide Etching
CF4/O2 (15/5) – 10 mT – Bias 20 W – ICP 50 W – Temp 20 ℃ - 2 min

6. Stripping:
Immerse sample in acetone at 65 ℃ for at least 1 hour.

Gatepad metallization (Day 5) (Alignment 4)

1. Standard cleaning and dehydration

2. Resists: (thick PMMA to sustain UV ozone clean)

PMMA 950 A8 – 4000 RPM – 180 ℃ - 150 s
 3. Exposure & development:
910 μC/cm2 – 30 sec development in MIBK:IPA (1:3) – (base dose with PEC)
850 nm step
15+ min UV ozone cleaning to remove residue

4. Contact:
Ti/Au (50/120) @ 0.7 Å/s

5. Lift-off:
Immerse in Acetone @ 65 ℃ for at least 4 hours. Gentle sonication in fresh acetone
followed by IPA/DI clean and N2 blow dry to complete lift-off.

Gate Metallization (Day 6) (Alignment 5)

1. Standard cleaning and dehydration

2. Resist:
PMMA 950 A2 – 2500 RPM / 2500 RPM per s / 40 s (95 nm), 180 ℃ 150 s
PMMA 950 A2 – 4000 RPM, 180 ℃ 150 s (200 nm)
EL9 – 2500 RPM / 2500 RPM per s / 40 s (380 nm), 180 ℃ 150 s
EL11 – 2500 RPM / 2500 RPM per s / 40 s (600 nm), 180 ℃ 150 s

3. Exposure:
Dose – 1000 µC/cm2 @ 100 kV (center dose) (No PEC)
250 μC/cm2 @ 100 kV (side dose) (No PEC)

4. Development:
20 sec in Methanol : IPA (1:1) followed by IPA – (EL-9 selective development)
30 sec in MIBK : IPA (1:3) followed by IPA – (PMMA selective development)
N2 blow dry.

5. Metal deposition:
Ti/Al/Au (30/100/70) @ 0.5 Å/s

6. Liftoff in acetone @ 65 ℃ overnight.