Electronic Specialty Gases & Systems Conference (ESGS) 2026

Over the past decade, the semiconductor industry has achieved remarkable advances in dry etch capability largely through the continuous innovation of etch tool hardware. These tool-driven innovations have been instrumental in pushing device scaling. However, hardware innovation alone can no longer deliver the breakthroughs required. The next step-change in etch performance must come from the chemistry side.

New-generation etch gases are needed to create value across multiple dimensions. From a process standpoint, etching is a critical technology enabler for next-generation memory devices, where the ability to achieve precise, damage-free high-aspect-ratio features is becoming the key differentiator. Beyond process performance, the industry faces an equally urgent imperative to reduce the environmental footprint of fab operations. Fluorinated carbon etch gases represent a significant and addressable source of greenhouse gas emissions. Future etchants must therefore be designed with sustainability at their core, combining high plasma reactivity with excellent abatability and minimal equivalent CO₂ output per wafer.

This session will examine the process performance and sustainability characteristics of several new etch gases covering different applications such as back-end dielectrics and TSV etching. Methods and tools for evaluating new molecules, along with the many dimensions of performance that a new material must meet will be reviewed to understand the challenges and opportunities that new chemistries bring to dry etching.