US20050277289A1 - Line edge roughness reduction for trench etch - Google Patents
Line edge roughness reduction for trench etch Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20050277289A1 US20050277289A1 US11/205,372 US20537205A US2005277289A1 US 20050277289 A1 US20050277289 A1 US 20050277289A1 US 20537205 A US20537205 A US 20537205A US 2005277289 A1 US2005277289 A1 US 2005277289A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- computer readable
- recited
- readable code
- electrode
- providing
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 22
- 238000005530 etching Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 19
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 claims description 19
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 claims description 7
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000001105 regulatory effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 229920002120 photoresistant polymer Polymers 0.000 abstract description 89
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 abstract description 24
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 description 55
- 239000006117 anti-reflective coating Substances 0.000 description 30
- 229920000642 polymer Polymers 0.000 description 23
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 15
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 14
- 229910052814 silicon oxide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 12
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicium dioxide Chemical compound O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 8
- 238000004380 ashing Methods 0.000 description 6
- 230000015654 memory Effects 0.000 description 6
- YCKRFDGAMUMZLT-UHFFFAOYSA-N Fluorine atom Chemical compound [F] YCKRFDGAMUMZLT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 5
- 238000000151 deposition Methods 0.000 description 5
- 230000008021 deposition Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000010494 dissociation reaction Methods 0.000 description 5
- 230000005593 dissociations Effects 0.000 description 5
- 229910052731 fluorine Inorganic materials 0.000 description 5
- 239000011737 fluorine Substances 0.000 description 5
- 230000004888 barrier function Effects 0.000 description 4
- 238000001459 lithography Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 4
- OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N Carbon Chemical compound [C] OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- XPDWGBQVDMORPB-UHFFFAOYSA-N Fluoroform Chemical compound FC(F)F XPDWGBQVDMORPB-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 241000699666 Mus <mouse, genus> Species 0.000 description 3
- 229910052581 Si3N4 Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 229910052799 carbon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- RWRIWBAIICGTTQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N difluoromethane Chemical compound FCF RWRIWBAIICGTTQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 230000009977 dual effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- NBVXSUQYWXRMNV-UHFFFAOYSA-N fluoromethane Chemical compound FC NBVXSUQYWXRMNV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 238000006116 polymerization reaction Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000007788 roughening Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 description 3
- HQVNEWCFYHHQES-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon nitride Chemical compound N12[Si]34N5[Si]62N3[Si]51N64 HQVNEWCFYHHQES-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000004075 alteration Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000009792 diffusion process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000000059 patterning Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000001681 protective effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000012935 Averaging Methods 0.000 description 1
- 241000699670 Mus sp. Species 0.000 description 1
- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- BOTDANWDWHJENH-UHFFFAOYSA-N Tetraethyl orthosilicate Chemical compound CCO[Si](OCC)(OCC)OCC BOTDANWDWHJENH-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000012159 carrier gas Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000006243 chemical reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000013500 data storage Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000032798 delamination Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003628 erosive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 125000000219 ethylidene group Chemical group [H]C(=[*])C([H])([H])[H] 0.000 description 1
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000010354 integration Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000001465 metallisation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000010363 phase shift Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005498 polishing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001902 propagating effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000376 reactant Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000000717 retained effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229930195734 saturated hydrocarbon Natural products 0.000 description 1
- 230000035945 sensitivity Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
- H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
- H01J37/32009—Arrangements for generation of plasma specially adapted for examination or treatment of objects, e.g. plasma sources
- H01J37/32082—Radio frequency generated discharge
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
- H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
- H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
- H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
- H01L21/3205—Deposition of non-insulating-, e.g. conductive- or resistive-, layers on insulating layers; After-treatment of these layers
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
- H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
- H01L21/28—Manufacture of electrodes on semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/268
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
- H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
- H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
- H01L21/302—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to change their surface-physical characteristics or shape, e.g. etching, polishing, cutting
- H01L21/306—Chemical or electrical treatment, e.g. electrolytic etching
- H01L21/3065—Plasma etching; Reactive-ion etching
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
- H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
- H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
- H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
- H01L21/3105—After-treatment
- H01L21/311—Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means
- H01L21/31105—Etching inorganic layers
- H01L21/31111—Etching inorganic layers by chemical means
- H01L21/31116—Etching inorganic layers by chemical means by dry-etching
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
- H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
- H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
- H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
- H01L21/3105—After-treatment
- H01L21/311—Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means
- H01L21/31127—Etching organic layers
- H01L21/31133—Etching organic layers by chemical means
- H01L21/31138—Etching organic layers by chemical means by dry-etching
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
- H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
- H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
- H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
- H01L21/3105—After-treatment
- H01L21/311—Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means
- H01L21/31144—Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means using masks
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/70—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components formed in or on a common substrate or of parts thereof; Manufacture of integrated circuit devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/71—Manufacture of specific parts of devices defined in group H01L21/70
- H01L21/768—Applying interconnections to be used for carrying current between separate components within a device comprising conductors and dielectrics
- H01L21/76801—Applying interconnections to be used for carrying current between separate components within a device comprising conductors and dielectrics characterised by the formation and the after-treatment of the dielectrics, e.g. smoothing
- H01L21/76802—Applying interconnections to be used for carrying current between separate components within a device comprising conductors and dielectrics characterised by the formation and the after-treatment of the dielectrics, e.g. smoothing by forming openings in dielectrics
Definitions
- the invention relates to a method providing improved line edge for a trench etch for Single and Dual Damascene metal integration.
- the present invention relates to the formation of semiconductor devices.
- a photoresist (PR) material is deposited on the wafer and then is exposed to light filtered by a reticle.
- the reticle is generally a glass plate that is patterned with exemplary feature geometries that block light from propagating through the reticle.
- the light After passing through the reticle, the light contacts the surface of the photoresist material.
- the light changes the chemical composition of the photoresist material such that a developer can remove a portion of the photoresist material.
- the exposed regions are removed, and in the case of negative photoresist materials, the unexposed regions are removed.
- the wafer is etched to remove the underlying material from the areas that are no longer protected by the photoresist material, and thereby define the desired features in the wafer.
- FIG. 1A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a layer 108 over a substrate 104 , with a patterned photoresist layer 112 , over an ARC (Anti-reflective coating) 110 over the layer 108 to be etched forming a stack 100 .
- the photoresist pattern has a critical dimension (CD), which may be the width 116 of the smallest feature.
- CD critical dimension
- a typical CD for the photoresist may be 230-250 nm using conventional processes. Due to optical properties dependent on wavelength, photoresist exposed by longer wavelength light has larger theoretical minimal critical dimensions.
- a trench 120 may then be etched through the photoresist pattern, as shown in FIG. 1B .
- features formed using shorter wavelength light are being pursued.
- 193 nm photoresist is exposed by 193 nm light.
- a 90-100 nm CD photoresist pattern may be formed, using 193 nm photoresist. This would be able to provide a feature with a CD of 90-100 nm.
- a wide trench is etched partially or fully through the dielectric (an M1 etch) to form connecting lines.
- a narrower via is subsequently etched completely through a dielectric layer to form a contact.
- a method for etching a trench to a trench depth in a dielectric layer over a substrate is provided.
- An ARC is applied over the dielectric layer.
- a photoresist mask is formed on the ARC, where the photoresist mask has a thickness.
- the ARC is etched through.
- a trench is etched into the dielectric layer with a dielectric to photoresist etch selectivity between 1:1 and 2:1.
- a method for etching a trench to a trench depth in a dielectric layer over a substrate is provided.
- An ARC is applied on the dielectric layer.
- a sensitive photoresist mask is formed on the ARC, with a thickness between about 2000 ⁇ and 4000 ⁇ .
- the ARC is etched through.
- a trench is etched into the dielectric layer with a clean etch.
- a plasma processing chamber comprises a chamber wall forming a plasma processing chamber enclosure, a substrate support for supporting a substrate within the plasma processing chamber enclosure, a pressure regulator for regulating the pressure in the plasma processing chamber enclosure, an electrode placed opposite from and spaced apart from the substrate support, a heater connected to the electrode for heating the electrode, a gas inlet for providing gas into the plasma processing chamber enclosure, and a gas outlet for exhausting gas from the plasma processing chamber enclosure.
- a gas source is in fluid connection with the gas inlet.
- a controller is controllably connected to at least one of the gas source the electrode, the heater, the pressure regulator, the gas inlet, and the gas outlet.
- FIGS. 1A and 1B are cross sectional views of a trench etched into a dielectric layer according to the prior art.
- FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a process used in an embodiment of the invention.
- FIGS. 3A-3C are cross-sectional views of a trench etched according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIGS. 4 A-B are schematic illustrations of top views of etched trenches.
- FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a process chamber that may be used in a preferred embodiment of the invention.
- FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a computer system, which is suitable for implementing a controller.
- FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a process of forming a trench in a dielectric according to the invention.
- An ARC Anti-Reflective Coating
- FIG. 3A is an illustration of a cross-sectional view of a dielectric layer 308 over a substrate 304 .
- An ARC 310 is provided on the dielectric layer 308 , as shown.
- the ARC 310 may be an organic or inorganic ARC.
- the dielectric layer is a trench dielectric layer, in which a dual damascene trench is etched. Such a dielectric layer is not a hard mask layer.
- a sensitive trench photoresist mask 312 is formed on the ARC 310 (step 208 ).
- a sensitive trench photoresist mask is a thin mask.
- the thin sensitive trench photoresist mask is between 2000 ⁇ and 4000 ⁇ . In a more preferred embodiment, the thin sensitive trench photoresist mask is between 2500 ⁇ and 3000 ⁇ .
- Sensitive photoresist materials are materials that are easily etched. Thin 193 nm photoresist and newer generation photoresist are considered sensitive photoresist materials.
- the trench pattern 314 has a width 316 , as indicated.
- the photoresist has a thickness 318 , as indicated.
- a sensitive trench photoresist mask provides such a thin mask of sensitive photoresist material, that without some added protection the trench etch would etch away the sensitive trench photoresist mask before the trench is etched to the desired depth.
- the ARC 310 is opened (step 212 ).
- a conventional ARC opening step may be used.
- FIG. 3B is an illustration of a cross-sectional view of the dielectric layer 308 over the substrate 304 after the ARC 310 has been opened.
- a trench is then etched into the dielectric layer with a clean etch (step 216 ).
- a clean etch heavy polymer forming gases make up less than 5% of the etchant gas, including any carrier gas.
- a clean etch most preferably would be a low polymerization process like one containing CF 4 or C 2 F 6 as a principle gas.
- Other preferred embodiments may have NF 3 or SF 6 as principle component gases because of the high dissociation rate of Fluorine with these gases. Less preferred embodiments would be gases with a higher level of Carbon which presumably would decompose to molecules like CFx, which can bond with similar and form into longer MER chains.
- the trench etch has a low selectivity. More preferably, the trench etch selectivity of dielectric to photoresist of between about 1:1 and 2:1, where an etch selectivity of dielectric to photoresist of 2:1, means that the dielectric layer is etched twice as fast as the photoresist.
- FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view of the dielectric layer 308 after the trench 324 has been etched. In the preferred embodiment, the trench is etched to a depth of between about 200 and 400 nm.
- the photoresist is sensitive to an aggressive etch.
- Photoresist that is sensitive to an aggressive etch is photoresist that is etched as quickly by an aggressive etch as the dielectric layer, so that there is a low etch selectivity.
- FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a process chamber 500 that may be used in the preferred embodiment of the invention.
- the plasma processing chamber 500 comprises confinement rings 502 , an upper electrode 504 , a lower electrode 508 , a gas source 510 , and an exhaust pump 520 .
- the substrate wafer 304 is positioned upon the lower electrode 508 .
- the lower electrode 508 incorporates a suitable substrate chucking mechanism (e.g., electrostatic, mechanical clamping, or the like) for supporting the substrate wafer 304 .
- the reactor top 528 incorporates the upper electrode 504 disposed immediately opposite the lower electrode 508 .
- the upper electrode 504 , lower electrode 508 , and confinement rings 502 define the confined plasma volume 540 .
- Gas is supplied to the confined plasma volume by gas source 510 through a gas inlet 543 and is exhausted from the confined plasma volume through the confinement rings 502 and an exhaust port by the exhaust pump 520 .
- the exhaust pump 520 forms a gas outlet for the plasma processing chamber.
- a first RF source 544 is electrically connected to the upper electrode 504 .
- a second RF source 548 is electrically connected to the lower electrode 508 .
- Chamber walls 552 define a plasma enclosure in which the confinement rings 502 , the upper electrode 504 , and the lower electrode 508 are disposed.
- the second RF source 548 may comprise a 27 MHz power source and a 2 MHz power source, while the upper electrode 504 is grounded. Different combinations of connecting RF power to the electrodes are possible.
- a heater 545 is connected to the upper electrode and is able to heat the upper electrode.
- a controller 535 is controllably connected to the first RF source 544 , the second RF source 548 , the exhaust pump 520 , the heater 545 and the gas source 510 .
- a showerhead may be connected to the gas inlet 543 .
- the gas inlet 543 may be a single inlet for each gas source or a different inlet for each gas source or a plurality of inlets for each gas source or other possible combinations.
- FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a computer system 800 , which is suitable for implementing a controller 535 used in embodiments of the present invention.
- FIG. 6A shows one possible physical form of the computer system.
- the computer system may have many physical forms ranging from an integrated circuit, a printed circuit board, and a small handheld device up to a huge super computer.
- Computer system 800 includes a monitor 802 , a display 804 , a housing 806 , a disk drive 808 , a keyboard 810 , and a mouse 812 .
- Disk 814 is a computer-readable medium used to transfer data to and from computer system 800 .
- FIG. 6B is an example of a block diagram for computer system 800 .
- Attached to system bus 820 is a wide variety of subsystems.
- Processor(s) 822 also referred to as central processing units or CPUs
- Memory 824 includes random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM).
- RAM random access memory
- ROM read-only memory
- RAM random access memory
- ROM read-only memory
- RAM random access memory
- ROM read-only memory
- a fixed disk 826 is also coupled bi-directionally to CPU 822 ; it provides additional data storage capacity and may also include any of the computer-readable media described below.
- Fixed disk 826 may be used to store programs, data, and the like and is typically a secondary storage medium (such as a hard disk) that is slower than primary storage. It will be appreciated that the information retained within fixed disk 826 may, in appropriate cases, be incorporated in standard fashion as virtual memory in memory 824 .
- Removable disk 814 may take the form of any of the computer-readable media described below.
- CPU 822 is also coupled to a variety of input/output devices, such as display 804 , keyboard 810 , mouse 812 and speakers 830 .
- an input/output device may be any of: video displays, track balls, mice, keyboards, microphones, touch-sensitive displays, transducer card readers, magnetic or paper tape readers, tablets, styluses, voice or handwriting recognizers, biometrics readers, or other computers.
- CPU 822 optionally may be coupled to another computer or telecommunications network using network interface 840 . With such a network interface, it is contemplated that the CPU might receive information from the network, or might output information to the network in the course of performing the above-described method steps.
- method embodiments of the present invention may execute solely upon CPU 822 or may execute over a network such as the Internet in conjunction with a remote CPU that shares a portion of the processing.
- embodiments of the present invention further relate to computer storage products with a computer-readable medium that have computer code thereon for performing various computer-implemented operations.
- the media and computer code may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts.
- Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to: magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and holographic devices; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and execute program code, such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs) and ROM and RAM devices.
- ASICs application-specific integrated circuits
- PLDs programmable logic devices
- Computer code examples include machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that are executed by a computer using an interpreter.
- Computer readable media may also be computer code transmitted by a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing a sequence of instructions that are executable by a processor.
- FIG. 4A is a schematic top view of a trench 404 etched into a dielectric layer 408 .
- the walls 412 of the trench exhibit substantial line edge roughness.
- FIG. 4B is a schematic top view of a trench 424 etched into a dielectric layer 428 .
- the walls 432 of the trench 424 exhibit less line edge roughness.
- line edge roughness may be quantified by measuring the width of the trench at a series of locations and averaging the variation over an interval, which is at least four times as long as the feature is wide.
- a Hitachi CD SEM measures 32 points over a 1 um box to measure line edge roughness.
- An Applied Materials NanoSEM measures 60 points over a 2 um rectangle. Calvin's paper showed no advantage to going above 2 um for small features but, some sensitivity was lost if you went below a 2 um box.
- An approach to reduce line-edge roughness is to provide an etch with a dielectric to photoresist etch that is more selective than 4:1 by providing a heavy polymer forming gas.
- Such heavy polymer formers form a heavy polymer over the top of the photoresist to protect the photoresist, improving etch selectivity.
- it is believed that such heavy polymers are sticky and provide stress on the photoresist mask that increases line edge roughness. It is also believed that reactions occurring within the photoresist increase roughening.
- Line edge roughening may also be caused by mouse biting which is believed to be related to the stress, which is induced in the top of the PR layer by the deposited polymers from the plasma. So, the polymer, which protects the PR, can induce mechanical forces, which deform the mask and result in a rougher sidewall for thin PR. This phenomena is not typically observed in thick PR mask situations (>300 nm). It has been found that with 193 nm PR that C 4 F 6 gas results in polymer, which can deposit more heavily then CF 4 or C 4 F 8 , but because of the deposition characteristics, striation in holes and roughness in trenches can result from modification of the PR mask. Also, roughening of the sidewall profile can cause micro-voids that follow the vertical plane. These can be caused by the break down of the photoresist integrity during the etch.
- cleaner component gases are used.
- cleaner component gases with a high fluorine to carbon ratio are most preferably CF 4 , with Ar, but, more generally, may also include gases with a high F dissociation like C 2 F 6 , or gases, which have a high fluorine dissociation like NF 3 or SF 6 .
- Addition of gases to aid in the dissociation of F can also provide benefit for LER.
- the addition of a small amount of O 2 (2-15 sccm) and/or a flow of N 2 (20-200 sccm) are known to aid in the creation of more free fluorine by binding with carbon components of the reactant gas.
- the invention provides plasma parameters, such that these clean component gases form some protective polymer over the photoresist to increase etch selectivity, where the selectivity of the etch of the dielectric to photoresist is not increased above 2:1.
- Such techniques provide polymers that are not as sticky as heavy polymers and for which deposition location of such polymers may be more easily controlled.
- One technique that would be helpful in doing this is to increase the temperature of the upper electrode from 20° C. to at least 140° C. It is believed that polymer from the cleaner component gases would deposit on the upper electrode, causing less deposition on the photoresist.
- the heater 545 helps to increase and control the upper electrode temperature to at least 70° C. In a preferred embodiment, the upper electrode temperature is increased to at least 70° C. during the etch. In a more preferred embodiment, the upper electrode temperature is increased to at least 90° C. In the most preferred embodiment, the upper electrode is increased to at least 140° C.
- the upper electrode is the electrode to which the substrate is not mounted and is placed opposite the substrate, the non-mounting electrode. If the substrate was mounted on the upper electrode, then the lower electrode would be the electrode one which the substrate is not mounted and is opposite the substrate, so that the lower electrode is heated.
- the high frequency power source provides a power of between 500 W and 2000 W. In a more preferred embodiment the high frequency power source provides a power between 500 W and 1200 W. In the most preferred embodiment the high frequency power source provides a power of between 500 W and 1000 W.
- bias power source provides a power of between 0 W and 1000 W. In a more preferred embodiment the bias power source provides a power between 0 W and 600 W.
- a chamber pressure of between 60 mTorr and 400 mTorr In a more preferred embodiment a chamber pressure between 70 mTorr and 300 mTorr is provided. In the most preferred embodiment, a chamber pressure of between 80 mTorr and 250 mTorr is provided.
- some fine tuning of the process can be accomplished by further modification of the process to find a polymerization regime which maintains the overall CD while reducing the overall LER.
- gases which are known to increase polymerization like C 4 F 8 ,CH 3 F, H 2 , CH2F2, etc.
- gases can be added in small amounts to slow the erosion of the PR and help decrease LER slightly.
- 5 sccm of C4F8 added to a very lean Ar/CF4/N2/O2 process reduced LER by ⁇ 10% in one case.
- CHF 3 ,CH 2 F 2 , CH 3 F or other hydrofluorcarbons can help but, the amount of gas needed would depend on the dissociation properties of the gas.
- this aspect of the invention controls where the polymer is deposited and provides a polymer from clean etchant gases, instead of increasing the total polymer deposited, even though the clean gases deposit with a low selectivity.
- the trench depth is kept to a minimum, while still providing sufficient electrical interconnections.
- a thin trench depth allows for a thin photoresist mask, when the selectivity is low.
- a thin photoresist mask allows for better critical dimensions.
- the photoresist mask is thin enough to provide the same critical dimension as higher generation photoresist materials. This allows for improved critical dimensions without new and more expensive lithography and stepper systems.
- 248 nm photoresist may be used to form a stable photoresist mask if it is deposited to be 4000 ⁇ thick. But a mask that thick can only be imaged to 0.2 nm. To increase resolution to image below 0.2 mn, the 248 photoresist mask is made thinner, for example 3200 ⁇ thick.
- the use of heavy polymer formers to increase selectivity to allow a thin photoresist mask to be used to etch a trench increases line edge roughness. Therefore, the invention uses cleaner polymer formers to increase selectivity to a point sufficient to etch a trench with reduced line edge roughness and yet have a selectivity of less than 2:1.
- the use of low selective chemistry will not be suitable to provide enough selectivity to ensure the barrier is not removed during the main etch, so an overetch with a higher selectivity is preferred for the final terminal steps of the etch.
- a 2500 ⁇ silicon oxide layer is formed over a 300 ⁇ silicon nitride etch stop, formed over a substrate.
- Two different silicon oxynitride (SION) layers are formed over the silicon oxide layer to form an ARC layer.
- one SiON layer was 285 ⁇ and the other SiON layer was 300 ⁇ .
- a 3200 ⁇ patterned photoresist mask of 210 nm photoresist was formed over the ARC layer.
- the ARC layer is opened using a conventional ARC etch.
- the silicon oxide layer is etched with the following recipe.
- the upper electrode is allowed to be heated above 140° C.
- the pressure is set to 180 mTorr.
- the 27 MHz RF source provides 800 Watts.
- the 2 MHz RF source provides 0 Watts.
- the etchant gas chemistry is 70 sccm CF 4 , 100 sccm Ar, and 100 sccm N 2 .
- the etch takes place for 32 seconds.
- An over etch step completes the etching of the silicon oxide layer, but provides a greater selectivity with respect to the silicon nitride etch stop.
- the upper electrode is maintained at at lease 140° C.
- the pressure is set to 80 mTorr.
- the 27 MHz RF source provides 600 Watts.
- the 2 MHz RF source provides 600 Watts.
- the etchant gas chemistry is 7 sccm C 4 F 8 , 3 sccm O 2 , 300 sccm Ar, and 100 sccm N 2 .
- the etch takes place for 14 seconds.
- the over etch more selectively etches the silicon oxide with respect to the trench barrier and photoresist.
- the final depth of the trench from the etch and over etch is between about 260 nm and 300 nm deep. Therefore, a 320 nm thick photoresist layer is used to etch a trench less than 300 nm deep. In such a process, only half of the photoresist is removed during the etch.
- the photoresist is removed using an ashing step.
- the pressure is set to 400 mTorr.
- the 27 MHz RF source provides 400 Watts.
- the 2 MHz RF source provides 0 Watts.
- the etchant gas chemistry is 500 sccm O 2 .
- the ashing takes place for 40 seconds.
- the etch stop SiN layer is then opened.
- the pressure is set to 250 mTorr.
- the 27 MHz RF source provides 150 Watts.
- the 2 MHz RF source provides 150 Watts.
- the etchant gas chemistry is 90 sccm CF 4 , 30 sccm CHF 3 , 200 sccm Ar, and 200 sccm N 2 .
- the opening takes place for 14 seconds.
- the same substrate with the same silicon oxide layer, same ARC layer, and same patterned photoresist layer is used.
- the same opening process is used to open the ARC layer.
- the silicon oxide layer is etched with the following recipe.
- the upper electrode is allowed to be heated above 140° C.
- the pressure is set to 180 mTorr.
- the 27 MHz RF source provides 800 Watts.
- the 2 MHz RF source provides 0 Watts.
- the etchant gas chemistry is 5 sccm C 4 F 8 , 70 sccm CF 4 , 100 sccm Ar, and 100 sccm N 2 .
- the etch takes place for 32 seconds to etch a trench between about 260 nm and 300 nm deep.
- An over etch step completes the etching of the silicon oxide layer, but provides a greater selectivity with respect to the silicon nitride etch stop.
- the upper electrode is maintained at at lease 140° C.
- the pressure is set to 80 mTorr.
- the 27 MHz RF source provides 600 Watts.
- the 2 MHz RF source provides 600 Watts.
- the etchant gas chemistry is 7 sccm C 4 F 8 , 3 sccm O 2 , 300 sccm Ar, and 100 sccm N 2 .
- the etch takes place for 18 seconds.
- the photoresist is removed using an ashing step.
- the pressure is set to 400 mTorr.
- the 27 MHz RF source provides 400 Watts.
- the 2 MHz RF source provides 0 Watts.
- the etchant gas chemistry is 500 sccm O 2 .
- the ashing takes place for 40 seconds.
- the etch stop SiN layer is then opened.
- the pressure is set to 250 mTorr.
- the 27 MHz RF source provides 150 Watts.
- the 2 MHz RF source provides 150 Watts.
- the etchant gas chemistry is 90 sccm CF 4 , 30 sccm CHF 3 , 200 sccm Ar, and 200 sccm N 2 . The opening takes place for 14 seconds.
- the invention improves trench CD and line edge roughness.
- the more preferred embodiments are believed to reduce line-edge roughness more than the less preferred embodiments.
- These examples of the invention is able to provide a line edge roughness of 6-7 nm, where 32 measurements over a micron range are used to determine line edge roughness and where the photoresist mask may have an initial line edge roughness of 8-10 nm. Therefore, the invention may actually decrease line edge roughness compared to the original photoresist mask.
- the invention is able to provide a feature width of between 0.11 to 0.14 microns using 90 nm node technology, which uses 248 nm or 193 nm photoresist.
- the heater may not heat the upper electrode to 140° C. Instead the heater may heat the upper electrode to an intermediate temperature, such as 90° C., and then the etching process may add additional heat to heat the upper electrode to 140° C.
- the ARC is formed over the dielectric layer, so that the ARC is either on the dielectric layer or there are one or more layers between the ARC and dielectric layer.
- the ARC layer is provided to help the integrity of the lithography to help depth of focus on the bottom of the PR.
- the hardmask is used to perform a different designated task during the etch.
- a hard ARC (SiON) performs the same role as an Organic ARC for wafer patterning, the SiON may be used as a ‘stop-indicator’ during the Cu CMP step of metallization.
- a capping layer may be provided between the dielectric layer and the ARC to act as a diffusion barrier (i.e.
- a capping layer can provide a stronger layer to be more mechanically resistant to CMP, such as an Organic low k material with a TEOS or FSG cap.
- CMP such as an Organic low k material with a TEOS or FSG cap.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
- Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
- Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
- Drying Of Semiconductors (AREA)
- Internal Circuitry In Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Devices (AREA)
Abstract
A method for etching a trench to a trench depth in a dielectric layer over a substrate is provided. An ARC is applied over the dielectric layer. A photoresist mask is formed on the ARC, where the photoresist mask has a thickness. The ARC is etched through. A trench is etched into the dielectric layer with a dielectric to photoresist etch selectivity between 1:1 and 2:1.
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The invention relates to a method providing improved line edge for a trench etch for Single and Dual Damascene metal integration.
- 2. Description of the related art
- The present invention relates to the formation of semiconductor devices.
- During semiconductor wafer processing, features of the semiconductor device are defined in the wafer using well-known patterning and etching processes. In these processes, a photoresist (PR) material is deposited on the wafer and then is exposed to light filtered by a reticle. The reticle is generally a glass plate that is patterned with exemplary feature geometries that block light from propagating through the reticle.
- After passing through the reticle, the light contacts the surface of the photoresist material. The light changes the chemical composition of the photoresist material such that a developer can remove a portion of the photoresist material. In the case of positive photoresist materials, the exposed regions are removed, and in the case of negative photoresist materials, the unexposed regions are removed. Thereafter, the wafer is etched to remove the underlying material from the areas that are no longer protected by the photoresist material, and thereby define the desired features in the wafer.
- Various generations of photoresist are known. Deep ultra violet (DUV) photoresist is exposed by 248 mn light. To facilitate understanding,
FIG. 1A is a schematic cross-sectional view of alayer 108 over asubstrate 104, with a patternedphotoresist layer 112, over an ARC (Anti-reflective coating) 110 over thelayer 108 to be etched forming astack 100. The photoresist pattern has a critical dimension (CD), which may be thewidth 116 of the smallest feature. Presently, for 248 nm photoresist a typical CD for the photoresist may be 230-250 nm using conventional processes. Due to optical properties dependent on wavelength, photoresist exposed by longer wavelength light has larger theoretical minimal critical dimensions. - A
trench 120 may then be etched through the photoresist pattern, as shown inFIG. 1B . In order to provide features with smaller CD, features formed using shorter wavelength light are being pursued. 193 nm photoresist is exposed by 193 nm light. Using phase shift reticles and other technology, a 90-100 nm CD photoresist pattern may be formed, using 193 nm photoresist. This would be able to provide a feature with a CD of 90-100 nm. - The use of shorter wavelength photoresists may provide additional problems over photoresists using longer wavelengths. To obtain CD's close to the theoretical limit the lithography apparatus should be more precise, which would require more expensive lithography equipment. Presently 193 nm photoresist may not have selectivities as high as longer wavelength photoresists and may more easily deform under plasma etch conditions.
- In the formation of single and dual damascene structures, a wide trench is etched partially or fully through the dielectric (an M1 etch) to form connecting lines. A narrower via is subsequently etched completely through a dielectric layer to form a contact.
- To achieve the foregoing and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, a method for etching a trench to a trench depth in a dielectric layer over a substrate is provided. An ARC is applied over the dielectric layer. A photoresist mask is formed on the ARC, where the photoresist mask has a thickness. The ARC is etched through. A trench is etched into the dielectric layer with a dielectric to photoresist etch selectivity between 1:1 and 2:1.
- In another manifestation of the invention a method for etching a trench to a trench depth in a dielectric layer over a substrate is provided. An ARC is applied on the dielectric layer. A sensitive photoresist mask is formed on the ARC, with a thickness between about 2000 Å and 4000 Å. The ARC is etched through. A trench is etched into the dielectric layer with a clean etch.
- In another manifestation of the invention an apparatus for etching a feature in a dielectric layer is provided. A plasma processing chamber is provided. The plasma processing chamber comprises a chamber wall forming a plasma processing chamber enclosure, a substrate support for supporting a substrate within the plasma processing chamber enclosure, a pressure regulator for regulating the pressure in the plasma processing chamber enclosure, an electrode placed opposite from and spaced apart from the substrate support, a heater connected to the electrode for heating the electrode, a gas inlet for providing gas into the plasma processing chamber enclosure, and a gas outlet for exhausting gas from the plasma processing chamber enclosure. A gas source is in fluid connection with the gas inlet. A controller is controllably connected to at least one of the gas source the electrode, the heater, the pressure regulator, the gas inlet, and the gas outlet.
- These and other features of the present invention will be described in more details below in the detailed description of the invention and in conjunction with the following figures.
- The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:
-
FIGS. 1A and 1B are cross sectional views of a trench etched into a dielectric layer according to the prior art. -
FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a process used in an embodiment of the invention. -
FIGS. 3A-3C are cross-sectional views of a trench etched according to an embodiment of the invention. - FIGS. 4A-B are schematic illustrations of top views of etched trenches.
-
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a process chamber that may be used in a preferred embodiment of the invention. -
FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a computer system, which is suitable for implementing a controller. - The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to a few preferred embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known process steps and/or structures have not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscure the present invention.
-
FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a process of forming a trench in a dielectric according to the invention. An ARC (Anti-Reflective Coating) is formed on a dielectric layer (step 204).FIG. 3A is an illustration of a cross-sectional view of adielectric layer 308 over asubstrate 304. AnARC 310 is provided on thedielectric layer 308, as shown. TheARC 310 may be an organic or inorganic ARC. The dielectric layer is a trench dielectric layer, in which a dual damascene trench is etched. Such a dielectric layer is not a hard mask layer. - A sensitive
trench photoresist mask 312 is formed on the ARC 310 (step 208). A sensitive trench photoresist mask is a thin mask. In a preferred embodiment, the thin sensitive trench photoresist mask is between 2000 Å and 4000 Å. In a more preferred embodiment, the thin sensitive trench photoresist mask is between 2500 Å and 3000 Å. Sensitive photoresist materials are materials that are easily etched. Thin 193 nm photoresist and newer generation photoresist are considered sensitive photoresist materials. Thetrench pattern 314 has awidth 316, as indicated. The photoresist has athickness 318, as indicated. A sensitive trench photoresist mask provides such a thin mask of sensitive photoresist material, that without some added protection the trench etch would etch away the sensitive trench photoresist mask before the trench is etched to the desired depth. - The
ARC 310 is opened (step 212). A conventional ARC opening step may be used.FIG. 3B is an illustration of a cross-sectional view of thedielectric layer 308 over thesubstrate 304 after theARC 310 has been opened. - A trench is then etched into the dielectric layer with a clean etch (step 216). In a clean etch, heavy polymer forming gases make up less than 5% of the etchant gas, including any carrier gas. A clean etch most preferably would be a low polymerization process like one containing CF4 or C2F6 as a principle gas. Other preferred embodiments may have NF3 or SF6 as principle component gases because of the high dissociation rate of Fluorine with these gases. Less preferred embodiments would be gases with a higher level of Carbon which presumably would decompose to molecules like CFx, which can bond with similar and form into longer MER chains. Examples of these gases include C4F8, C5F8, C4F6, of highly saturated hydrocarbon molecules like CH2F2, CH3F, C2H4. More preferably, in a clean etch heavy polymer forming gases make up less than 2% of the etchant gas. Preferably, these gases keep the ratio of fluorine to polymer forming gas components to less at least 3:1. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the trench etch has a low selectivity. More preferably, the trench etch selectivity of dielectric to photoresist of between about 1:1 and 2:1, where an etch selectivity of dielectric to photoresist of 2:1, means that the dielectric layer is etched twice as fast as the photoresist.
FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view of thedielectric layer 308 after thetrench 324 has been etched. In the preferred embodiment, the trench is etched to a depth of between about 200 and 400 nm. - In the preferred embodiment, the photoresist is sensitive to an aggressive etch. Photoresist that is sensitive to an aggressive etch is photoresist that is etched as quickly by an aggressive etch as the dielectric layer, so that there is a low etch selectivity.
-
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of aprocess chamber 500 that may be used in the preferred embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, theplasma processing chamber 500 comprises confinement rings 502, anupper electrode 504, alower electrode 508, agas source 510, and anexhaust pump 520. Withinplasma processing chamber 500, thesubstrate wafer 304 is positioned upon thelower electrode 508. Thelower electrode 508 incorporates a suitable substrate chucking mechanism (e.g., electrostatic, mechanical clamping, or the like) for supporting thesubstrate wafer 304. Thereactor top 528 incorporates theupper electrode 504 disposed immediately opposite thelower electrode 508. Theupper electrode 504,lower electrode 508, and confinement rings 502 define the confinedplasma volume 540. Gas is supplied to the confined plasma volume bygas source 510 through agas inlet 543 and is exhausted from the confined plasma volume through the confinement rings 502 and an exhaust port by theexhaust pump 520. Theexhaust pump 520 forms a gas outlet for the plasma processing chamber. Afirst RF source 544 is electrically connected to theupper electrode 504. Asecond RF source 548 is electrically connected to thelower electrode 508.Chamber walls 552 define a plasma enclosure in which the confinement rings 502, theupper electrode 504, and thelower electrode 508 are disposed. In one embodiment, thesecond RF source 548 may comprise a 27 MHz power source and a 2 MHz power source, while theupper electrode 504 is grounded. Different combinations of connecting RF power to the electrodes are possible. Aheater 545 is connected to the upper electrode and is able to heat the upper electrode. - A
controller 535 is controllably connected to thefirst RF source 544, thesecond RF source 548, theexhaust pump 520, theheater 545 and thegas source 510. A showerhead may be connected to thegas inlet 543. Thegas inlet 543 may be a single inlet for each gas source or a different inlet for each gas source or a plurality of inlets for each gas source or other possible combinations. -
FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a computer system 800, which is suitable for implementing acontroller 535 used in embodiments of the present invention.FIG. 6A shows one possible physical form of the computer system. Of course, the computer system may have many physical forms ranging from an integrated circuit, a printed circuit board, and a small handheld device up to a huge super computer. Computer system 800 includes a monitor 802, a display 804, a housing 806, a disk drive 808, a keyboard 810, and a mouse 812. Disk 814 is a computer-readable medium used to transfer data to and from computer system 800. -
FIG. 6B is an example of a block diagram for computer system 800. Attached to system bus 820 is a wide variety of subsystems. Processor(s) 822 (also referred to as central processing units or CPUs) are coupled to storage devices, including memory 824. Memory 824 includes random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). As is well known in the art, ROM acts to transfer data and instructions uni-directionally to the CPU and RAM is used typically to transfer data and instructions in a bi-directional manner. Both of these types of memories may include any suitable of the computer-readable media described below. A fixed disk 826 is also coupled bi-directionally to CPU 822; it provides additional data storage capacity and may also include any of the computer-readable media described below. Fixed disk 826 may be used to store programs, data, and the like and is typically a secondary storage medium (such as a hard disk) that is slower than primary storage. It will be appreciated that the information retained within fixed disk 826 may, in appropriate cases, be incorporated in standard fashion as virtual memory in memory 824. Removable disk 814 may take the form of any of the computer-readable media described below. - CPU 822 is also coupled to a variety of input/output devices, such as display 804, keyboard 810, mouse 812 and speakers 830. In general, an input/output device may be any of: video displays, track balls, mice, keyboards, microphones, touch-sensitive displays, transducer card readers, magnetic or paper tape readers, tablets, styluses, voice or handwriting recognizers, biometrics readers, or other computers. CPU 822 optionally may be coupled to another computer or telecommunications network using network interface 840. With such a network interface, it is contemplated that the CPU might receive information from the network, or might output information to the network in the course of performing the above-described method steps. Furthermore, method embodiments of the present invention may execute solely upon CPU 822 or may execute over a network such as the Internet in conjunction with a remote CPU that shares a portion of the processing.
- In addition, embodiments of the present invention further relate to computer storage products with a computer-readable medium that have computer code thereon for performing various computer-implemented operations. The media and computer code may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to: magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and holographic devices; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and execute program code, such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs) and ROM and RAM devices. Examples of computer code include machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that are executed by a computer using an interpreter. Computer readable media may also be computer code transmitted by a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing a sequence of instructions that are executable by a processor.
-
FIG. 4A is a schematic top view of atrench 404 etched into adielectric layer 408. Thewalls 412 of the trench exhibit substantial line edge roughness.FIG. 4B is a schematic top view of atrench 424 etched into adielectric layer 428. Thewalls 432 of thetrench 424 exhibit less line edge roughness. In a paper by Calvin Gabriel published in 2003 at the ICMI conference the an industry standard for measuring line edge roughness is discussed as follows: -
- “The 2002 ITRS metrology roadmap [4] gives one definition for how to quantify LER: local line width variation (3s total, all frequency components included, both edges) evaluated along a distance equal to four times the technology node. Such a definition is easily programmed on the VeraSEM or NanoSEM: these tools measure a critical dimension by performing 32 or more line-scans across the feature of interest, with each line-scan spaced apart from the previous one by a small increment according to the measurement box defined by the user. The 3-sigma standard deviation of these scans follows the ITRS definition and is reported by the software as Sigma(B).
- The ITRS definition, however, suffers under the “four technology nodes” requirement. For a 65 nm technology, this requires a box only 260 nm tall. Such a small length of the line scanned may not uncover low frequency LER, and the situation will grow worse as technology advances to 45 nm and 32 nm.
- Therefore, line edge roughness may be quantified by measuring the width of the trench at a series of locations and averaging the variation over an interval, which is at least four times as long as the feature is wide. A Hitachi CD SEM measures 32 points over a 1 um box to measure line edge roughness. An Applied Materials NanoSEM measures 60 points over a 2 um rectangle. Calvin's paper showed no advantage to going above 2 um for small features but, some sensitivity was lost if you went below a 2 um box.
- An approach to reduce line-edge roughness is to provide an etch with a dielectric to photoresist etch that is more selective than 4:1 by providing a heavy polymer forming gas. Such heavy polymer formers form a heavy polymer over the top of the photoresist to protect the photoresist, improving etch selectivity. Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that such heavy polymers are sticky and provide stress on the photoresist mask that increases line edge roughness. It is also believed that reactions occurring within the photoresist increase roughening.
- Line edge roughening may also be caused by mouse biting which is believed to be related to the stress, which is induced in the top of the PR layer by the deposited polymers from the plasma. So, the polymer, which protects the PR, can induce mechanical forces, which deform the mask and result in a rougher sidewall for thin PR. This phenomena is not typically observed in thick PR mask situations (>300 nm). It has been found that with 193 nm PR that C4F6 gas results in polymer, which can deposit more heavily then CF4 or C4F8, but because of the deposition characteristics, striation in holes and roughness in trenches can result from modification of the PR mask. Also, roughening of the sidewall profile can cause micro-voids that follow the vertical plane. These can be caused by the break down of the photoresist integrity during the etch.
- The invention reduces line edge roughness by reducing or eliminating heavy polymer formers that produce heavy polymers. Instead, cleaner component gases are used. Such cleaner component gases with a high fluorine to carbon ratio are most preferably CF4, with Ar, but, more generally, may also include gases with a high F dissociation like C2F6, or gases, which have a high fluorine dissociation like NF3 or SF6. Addition of gases to aid in the dissociation of F can also provide benefit for LER. The addition of a small amount of O2 (2-15 sccm) and/or a flow of N2 (20-200 sccm) are known to aid in the creation of more free fluorine by binding with carbon components of the reactant gas. Under conventional etching processes, it is believed that such component gases would not form protective polymer over the photoresist to increase selectivity. The invention provides plasma parameters, such that these clean component gases form some protective polymer over the photoresist to increase etch selectivity, where the selectivity of the etch of the dielectric to photoresist is not increased above 2:1. Such techniques provide polymers that are not as sticky as heavy polymers and for which deposition location of such polymers may be more easily controlled. One technique that would be helpful in doing this is to increase the temperature of the upper electrode from 20° C. to at least 140° C. It is believed that polymer from the cleaner component gases would deposit on the upper electrode, causing less deposition on the photoresist. By increasing the upper electrode to at least 140° C., the deposition on the upper electrode is reduced, indirectly causing more deposition on the photoresist surface. The
heater 545 helps to increase and control the upper electrode temperature to at least 70° C. In a preferred embodiment, the upper electrode temperature is increased to at least 70° C. during the etch. In a more preferred embodiment, the upper electrode temperature is increased to at least 90° C. In the most preferred embodiment, the upper electrode is increased to at least 140° C. The upper electrode is the electrode to which the substrate is not mounted and is placed opposite the substrate, the non-mounting electrode. If the substrate was mounted on the upper electrode, then the lower electrode would be the electrode one which the substrate is not mounted and is opposite the substrate, so that the lower electrode is heated. - In addition, it has been found that providing higher power at high frequency (such as 27 MHz) creates a higher density plasma further increasing selectivity using clean etchants. In a preferred embodiment the high frequency power source provides a power of between 500 W and 2000 W. In a more preferred embodiment the high frequency power source provides a power between 500 W and 1200 W. In the most preferred embodiment the high frequency power source provides a power of between 500 W and 1000 W.
- In addition, having a lower bias power, by providing less power to lower frequency RF (such as 2 MHz) reduces bombardment that increases selectivity. In a preferred embodiment the bias power source provides a power of between 0 W and 1000 W. In a more preferred embodiment the bias power source provides a power between 0 W and 600 W.
- In addition, providing lower chamber pressure increases selectivity. For example, an 80 mTorr pressure has been found to be helpful. Therefore in a preferred embodiment a chamber pressure of between 60 mTorr and 400 mTorr. In a more preferred embodiment a chamber pressure between 70 mTorr and 300 mTorr is provided. In the most preferred embodiment, a chamber pressure of between 80 mTorr and 250 mTorr is provided.
- Finally, some fine tuning of the process can be accomplished by further modification of the process to find a polymerization regime which maintains the overall CD while reducing the overall LER. The addition of gases, which are known to increase polymerization like C4F8,CH3F, H2, CH2F2, etc., can be added in small amounts to slow the erosion of the PR and help decrease LER slightly. For example, 5 sccm of C4F8 added to a very lean Ar/CF4/N2/O2 process reduced LER by ˜10% in one case. CHF3,CH2F2, CH3F or other hydrofluorcarbons can help but, the amount of gas needed would depend on the dissociation properties of the gas.
- Therefore, this aspect of the invention controls where the polymer is deposited and provides a polymer from clean etchant gases, instead of increasing the total polymer deposited, even though the clean gases deposit with a low selectivity.
- Preferably, the trench depth is kept to a minimum, while still providing sufficient electrical interconnections. One of the reasons, for this is that a thin trench depth allows for a thin photoresist mask, when the selectivity is low. A thin photoresist mask allows for better critical dimensions. In the preferred embodiment, the photoresist mask is thin enough to provide the same critical dimension as higher generation photoresist materials. This allows for improved critical dimensions without new and more expensive lithography and stepper systems. In addition, it is preferred that all or almost all of the photoresist is removed, so that just enough photoresist is used to provide the desired trench depth, to minimize CD.
- For example, 248 nm photoresist may be used to form a stable photoresist mask if it is deposited to be 4000 Å thick. But a mask that thick can only be imaged to 0.2 nm. To increase resolution to image below 0.2 mn, the 248 photoresist mask is made thinner, for example 3200 Å thick. As mentioned above, the use of heavy polymer formers to increase selectivity to allow a thin photoresist mask to be used to etch a trench increases line edge roughness. Therefore, the invention uses cleaner polymer formers to increase selectivity to a point sufficient to etch a trench with reduced line edge roughness and yet have a selectivity of less than 2:1. The use of low selective chemistry will not be suitable to provide enough selectivity to ensure the barrier is not removed during the main etch, so an overetch with a higher selectivity is preferred for the final terminal steps of the etch.
- In one example of the invention, a 2500 Å silicon oxide layer is formed over a 300 Å silicon nitride etch stop, formed over a substrate. Two different silicon oxynitride (SION) layers are formed over the silicon oxide layer to form an ARC layer. In this example, one SiON layer was 285 Å and the other SiON layer was 300 Å. A 3200 Å patterned photoresist mask of 210 nm photoresist was formed over the ARC layer. The ARC layer is opened using a conventional ARC etch.
- The silicon oxide layer is etched with the following recipe. The upper electrode is allowed to be heated above 140° C. The pressure is set to 180 mTorr. The 27 MHz RF source provides 800 Watts. The 2 MHz RF source provides 0 Watts. The etchant gas chemistry is 70 sccm CF4, 100 sccm Ar, and 100 sccm N2. The etch takes place for 32 seconds.
- An over etch step completes the etching of the silicon oxide layer, but provides a greater selectivity with respect to the silicon nitride etch stop. The upper electrode is maintained at at lease 140° C. The pressure is set to 80 mTorr. The 27 MHz RF source provides 600 Watts. The 2 MHz RF source provides 600 Watts. The etchant gas chemistry is 7 sccm C4F8, 3 sccm O2, 300 sccm Ar, and 100 sccm N2. The etch takes place for 14 seconds. The over etch more selectively etches the silicon oxide with respect to the trench barrier and photoresist. The final depth of the trench from the etch and over etch is between about 260 nm and 300 nm deep. Therefore, a 320 nm thick photoresist layer is used to etch a trench less than 300 nm deep. In such a process, only half of the photoresist is removed during the etch.
- The photoresist is removed using an ashing step. To provide the ashing in this example, the pressure is set to 400 mTorr. The 27 MHz RF source provides 400 Watts. The 2 MHz RF source provides 0 Watts. The etchant gas chemistry is 500 sccm O2. The ashing takes place for 40 seconds.
- The etch stop SiN layer is then opened. The pressure is set to 250 mTorr. The 27 MHz RF source provides 150 Watts. The 2 MHz RF source provides 150 Watts.
- The etchant gas chemistry is 90 sccm CF4, 30 sccm CHF3, 200 sccm Ar, and 200 sccm N2. The opening takes place for 14 seconds.
- In a second example, the same substrate with the same silicon oxide layer, same ARC layer, and same patterned photoresist layer is used. The same opening process is used to open the ARC layer.
- The silicon oxide layer is etched with the following recipe. The upper electrode is allowed to be heated above 140° C. The pressure is set to 180 mTorr. The 27 MHz RF source provides 800 Watts. The 2 MHz RF source provides 0 Watts. The etchant gas chemistry is 5 sccm C4F8, 70 sccm CF4, 100 sccm Ar, and 100 sccm N2. The etch takes place for 32 seconds to etch a trench between about 260 nm and 300 nm deep.
- An over etch step completes the etching of the silicon oxide layer, but provides a greater selectivity with respect to the silicon nitride etch stop. The upper electrode is maintained at at lease 140° C. The pressure is set to 80 mTorr. The 27 MHz RF source provides 600 Watts. The 2 MHz RF source provides 600 Watts. The etchant gas chemistry is 7 sccm C4F8, 3 sccm O2, 300 sccm Ar, and 100 sccm N2. The etch takes place for 18 seconds.
- The photoresist is removed using an ashing step. To provide the ashing in this example, the pressure is set to 400 mTorr. The 27 MHz RF source provides 400 Watts. The 2 MHz RF source provides 0 Watts. The etchant gas chemistry is 500 sccm O2. The ashing takes place for 40 seconds.
- The etch stop SiN layer is then opened. The pressure is set to 250 mTorr. The 27 MHz RF source provides 150 Watts. The 2 MHz RF source provides 150 Watts. The etchant gas chemistry is 90 sccm CF4, 30 sccm CHF3, 200 sccm Ar, and 200 sccm N2. The opening takes place for 14 seconds.
- The invention improves trench CD and line edge roughness. The more preferred embodiments are believed to reduce line-edge roughness more than the less preferred embodiments. These examples of the invention is able to provide a line edge roughness of 6-7 nm, where 32 measurements over a micron range are used to determine line edge roughness and where the photoresist mask may have an initial line edge roughness of 8-10 nm. Therefore, the invention may actually decrease line edge roughness compared to the original photoresist mask.
- The invention is able to provide a feature width of between 0.11 to 0.14 microns using 90 nm node technology, which uses 248 nm or 193 nm photoresist.
- The heater may not heat the upper electrode to 140° C. Instead the heater may heat the upper electrode to an intermediate temperature, such as 90° C., and then the etching process may add additional heat to heat the upper electrode to 140° C.
- In other embodiments of the invention, the ARC is formed over the dielectric layer, so that the ARC is either on the dielectric layer or there are one or more layers between the ARC and dielectric layer. The ARC layer is provided to help the integrity of the lithography to help depth of focus on the bottom of the PR. The hardmask is used to perform a different designated task during the etch. A hard ARC (SiON) performs the same role as an Organic ARC for wafer patterning, the SiON may be used as a ‘stop-indicator’ during the Cu CMP step of metallization. A capping layer may be provided between the dielectric layer and the ARC to act as a diffusion barrier (i.e. such as a F diffusion barrier, since F can cause PR delamination on FSG) or a capping layer can provide a stronger layer to be more mechanically resistant to CMP, such as an Organic low k material with a TEOS or FSG cap. Such capping layers are desirable, if the dielectric is too ‘soft’ to stand up to mechanical polishing, thus requiring a tougher layer, sometimes a thin one, to maintain the structures integrity as etched.
- While this invention has been described in terms of several preferred embodiments, there are alterations, permutations, modifications and various substitute equivalents, which fall within the scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and apparatuses of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutations, modifications, and various substitute equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
Claims (18)
1-13. (canceled)
14. An apparatus for etching a feature in a dielectric layer, comprising:
a plasma processing chamber, comprising:
a chamber wall forming a plasma processing chamber enclosure;
a substrate support for supporting a substrate within the plasma processing chamber enclosure;
a pressure regulator for regulating the pressure in the plasma processing chamber enclosure;
an electrode placed opposite from and spaced apart from the substrate support;
a heater connected to the electrode for heating the electrode;
a gas inlet for providing gas into the plasma processing chamber enclosure; and
a gas outlet for exhausting gas from the plasma processing chamber enclosure;
a gas source in fluid connection with the gas inlet,
a controller controllably connected to at least one of the gas source the electrode, the heater, the pressure regulator, the gas inlet, and the gas outlet.
15. The apparatus, as recited in claim 14 , wherein the controller comprises:
at least one processor; and
computer readable media, comprising:
computer readable code for providing an etch plasma for etching a feature into a dielectric layer; and
computer readable code for heating the electrode during etching so that the electrode reaches a temperature of at least 70° C.
16. The apparatus, as recited in claim 15 , wherein the computer readable media, further comprises computer readable code for maintaining the pressure between 60 mTorr and 400 mTorr.
17. The apparatus, as recited in claim 16 , wherein computer readable code for providing an etch plasma for etching a feature into the dielectric layer comprises computer readable code for provide a high frequency power between 500 W and 2000 W.
18. The apparatus, as recited in claim 17 , wherein computer readable code for heating the electrode during etching heats the electrode so that the electrode reaches a temperature of at least 90° C.
19. The apparatus, as recited in claim 17 , wherein computer readable code for heating the electrode during etching heats the electrode so that the electrode reaches a temperature of at least 140° C.
20. The apparatus, as recited in claim 19 , wherein the computer readable media further comprises computer readable code for providing a bias power between 0 W and 1000 W.
21. The apparatus, as recited in claim 20 , wherein the computer readable media further comprises computer readable code for providing an etchant gas selected from the group of CF4, C2F6, NF3, and SF6.
22. The apparatus, as recited in claim 14 , wherein the controller comprises:
at least one processor; and
computer readable media, comprising:
computer readable code for providing an etch plasma for etching a feature into a dielectric layer; and
computer readable code for heating the electrode during etching so that the electrode reaches a temperature of at least 90° C.
23. The apparatus, as recited in claim 14 , wherein the controller comprises:
at least one processor; and
computer readable media, comprising:
computer readable code for providing an etch plasma for etching a feature into a dielectric layer; and
computer readable code for heating the electrode during etching so that the electrode reaches a temperature of at least 140° C.
24. The apparatus, as recited in claim 23 , wherein the computer readable media, further comprises computer readable code for maintaining the pressure between 60 mTorr and 400 mTorr.
25. The apparatus, as recited in claim 24 , wherein the computer readable media further comprises computer readable code for providing a bias power between 0 W and 1000 W.
26. The apparatus, as recited in claim 25 , wherein the computer readable media further comprises computer readable code for providing an etchant gas selected from the group of CF4, C2F6, NF3, and SF6.
27. The apparatus, as recited in claim 14 , wherein the controller comprises:
at least one processor; and
computer readable media, comprising computer readable code for maintaining the pressure between 60 mTorr and 400 mTorr.
28. The apparatus, as recited in claim 14 , wherein the controller comprises:
at least one processor; and
computer readable media, comprising computer readable code for providing a high frequency power between 500 W and 2000 W.
29. The apparatus, as recited in claim 14 , wherein the controller comprises:
at least one processor; and
computer readable media, comprising computer readable code for providing a bias power between 0 W and 1000 W.
30. The apparatus, as recited in claim 14 , wherein the controller comprises:
at least one processor; and
computer readable media, comprising computer readable code for providing an etchant gas selected from the group of CF4, C2F6, NF3, and SF6.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/205,372 US20050277289A1 (en) | 2003-11-12 | 2005-08-16 | Line edge roughness reduction for trench etch |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/712,410 US6949460B2 (en) | 2003-11-12 | 2003-11-12 | Line edge roughness reduction for trench etch |
US11/205,372 US20050277289A1 (en) | 2003-11-12 | 2005-08-16 | Line edge roughness reduction for trench etch |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/712,410 Division US6949460B2 (en) | 2003-11-12 | 2003-11-12 | Line edge roughness reduction for trench etch |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20050277289A1 true US20050277289A1 (en) | 2005-12-15 |
Family
ID=34552675
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/712,410 Expired - Fee Related US6949460B2 (en) | 2003-11-12 | 2003-11-12 | Line edge roughness reduction for trench etch |
US11/205,372 Abandoned US20050277289A1 (en) | 2003-11-12 | 2005-08-16 | Line edge roughness reduction for trench etch |
Family Applications Before (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/712,410 Expired - Fee Related US6949460B2 (en) | 2003-11-12 | 2003-11-12 | Line edge roughness reduction for trench etch |
Country Status (8)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (2) | US6949460B2 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1683194A4 (en) |
JP (1) | JP4865564B2 (en) |
KR (1) | KR101134327B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN100477135C (en) |
IL (1) | IL175527A0 (en) |
TW (1) | TWI351054B (en) |
WO (1) | WO2005050700A2 (en) |
Cited By (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20060099816A1 (en) * | 2004-11-08 | 2006-05-11 | International Business Machines Corporation | System and method for plasma induced modification and improvement of critical dimension uniformity |
US20070105389A1 (en) * | 2005-11-04 | 2007-05-10 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method and apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, control program thereof and computer-readable storage medium storing the control program |
US20080045022A1 (en) * | 2004-09-17 | 2008-02-21 | Masaru Kurihara | Semiconductor Device Manufacturing Method |
US20080124937A1 (en) * | 2006-08-16 | 2008-05-29 | Songlin Xu | Selective etching method and apparatus |
US20080182419A1 (en) * | 2007-01-16 | 2008-07-31 | Naoki Yasui | Plasma processing method |
US20090197420A1 (en) * | 2008-02-06 | 2009-08-06 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method for etching a silicon-containing arc layer to reduce roughness and cd |
US20110039416A1 (en) * | 2009-08-17 | 2011-02-17 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method for patterning an ARC layer using SF6 and a hydrocarbon gas |
US20110159699A1 (en) * | 2009-12-28 | 2011-06-30 | Gabriel Calvin T | Line-edge roughness improvement for small pitches |
US10734228B2 (en) | 2017-12-19 | 2020-08-04 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Manufacturing methods to apply stress engineering to self-aligned multi-patterning (SAMP) processes |
Families Citing this family (17)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7276409B2 (en) * | 2003-06-24 | 2007-10-02 | Micron Technology, Inc. | Method of forming a capacitor |
US7153778B2 (en) * | 2004-02-20 | 2006-12-26 | Micron Technology, Inc. | Methods of forming openings, and methods of forming container capacitors |
JP2005314531A (en) | 2004-04-28 | 2005-11-10 | Sony Corp | Hybrid silica polymer, method for producing the same and proton-conductive material |
US7556992B2 (en) * | 2006-07-31 | 2009-07-07 | Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. | Method for forming vertical structures in a semiconductor device |
US8026180B2 (en) * | 2007-07-12 | 2011-09-27 | Micron Technology, Inc. | Methods of modifying oxide spacers |
US8003522B2 (en) * | 2007-12-19 | 2011-08-23 | Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation | Method for forming trenches with wide upper portion and narrow lower portion |
CN103258729B (en) | 2007-12-21 | 2016-07-06 | 朗姆研究公司 | The manufacture of silicon structure and the deep silicon etch with morphology control |
US8298958B2 (en) * | 2008-07-17 | 2012-10-30 | Lam Research Corporation | Organic line width roughness with H2 plasma treatment |
US8173547B2 (en) * | 2008-10-23 | 2012-05-08 | Lam Research Corporation | Silicon etch with passivation using plasma enhanced oxidation |
US8394722B2 (en) * | 2008-11-03 | 2013-03-12 | Lam Research Corporation | Bi-layer, tri-layer mask CD control |
KR101156275B1 (en) * | 2009-02-06 | 2012-06-13 | 주식회사 엘지화학 | Touchscreen and method for manufacturing the same |
CN102041508B (en) * | 2009-10-23 | 2012-07-25 | 中芯国际集成电路制造(上海)有限公司 | Groove etching method |
JP5655296B2 (en) * | 2009-12-01 | 2015-01-21 | セントラル硝子株式会社 | Etching gas |
US20130078815A1 (en) * | 2011-09-23 | 2013-03-28 | Nanya Technology Corporation | Method for forming semiconductor structure with reduced line edge roughness |
CN103854995B (en) * | 2012-12-06 | 2016-10-19 | 中微半导体设备(上海)有限公司 | A kind of etching technics improving sidewall streak and device thereof |
JP6239365B2 (en) | 2013-12-11 | 2017-11-29 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Method for etching a silicon layer |
US11473191B2 (en) * | 2019-02-27 | 2022-10-18 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Method for creating a dielectric filled nanostructured silica substrate for flat optical devices |
Citations (17)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5658425A (en) * | 1991-10-16 | 1997-08-19 | Lam Research Corporation | Method of etching contact openings with reduced removal rate of underlying electrically conductive titanium silicide layer |
US5914202A (en) * | 1996-06-10 | 1999-06-22 | Sharp Microeletronics Technology, Inc. | Method for forming a multi-level reticle |
US5976993A (en) * | 1996-03-28 | 1999-11-02 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Method for reducing the intrinsic stress of high density plasma films |
US6080680A (en) * | 1997-12-19 | 2000-06-27 | Lam Research Corporation | Method and composition for dry etching in semiconductor fabrication |
US6090304A (en) * | 1997-08-28 | 2000-07-18 | Lam Research Corporation | Methods for selective plasma etch |
US6380096B2 (en) * | 1998-07-09 | 2002-04-30 | Applied Materials, Inc. | In-situ integrated oxide etch process particularly useful for copper dual damascene |
US6403491B1 (en) * | 2000-11-01 | 2002-06-11 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Etch method using a dielectric etch chamber with expanded process window |
US6444039B1 (en) * | 2000-03-07 | 2002-09-03 | Simplus Systems Corporation | Three-dimensional showerhead apparatus |
US20020121500A1 (en) * | 2000-12-22 | 2002-09-05 | Rao Annapragada | Method of etching with NH3 and fluorine chemistries |
US6518174B2 (en) * | 2000-12-22 | 2003-02-11 | Lam Research Corporation | Combined resist strip and barrier etch process for dual damascene structures |
US20030032301A1 (en) * | 2001-08-08 | 2003-02-13 | Rajinder Dhindsa | Showerhead electrode design for semiconductor processing reactor |
US20030155329A1 (en) * | 2002-02-15 | 2003-08-21 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Method for improved plasma etching control |
US20030181054A1 (en) * | 2001-12-17 | 2003-09-25 | Sung-Kwon Lee | Method for fabricating semiconductor device using photoresist pattern formed with argon fluoride laser |
US6686293B2 (en) * | 2002-05-10 | 2004-02-03 | Applied Materials, Inc | Method of etching a trench in a silicon-containing dielectric material |
US20040149394A1 (en) * | 2003-02-03 | 2004-08-05 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Apparatus for uniformly etching a dielectric layer |
US6902648B2 (en) * | 2003-01-09 | 2005-06-07 | Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. | Plasma etching device |
US7337745B1 (en) * | 1999-04-06 | 2008-03-04 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Electrode, susceptor, plasma processing apparatus and method of making the electrode and the susceptor |
Family Cites Families (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPH05129244A (en) * | 1991-11-05 | 1993-05-25 | Kokusai Electric Co Ltd | Plasma etching method and its apparatus |
JP4022954B2 (en) * | 1997-01-29 | 2007-12-19 | ソニー株式会社 | COMPOSITE MATERIAL AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD, SUBSTRATE TREATING APPARATUS AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD, SUBSTRATE MOUNTING STAGE AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD, AND SUBSTRATE TREATING METHOD |
US6340435B1 (en) * | 1998-02-11 | 2002-01-22 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Integrated low K dielectrics and etch stops |
US6027861A (en) * | 1998-03-20 | 2000-02-22 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company | VLSIC patterning process |
WO2002049089A1 (en) * | 2000-12-14 | 2002-06-20 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method of etching porous insulating film, dual damascene process, and semiconductor device |
JP2003077900A (en) * | 2001-09-06 | 2003-03-14 | Hitachi Ltd | Method of manufacturing semiconductor device |
TWI276153B (en) * | 2001-11-12 | 2007-03-11 | Hynix Semiconductor Inc | Method for fabricating semiconductor device |
US6495469B1 (en) * | 2001-12-03 | 2002-12-17 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company | High selectivity, low etch depth micro-loading process for non stop layer damascene etch |
JP3638266B2 (en) * | 2001-12-26 | 2005-04-13 | 株式会社半導体先端テクノロジーズ | Manufacturing method of semiconductor device |
-
2003
- 2003-11-12 US US10/712,410 patent/US6949460B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2004
- 2004-11-03 EP EP04810317A patent/EP1683194A4/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2004-11-03 CN CNB2004800401675A patent/CN100477135C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2004-11-03 JP JP2006539644A patent/JP4865564B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2004-11-03 WO PCT/US2004/036746 patent/WO2005050700A2/en active Application Filing
- 2004-11-03 KR KR1020067011580A patent/KR101134327B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 2004-11-10 TW TW093134334A patent/TWI351054B/en not_active IP Right Cessation
-
2005
- 2005-08-16 US US11/205,372 patent/US20050277289A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2006
- 2006-05-09 IL IL175527A patent/IL175527A0/en not_active IP Right Cessation
Patent Citations (19)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5658425A (en) * | 1991-10-16 | 1997-08-19 | Lam Research Corporation | Method of etching contact openings with reduced removal rate of underlying electrically conductive titanium silicide layer |
US5976993A (en) * | 1996-03-28 | 1999-11-02 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Method for reducing the intrinsic stress of high density plasma films |
US5914202A (en) * | 1996-06-10 | 1999-06-22 | Sharp Microeletronics Technology, Inc. | Method for forming a multi-level reticle |
US6090304A (en) * | 1997-08-28 | 2000-07-18 | Lam Research Corporation | Methods for selective plasma etch |
US6080680A (en) * | 1997-12-19 | 2000-06-27 | Lam Research Corporation | Method and composition for dry etching in semiconductor fabrication |
US6380096B2 (en) * | 1998-07-09 | 2002-04-30 | Applied Materials, Inc. | In-situ integrated oxide etch process particularly useful for copper dual damascene |
US7337745B1 (en) * | 1999-04-06 | 2008-03-04 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Electrode, susceptor, plasma processing apparatus and method of making the electrode and the susceptor |
US6444039B1 (en) * | 2000-03-07 | 2002-09-03 | Simplus Systems Corporation | Three-dimensional showerhead apparatus |
US6403491B1 (en) * | 2000-11-01 | 2002-06-11 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Etch method using a dielectric etch chamber with expanded process window |
US20020121500A1 (en) * | 2000-12-22 | 2002-09-05 | Rao Annapragada | Method of etching with NH3 and fluorine chemistries |
US6518174B2 (en) * | 2000-12-22 | 2003-02-11 | Lam Research Corporation | Combined resist strip and barrier etch process for dual damascene structures |
US20030032301A1 (en) * | 2001-08-08 | 2003-02-13 | Rajinder Dhindsa | Showerhead electrode design for semiconductor processing reactor |
US20030181054A1 (en) * | 2001-12-17 | 2003-09-25 | Sung-Kwon Lee | Method for fabricating semiconductor device using photoresist pattern formed with argon fluoride laser |
US6867145B2 (en) * | 2001-12-17 | 2005-03-15 | Hynix Semiconductor Inc. | Method for fabricating semiconductor device using photoresist pattern formed with argon fluoride laser |
US20030155329A1 (en) * | 2002-02-15 | 2003-08-21 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Method for improved plasma etching control |
US6828251B2 (en) * | 2002-02-15 | 2004-12-07 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Method for improved plasma etching control |
US6686293B2 (en) * | 2002-05-10 | 2004-02-03 | Applied Materials, Inc | Method of etching a trench in a silicon-containing dielectric material |
US6902648B2 (en) * | 2003-01-09 | 2005-06-07 | Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. | Plasma etching device |
US20040149394A1 (en) * | 2003-02-03 | 2004-08-05 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Apparatus for uniformly etching a dielectric layer |
Cited By (20)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7723235B2 (en) * | 2004-09-17 | 2010-05-25 | Renesas Technology Corp. | Method for smoothing a resist pattern prior to etching a layer using the resist pattern |
US20080045022A1 (en) * | 2004-09-17 | 2008-02-21 | Masaru Kurihara | Semiconductor Device Manufacturing Method |
US7196014B2 (en) * | 2004-11-08 | 2007-03-27 | International Business Machines Corporation | System and method for plasma induced modification and improvement of critical dimension uniformity |
US20070143721A1 (en) * | 2004-11-08 | 2007-06-21 | International Business Machines Corporation | System and method for plasma induced modification and improvement of critical dimension uniformity |
US20060099816A1 (en) * | 2004-11-08 | 2006-05-11 | International Business Machines Corporation | System and method for plasma induced modification and improvement of critical dimension uniformity |
US8049335B2 (en) | 2004-11-08 | 2011-11-01 | International Business Machines Corporation | System and method for plasma induced modification and improvement of critical dimension uniformity |
US20070105389A1 (en) * | 2005-11-04 | 2007-05-10 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method and apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, control program thereof and computer-readable storage medium storing the control program |
US7622393B2 (en) * | 2005-11-04 | 2009-11-24 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method and apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, control program thereof and computer-readable storage medium storing the control program |
US20080124937A1 (en) * | 2006-08-16 | 2008-05-29 | Songlin Xu | Selective etching method and apparatus |
US8497213B2 (en) * | 2007-01-16 | 2013-07-30 | Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation | Plasma processing method |
US20080182419A1 (en) * | 2007-01-16 | 2008-07-31 | Naoki Yasui | Plasma processing method |
US7998872B2 (en) * | 2008-02-06 | 2011-08-16 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method for etching a silicon-containing ARC layer to reduce roughness and CD |
US20090197420A1 (en) * | 2008-02-06 | 2009-08-06 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method for etching a silicon-containing arc layer to reduce roughness and cd |
US20110039416A1 (en) * | 2009-08-17 | 2011-02-17 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method for patterning an ARC layer using SF6 and a hydrocarbon gas |
US8236700B2 (en) * | 2009-08-17 | 2012-08-07 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method for patterning an ARC layer using SF6 and a hydrocarbon gas |
US20110159699A1 (en) * | 2009-12-28 | 2011-06-30 | Gabriel Calvin T | Line-edge roughness improvement for small pitches |
US8877641B2 (en) * | 2009-12-28 | 2014-11-04 | Spansion Llc | Line-edge roughness improvement for small pitches |
US20150050814A1 (en) * | 2009-12-28 | 2015-02-19 | Spansion Llc | Line-edge roughness improvement for small pitches |
US9368393B2 (en) * | 2009-12-28 | 2016-06-14 | Cypress Semiconductor Corporation | Line-edge roughness improvement for small pitches |
US10734228B2 (en) | 2017-12-19 | 2020-08-04 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Manufacturing methods to apply stress engineering to self-aligned multi-patterning (SAMP) processes |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
KR101134327B1 (en) | 2012-04-09 |
TWI351054B (en) | 2011-10-21 |
IL175527A0 (en) | 2006-09-05 |
JP2007511096A (en) | 2007-04-26 |
WO2005050700A3 (en) | 2005-12-01 |
US20050101126A1 (en) | 2005-05-12 |
US6949460B2 (en) | 2005-09-27 |
CN1902745A (en) | 2007-01-24 |
JP4865564B2 (en) | 2012-02-01 |
CN100477135C (en) | 2009-04-08 |
WO2005050700A2 (en) | 2005-06-02 |
EP1683194A4 (en) | 2008-06-25 |
KR20060123312A (en) | 2006-12-01 |
EP1683194A2 (en) | 2006-07-26 |
TW200524002A (en) | 2005-07-16 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US20050277289A1 (en) | Line edge roughness reduction for trench etch | |
US8614149B2 (en) | Critical dimension reduction and roughness control | |
US7385287B2 (en) | Preventing damage to low-k materials during resist stripping | |
KR101083622B1 (en) | Reduction of feature critical dimensions | |
US7081407B2 (en) | Method of preventing damage to porous low-k materials during resist stripping | |
KR101611938B1 (en) | A method for controlling cd of etch features | |
US7560388B2 (en) | Self-aligned pitch reduction | |
US8124516B2 (en) | Trilayer resist organic layer etch | |
US7390749B2 (en) | Self-aligned pitch reduction | |
US8864931B2 (en) | Mask trimming | |
US8158524B2 (en) | Line width roughness control with arc layer open | |
US20060134917A1 (en) | Reduction of etch mask feature critical dimensions | |
US7307025B1 (en) | Lag control | |
US8470715B2 (en) | CD bias loading control with ARC layer open | |
US20060223327A1 (en) | Etch with photoresist mask | |
US7396769B2 (en) | Method for stripping photoresist from etched wafer | |
US20060011578A1 (en) | Low-k dielectric etch | |
US7544521B1 (en) | Negative bias critical dimension trim |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |