In the manufacturing of integrated circuits, etching and deposition processes with and without plasma are widely used. Except for physical processes such as Physical Vapor Deposition and Ion Beam Etching, these processes leverage the adsorption of reactive neutrals to enable chemical reactions at the wafer surface.

In this paper, we will investigate the fundamentals and applicability of low temperatures to stimulate physisorption of neutrals. Among the points of interest for this approach are the use of less reactive gases, higher fluxes to the surface, new transport mechanisms into high aspect ratio features, and 3D effects thanks to condensation in small features.

We will discuss temperature and pressure ranges for relevant material and pre-cursor gas combinations and means to initiate the deposition and etching reactions. An overview of experimental results from our research and the literature will be presented.