Atomic Layer Etching as a Scaling Enabler: From Isotropic Chemistry to Selective, Directional, and Geometry-Driven Patterning

Continued scaling in semiconductor manufacturing increasingly relies on atomic-scale control of etching for complex 3D material stacks, making patterning precision a growing industrial bottleneck. Atomic layer etching (ALE) has emerged as a key enabler, with plasma-driven anisotropy and surface-chemistry control allowing improved selectivity and profile fidelity for advanced logic and memory…