FIG. 2D is a cross-sectional view of semiconductor device 200 following etching of substrate 102 and removal of trench etch mask 108 in accordance with some embodiments. The portions of substrate 102 exposed by trench etch mask 108 are etched to form one or more trenches 110, 110′. In some embodiments, substrate 102 is etched using plasma etching (PE) or reactive ion etching (RIE). In some embodiments, the trench etch mask 108 remains on substrate 102 (not shown) through additional processing steps until removed during a subsequent CMP process. In some embodiments, one or more cleaning steps follow the formation of trenches 110, 110′ in substrate 102.
Semiconductor device 200 includes two trenches. In some embodiments, the number of trenches is more than two.
