US20080050661A1 - Photomask fabrication utilizing a carbon hard mask - Google Patents
Photomask fabrication utilizing a carbon hard mask Download PDFInfo
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- US20080050661A1 US20080050661A1 US11/927,833 US92783307A US2008050661A1 US 20080050661 A1 US20080050661 A1 US 20080050661A1 US 92783307 A US92783307 A US 92783307A US 2008050661 A1 US2008050661 A1 US 2008050661A1
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- 229910052799 carbon Inorganic materials 0.000 title claims abstract description 41
- OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N Carbon Chemical compound [C] OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 title claims abstract description 39
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 title description 10
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 68
- VYZAMTAEIAYCRO-UHFFFAOYSA-N Chromium Chemical compound [Cr] VYZAMTAEIAYCRO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 56
- 229910052804 chromium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 56
- 239000011651 chromium Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 56
- 238000005530 etching Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 20
- 229910002091 carbon monoxide Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- 239000000460 chlorine Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- ZAMOUSCENKQFHK-UHFFFAOYSA-N Chlorine atom Chemical compound [Cl] ZAMOUSCENKQFHK-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 10
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 claims description 55
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 claims description 43
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 claims description 40
- NJPPVKZQTLUDBO-UHFFFAOYSA-N novaluron Chemical compound C1=C(Cl)C(OC(F)(F)C(OC(F)(F)F)F)=CC=C1NC(=O)NC(=O)C1=C(F)C=CC=C1F NJPPVKZQTLUDBO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 33
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon dioxide Inorganic materials O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 23
- 239000010453 quartz Substances 0.000 claims description 15
- KZBUYRJDOAKODT-UHFFFAOYSA-N Chlorine Chemical compound ClCl KZBUYRJDOAKODT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 14
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 claims description 12
- 229910052801 chlorine Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 8
- 238000000059 patterning Methods 0.000 claims description 6
- 229910015844 BCl3 Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- VEXZGXHMUGYJMC-UHFFFAOYSA-N Hydrochloric acid Chemical compound Cl VEXZGXHMUGYJMC-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000011065 in-situ storage Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- FAQYAMRNWDIXMY-UHFFFAOYSA-N trichloroborane Chemical compound ClB(Cl)Cl FAQYAMRNWDIXMY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 4
- UGFAIRIUMAVXCW-UHFFFAOYSA-N Carbon monoxide Chemical compound [O+]#[C-] UGFAIRIUMAVXCW-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 abstract description 10
- NHYCGSASNAIGLD-UHFFFAOYSA-N chlorine monoxide Inorganic materials Cl[O] NHYCGSASNAIGLD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 abstract description 3
- 235000012239 silicon dioxide Nutrition 0.000 description 15
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 14
- CPELXLSAUQHCOX-UHFFFAOYSA-N Hydrogen bromide Chemical compound Br CPELXLSAUQHCOX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 11
- 229920002120 photoresistant polymer Polymers 0.000 description 11
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 description 7
- XKRFYHLGVUSROY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Argon Chemical compound [Ar] XKRFYHLGVUSROY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 6
- 229910052581 Si3N4 Inorganic materials 0.000 description 6
- QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N atomic oxygen Chemical compound [O] QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 6
- 239000001301 oxygen Substances 0.000 description 6
- 229910052760 oxygen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 6
- HQVNEWCFYHHQES-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon nitride Chemical compound N12[Si]34N5[Si]62N3[Si]51N64 HQVNEWCFYHHQES-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 6
- 229910000042 hydrogen bromide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 5
- 238000000151 deposition Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 4
- 150000002430 hydrocarbons Chemical class 0.000 description 4
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 4
- 230000010363 phase shift Effects 0.000 description 4
- 239000000377 silicon dioxide Substances 0.000 description 4
- 229910052786 argon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 230000008021 deposition Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000013461 design Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000009826 distribution Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000001020 plasma etching Methods 0.000 description 3
- 229910052721 tungsten Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- ZOKXTWBITQBERF-UHFFFAOYSA-N Molybdenum Chemical compound [Mo] ZOKXTWBITQBERF-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 239000006117 anti-reflective coating Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000004380 ashing Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000007547 defect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000001307 helium Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910052734 helium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- SWQJXJOGLNCZEY-UHFFFAOYSA-N helium atom Chemical compound [He] SWQJXJOGLNCZEY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 230000001939 inductive effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000011261 inert gas Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000001459 lithography Methods 0.000 description 2
- 229910052750 molybdenum Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000011733 molybdenum Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000004642 Polyimide Substances 0.000 description 1
- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000002411 adverse Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium Chemical compound [Al] XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910003481 amorphous carbon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000003667 anti-reflective effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000000149 argon plasma sintering Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000003575 carbonaceous material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000919 ceramic Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000006243 chemical reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001276 controlling effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000003085 diluting agent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000001312 dry etching Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010894 electron beam technology Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000013529 heat transfer fluid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000001257 hydrogen Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052739 hydrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 125000004435 hydrogen atom Chemical class [H]* 0.000 description 1
- 238000005305 interferometry Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000014759 maintenance of location Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000873 masking effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- GALOTNBSUVEISR-UHFFFAOYSA-N molybdenum;silicon Chemical compound [Mo]#[Si] GALOTNBSUVEISR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229920001721 polyimide Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 229920000642 polymer Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 238000004886 process control Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001105 regulatory effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000002210 silicon-based material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000000087 stabilizing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910001220 stainless steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010935 stainless steel Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000003860 storage Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
- G03F1/00—Originals for photomechanical production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g., masks, photo-masks, reticles; Mask blanks or pellicles therefor; Containers specially adapted therefor; Preparation thereof
- G03F1/68—Preparation processes not covered by groups G03F1/20 - G03F1/50
- G03F1/80—Etching
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
- C23F—NON-MECHANICAL REMOVAL OF METALLIC MATERIAL FROM SURFACE; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL; MULTI-STEP PROCESSES FOR SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL INVOLVING AT LEAST ONE PROCESS PROVIDED FOR IN CLASS C23 AND AT LEAST ONE PROCESS COVERED BY SUBCLASS C21D OR C22F OR CLASS C25
- C23F4/00—Processes for removing metallic material from surfaces, not provided for in group C23F1/00 or C23F3/00
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
- G03F1/00—Originals for photomechanical production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g., masks, photo-masks, reticles; Mask blanks or pellicles therefor; Containers specially adapted therefor; Preparation thereof
- G03F1/68—Preparation processes not covered by groups G03F1/20 - G03F1/50
- G03F1/72—Repair or correction of mask defects
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
- G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
- G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
- G03F7/70425—Imaging strategies, e.g. for increasing throughput or resolution, printing product fields larger than the image field or compensating lithography- or non-lithography errors, e.g. proximity correction, mix-and-match, stitching or double patterning
- G03F7/70433—Layout for increasing efficiency or for compensating imaging errors, e.g. layout of exposure fields for reducing focus errors; Use of mask features for increasing efficiency or for compensating imaging errors
-
- 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
- H01J37/321—Radio frequency generated discharge the radio frequency energy being inductively coupled to the plasma
Definitions
- the present invention generally relates to an apparatus for plasma etching chromium. More specifically, the present invention provides an apparatus for etching chromium layer through a carbon hard mask for photomask fabrication.
- a mask is typically a glass or a quartz substrate that has a layer of chromium on one side.
- the mask may also contain a layer of silicon nitride (SiN) doped with molybdenum (Mb).
- SiN silicon nitride
- Mb molybdenum
- the chromium layer is covered with an anti-reflective coating and a photosensitive resist.
- the circuit design is written onto the mask by exposing portions of the resist to ultraviolet light, making the exposed portions soluble in a developing solution.
- the soluble portion of the resist is then removed, allowing the exposed underlying chromium to be etched.
- the etch process removes the chromium and anti-reflective layers from the mask at locations where the resist was removed, i.e., the exposed chromium is removed.
- quartz phase shift mask Another mask utilized for patterning is known as a quartz phase shift mask.
- the quartz phase shift mask is similar to the mask described above, except that alternating adjacent areas of quartz regions exposed through the patterned chromium layer are etched to a depth about equal to half the wavelength of light which will be utilized to transfer the circuit patterns to a substrate during fabrication.
- the quartz phase shift mask As the light is shown through the quartz phase shift mask to expose resist disposed on the substrate, the light impinging in the resist through one opening in the mask is 180 degrees out of phase relative to the light passing through the immediately adjacent opening. Therefore, light that may be scattered at the edges of the mask opening is cancelled out by the 180 degree light scattering at the edge of the adjacent opening, causing a tighter distribution of light in a predefined region of the resist.
- masks used for chromeless etch lithography also utilize the phase shift of light passing through quartz portions of two masks to sequentially image the resist, thereby improving the light distribution utilized to develop the resist pattern.
- etch process known as dry etching, reactive ion etching, or plasma etching
- plasma is used to enhance a chemical reaction and etch the patterned chromium area of the mask.
- conventional chromium etch processes often suffer etch bias problems due to attack on the photoresist material utilized to pattern the chromium. As the photoresist is attacked during the chromium etch, the critical dimension of patterned photoresist is not accurately transferred to the chromium layer.
- Hard masks have been recently used to provide more accurate critical dimension (CD) transfer during chromium etching for photomask fabrication.
- existing chromium etch processes have poor selectivity to carbon hard mask materials.
- conventional chromium etch chemistries include oxygen, carbon hard mask materials are often etched as fast or faster than the chromium layers, resulting in unacceptable CD control, thus, making conventional chromium etch processes unsuitable for photomask fabrication.
- a method of forming a photomask includes providing a substrate having a patterned carbon hard mask disposed over a chromium layer and a quartz layer on a substrate support disposed in a processing chamber, introducing a process gas containing chlorine and carbon monoxide into the processing chamber, forming a plasma of the process gas, biasing the substrate, etching the chromium layer exposed through said patterned carbon hard mask to expose portions of the quartz layer, and removing the hard mask layer.
- a method of etching a chromium layer includes providing a substrate having a chromium layer partially exposed through a patterned carbon hard mask layer, flowing a process gas containing chlorine and carbon monoxide into a processing chamber, and maintaining a plasma of the process gas to etch the chromium layer though the patterned carbon hard mask layer.
- computer readable media and an apparatus for etching a chromium layer using a carbon hard mask is also provided.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of one embodiment of an etch reactor suitable for etching a chromium layer
- FIGS. 3A-3G depict a series of schematic, partial cross-sectional views of a film stack fabricated into a photomask accordance with the method of FIG. 2 ;
- Embodiments of the present invention provide an improved chromium etching process and a method for photomask fabrication.
- the methods utilize a chromium etch chemistry which has high selectivity to carbon hard mask materials.
- FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of one embodiment of an etch processing chamber 100 in which a method of chromium etching of the present invention may be practiced.
- Suitable reactors that may be adapted for use with the teachings disclosed herein include, for example, the Decoupled Plasma Source (DPS®) II reactor, or the Tetra I and Tetra II Photomask etch systems, all of which are available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif.
- the etch processing chamber 100 may also be used as a processing module of a processing system 170 as shown in FIG. 4 , such as, for example, a Centura® integrated semiconductor wafer processing system, also available from Applied Materials, Inc.
- the processing system may also include a first chamber 172 suitable for ashing and a second chamber suitable for polymer deposition 174 .
- suitable ashing and deposition chambers include AXIOM HTTM and Tetra II processing chambers, also available from Applied Materials, Inc.
- the particular embodiment of the processing chamber 100 shown herein is provided for illustrative purposes and should not be used to limit the scope of the invention.
- the processing chamber 100 generally comprises a process chamber body 102 having a substrate pedestal 124 , and a controller 146 .
- the chamber body 102 has a conductive wall 104 that supports a substantially flat dielectric ceiling 108 .
- Other embodiments of the processing chamber 100 may have other types of ceilings, e.g., a dome-shaped ceiling.
- An antenna 110 having one or more inductive coils, such as two co-axial elements 110 A and 110 B, is disposed above the ceiling 108 .
- the coaxial elements 110 A and 110 B may be selectively controlled.
- the antenna 110 is coupled through a first matching network 114 to a plasma power source 112 .
- the plasma power source 112 is typically capable of producing up to about 3000 Watts (W) at a tunable frequency in a range from about 50 kHz to about 13.56 MHz. In one embodiment, the plasma power source 112 provides about 100 to about 600 W of inductively coupled RF power, and in another embodiment, the plasma power source 112 provides about 250 to about 600 W of inductively coupled RF power.
- the substrate pedestal (cathode) 124 is coupled through a second matching network 142 to a biasing power source 140 .
- the biasing source 140 provides between about zero to about 600 W at a tunable pulse frequency in the range of about 1 to about 10 kHz.
- the biasing source 140 is capable of producing a pulsed RF power output.
- the biasing source 140 may produce a pulsed DC power output. It is contemplated that the source 140 may also be configured to provide a constant DC and/or RF power output.
- a gas panel 120 is coupled to the processing chamber 100 to provide process and/or other gases to the interior of the chamber body 102 .
- the gas panel 120 is coupled to one or more inlets 116 formed in a channel 118 in the sidewall 104 of the chamber body 102 . It is contemplated that the one or more inlets 116 may be provided in other locations, for example, in the ceiling 108 of the processing chamber 100 .
- the gas panel 120 is adapted to provide process gas through the inlets 116 and into the interior of the chamber body 102 .
- a plasma is formed of the process gas in the chamber body 102 and maintained through inductive coupling of power from the plasma power source 112 .
- the plasma may alternatively be formed remotely or ignited by other methods.
- the process gas provided from the gas panel 120 includes at least one chlorine containing gas and carbon monoxide (CO) gas. Examples of chlorine containing gases include Cl 2 , BCl 3 , and HCl, among others.
- the temperature of the wall 104 may be controlled using liquid-containing conduits (not shown) that run through the wall 104 .
- Wall temperature is generally maintained at about 65 degrees Celsius.
- the chamber wall 104 is formed from a metal (e.g., aluminum, stainless steel, and the like) and is coupled to an electrical ground 106 .
- the processing chamber 100 also comprises conventional systems for process control, internal diagnostic, end point detection, and the like. Such systems are collectively shown as support systems 154 .
- a lift mechanism 138 is used to lower or raise the adapter 182 , and hence, the substrate 122 , onto or off of the substrate support pedestals 124 .
- the lift mechanism 162 comprises a plurality of lift pins (one lift pin 130 is shown) that travel through respective guide holes 136 .
- the temperature of the substrate 122 is controlled by stabilizing the temperature of the substrate pedestal 124 .
- the substrate support pedestal 124 comprises a heater 144 and an optional heat sink 128 .
- the heater 144 may be one or more fluid conduits configured to flow a heat transfer fluid therethrough.
- the heater 144 may include at least one heating element 134 that is regulated by a heater power supply 168 .
- a backside gas e.g., helium (He)
- He helium
- the backside gas is used to facilitate heat transfer between the pedestal 124 and the substrate 122 .
- the pedestal 124 may be heated by the embedded heater 144 to a steady-state temperature, which in combination with the helium backside gas, facilitates uniform heating of the substrate 122 .
- the controller 146 comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 150 , a memory 148 , and support circuits 152 for the CPU 150 and facilitates control of the components of the processing chamber 100 and, as such, of the etch process, as discussed below in further detail.
- the controller 146 may be one of any form of general-purpose computer processor that can be used in an industrial setting for controlling various chambers and sub-processors.
- the memory 148 of the CPU 150 may be one or more of readily available memory such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), floppy disk, hard disk, or any other form of digital storage, local or remote.
- the support circuits 152 are coupled to the CPU 150 for supporting the processor in a conventional manner.
- circuits include cache, power supplies, clock circuits, input/output circuitry and subsystems, and the like.
- the inventive method is generally stored in the memory 148 or other computer-readable medium accessible to the CPU 150 as a software routine.
- software routine may also be stored and/or executed by a second CPU (not shown) that is remotely located from the hardware being controlled by the CPU 150 .
- FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of a flow diagram for a method 200 of fabricating a photomask 320 as shown in FIGS. 3 A-G in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
- the method 200 is generally stored in the memory 148 , typically as a software routine.
- the method 200 of the present invention is discussed as being implemented as a software routine, some or all of the method steps that are disclosed therein may be performed in hardware as well as by the software controller.
- the invention may be implemented in software as executed upon a computer system, in hardware as an application specific integrated circuit or other type of hardware implementation, or a combination of software and hardware.
- the method 200 begins at step 202 when substrate 122 is placed on a support pedestal 124 .
- the substrate 122 generally comprises a film stack 300 of the photomask structure being fabricated.
- the film stack 300 includes an optically transparent silicon based material, such as quartz (i.e., silicon dioxide (SiO2)) layer 302 , having an opaque light-shielding chromium layer 304 , known as a photomask material, processed to form a patterned mask on the surface of the quartz layer 302 .
- the chromium layer 304 may be chromium and/or chromium oxynitride.
- the substrate 122 may also include an attenuating layer 306 (shown in phantom), such as silicon nitride (SiN) doped with molybdenum (Mo) or Molybdenum silicon (MoSi), interposed between the quartz layer 302 and chromium layer 304 , as shown in FIG. 3A .
- an attenuating layer 306 shown in phantom
- SiN silicon nitride
- Mo molybdenum
- MoSi Molybdenum silicon
- a carbon hard mask layer 308 is deposited on the substrate 122 utilizing a chemical vapor depositing process as shown in FIG. 3B .
- the carbon hard mask layer 308 has a thickness of, but not limited to, about 50 ⁇ to about 1000 ⁇ .
- the carbon hard mask layer 308 may be a high-temperature inorganic carbon material, referred to as ⁇ -carbon.
- the mask layer 308 may be a material sold under trade name Advanced Patterning Film (APFTM), by Applied Materials, Inc., located in Santa Clara, Calif.
- APITM Advanced Patterning Film
- the carbon hard mask layer 308 is etched using the patterned photoresist mask 310 layer as an etch mask, as shown in FIG. 3D .
- the carbon hard mask layer 308 may be etched by providing hydrogen bromide (HBr) at a rate of 20 to 200 sccm, oxygen (O 2 ) at a rate of 10 to 40 sccm (i.e., a HBr:O 2 flow ratio ranging from 1:2 to 20:1), and argon (Ar) at a rate of 20 to 200 sccm, applying power to an inductively coupled antenna between 200 to 1500 W, applying a cathode bias power between 50 and 200 W, and maintaining a wafer temperature between 50 and 200 degrees Celsius at a pressure in the process chamber between 2 and 20 mTorr.
- HBr hydrogen bromide
- oxygen oxygen
- Ar argon
- the photoresist mask 310 is removed from the carbon hard mask layer 308 , as shown in FIG. 3E .
- the photoresist mask 310 may be removed contemporarily with the etching of the carbon hard mask layer 308 at step 208 .
- the photoresist mask 310 may be removed in-situ the hard mask etch chamber by exposure to an oxygen containing plasma.
- the photoresist mask 310 may alternatively be left on the film stack 300 .
- the photoresist 310 will eventually be consumed during subsequent etch processes, or be removed with the patterned carbon hard mask layer 308 at step 214 as described below.
- the chromium layer 304 is etched at step 212 by providing Cl 2 at a rate of 50 to 1000 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm) and CO at a rate of 10 to 500 sccm. In yet another embodiment, the chromium layer 304 is etched by providing Cl 2 at a rate of 200 to 400 sccm and CO at a rate of 100 to 300 sccm.
- One specific process recipe provides Cl 2 at a rate of 300 sccm, CO at a rate of 150 sccm.
- the pressure in the process chamber is maintained at between 2 and 50 mTorr, and in one embodiment, between 2 and 10 mTorr. In yet another embodiment, the pressure is maintained at around 3 mTorr.
- the biasing source 140 is provides pulsed RF power between about 5 to about 25 W, at a frequency between about 2 to about 5 kHz, with a duty cycle between about 80 to about 95 percent. In yet another embodiment, the biasing source provides a pulsed RF power of about 10 W.
- plasma formed of the process gases
- the chamber 100 by applying RF power of between about 100 to about 1000 W from the plasma power source 112 to the antenna 110 .
- the plasma is maintained by applying RF power of between 100 to about 500 W.
- the RF power is applied at around 300 W. It is contemplated that the plasma may be ignited by any number of methods.
- the chromium layer 304 exposed on the substrate 122 through the patterned carbon hard mask layer 308 is etched until an endpoint is reached.
- the endpoint may be determined by time, optical interferometry, chamber gas emission spectrograph or by other suitable methods.
- the plasma is energized with a source power of 200 to 1000 W and a bias power of 0 to 300 W, while the temperature of the substrate is maintained between about 20 to about 80 degrees Celsius.
- a plasma formed from hydrogen (H 2 ) or a mixture of oxygen and a diluent gas such as argon (Ar) may be used to remove the carbon hard mask layer 308 .
- a method for etching chromium layer has been provided that advantageously improves critical dimension transfer by high selectivity of the chromium layer to the carbon hard mask layer. Accordingly, the method of etching a chromium layer with improved CD control described herein advantageously facilitates fabrication of photomask suitable for patterning features having small critical dimensions.
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Abstract
Methods for forming a photomask using a carbon hard mask are provided. In one embodiment, a method of forming a photomask includes etching a chromium layer through a patterned carbon hard mask layer in the presence of a plasma formed from a process gas containing chlorine and carbon monoxide.
Description
- This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/238,424, filed Sep. 28, 2005 (Attorney Docket No. APPM/10365), which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for plasma etching chromium. More specifically, the present invention provides an apparatus for etching chromium layer through a carbon hard mask for photomask fabrication.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- In the manufacture of integrated circuits (IC), or chips, patterns representing different layers of the chip are created by a chip designer. A series of reusable masks, or photomasks, are created from these patterns in order to transfer the design of each chip layer onto a semiconductor substrate during the manufacturing process. Mask pattern generation systems use precision lasers or electron beams to image the design of each layer of the chip onto a respective mask. The masks are then used much like photographic negatives to transfer the circuit patterns for each layer onto a semiconductor substrate. These layers are built up using a sequence of processes and translate into the tiny transistors and electrical circuits that comprise each completed chip. Thus, any defects in the mask may be transferred to the chip, potentially adversely affecting performance. Defects that are severe enough may render the mask completely useless. Typically, a set of 15 to 30 masks is used to construct a chip and can be used repeatedly.
- A mask is typically a glass or a quartz substrate that has a layer of chromium on one side. The mask may also contain a layer of silicon nitride (SiN) doped with molybdenum (Mb). The chromium layer is covered with an anti-reflective coating and a photosensitive resist. During a patterning process, the circuit design is written onto the mask by exposing portions of the resist to ultraviolet light, making the exposed portions soluble in a developing solution. The soluble portion of the resist is then removed, allowing the exposed underlying chromium to be etched. The etch process removes the chromium and anti-reflective layers from the mask at locations where the resist was removed, i.e., the exposed chromium is removed.
- Another mask utilized for patterning is known as a quartz phase shift mask. The quartz phase shift mask is similar to the mask described above, except that alternating adjacent areas of quartz regions exposed through the patterned chromium layer are etched to a depth about equal to half the wavelength of light which will be utilized to transfer the circuit patterns to a substrate during fabrication. Thus, as the light is shown through the quartz phase shift mask to expose resist disposed on the substrate, the light impinging in the resist through one opening in the mask is 180 degrees out of phase relative to the light passing through the immediately adjacent opening. Therefore, light that may be scattered at the edges of the mask opening is cancelled out by the 180 degree light scattering at the edge of the adjacent opening, causing a tighter distribution of light in a predefined region of the resist. The tighter distribution of light facilitates writing of features having smaller critical dimensions. Similarly, masks used for chromeless etch lithography also utilize the phase shift of light passing through quartz portions of two masks to sequentially image the resist, thereby improving the light distribution utilized to develop the resist pattern.
- In one etch process, known as dry etching, reactive ion etching, or plasma etching, plasma is used to enhance a chemical reaction and etch the patterned chromium area of the mask. Unfortunately, conventional chromium etch processes often suffer etch bias problems due to attack on the photoresist material utilized to pattern the chromium. As the photoresist is attacked during the chromium etch, the critical dimension of patterned photoresist is not accurately transferred to the chromium layer. Additionally, since etching using a photoresist mask is subject to etch bias, the use of photoresist masks for fabricating critical dimensions less than about 5 μm is extremely challenging to the fabricator as these problems result in non-uniformity of the etched features of the photomask and correspondingly diminishes the ability to produce features having small critical dimensions using the mask. As the critical dimensions of mask continue to shrink, the importance of etch uniformity dominates.
- Hard masks have been recently used to provide more accurate critical dimension (CD) transfer during chromium etching for photomask fabrication. However, existing chromium etch processes have poor selectivity to carbon hard mask materials. As conventional chromium etch chemistries include oxygen, carbon hard mask materials are often etched as fast or faster than the chromium layers, resulting in unacceptable CD control, thus, making conventional chromium etch processes unsuitable for photomask fabrication.
- Therefore, there is a need for a chromium etch process having high etching selectivity to carbon hard mask materials and apparatus for the same.
- The present invention generally provides a method and apparatus for etching a chromium layer using a carbon hard mask. In one embodiment, a method of forming a photomask includes providing a substrate having a patterned carbon hard mask disposed over a chromium layer and a quartz layer on a substrate support disposed in a processing chamber, introducing a process gas containing chlorine and carbon monoxide into the processing chamber, forming a plasma of the process gas, biasing the substrate, etching the chromium layer exposed through said patterned carbon hard mask to expose portions of the quartz layer, and removing the hard mask layer.
- In another embodiment, a method of etching a chromium layer includes providing a substrate having a chromium layer partially exposed through a patterned carbon hard mask layer, flowing a process gas containing chlorine and carbon monoxide into a processing chamber, and maintaining a plasma of the process gas to etch the chromium layer though the patterned carbon hard mask layer.
- In other embodiments, computer readable media and an apparatus for etching a chromium layer using a carbon hard mask is also provided.
- The teachings of the present invention can be readily understood by considering the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of one embodiment of an etch reactor suitable for etching a chromium layer; -
FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of a flow diagram for a method of fabricating a photomask in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; -
FIGS. 3A-3G depict a series of schematic, partial cross-sectional views of a film stack fabricated into a photomask accordance with the method ofFIG. 2 ; and -
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a processing system, e.g., a cluster tool, including the reactor ofFIG. 1 . - To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements and features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments without further recitation.
- It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only exemplary embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
- Embodiments of the present invention provide an improved chromium etching process and a method for photomask fabrication. The methods utilize a chromium etch chemistry which has high selectivity to carbon hard mask materials.
-
FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of one embodiment of anetch processing chamber 100 in which a method of chromium etching of the present invention may be practiced. Suitable reactors that may be adapted for use with the teachings disclosed herein include, for example, the Decoupled Plasma Source (DPS®) II reactor, or the Tetra I and Tetra II Photomask etch systems, all of which are available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. Theetch processing chamber 100 may also be used as a processing module of aprocessing system 170 as shown inFIG. 4 , such as, for example, a Centura® integrated semiconductor wafer processing system, also available from Applied Materials, Inc. The processing system may also include afirst chamber 172 suitable for ashing and a second chamber suitable forpolymer deposition 174. Examples of suitable ashing and deposition chambers include AXIOM HT™ and Tetra II processing chambers, also available from Applied Materials, Inc. The particular embodiment of theprocessing chamber 100 shown herein is provided for illustrative purposes and should not be used to limit the scope of the invention. - The
processing chamber 100 generally comprises aprocess chamber body 102 having asubstrate pedestal 124, and acontroller 146. Thechamber body 102 has aconductive wall 104 that supports a substantially flatdielectric ceiling 108. Other embodiments of theprocessing chamber 100 may have other types of ceilings, e.g., a dome-shaped ceiling. Anantenna 110 having one or more inductive coils, such as two co-axial elements 110A and 110B, is disposed above theceiling 108. The coaxial elements 110A and 110B may be selectively controlled. Theantenna 110 is coupled through afirst matching network 114 to aplasma power source 112. Theplasma power source 112 is typically capable of producing up to about 3000 Watts (W) at a tunable frequency in a range from about 50 kHz to about 13.56 MHz. In one embodiment, theplasma power source 112 provides about 100 to about 600 W of inductively coupled RF power, and in another embodiment, theplasma power source 112 provides about 250 to about 600 W of inductively coupled RF power. - The substrate pedestal (cathode) 124 is coupled through a
second matching network 142 to a biasingpower source 140. The biasingsource 140 provides between about zero to about 600 W at a tunable pulse frequency in the range of about 1 to about 10 kHz. The biasingsource 140 is capable of producing a pulsed RF power output. Alternatively, the biasingsource 140 may produce a pulsed DC power output. It is contemplated that thesource 140 may also be configured to provide a constant DC and/or RF power output. - In one embodiment, the biasing
source 140 is configured to provide pulsed RF power less than about 600 Watts at a frequency between about 1 to about 10 kHz, with a duty cycle between about 10 to about 95 percent. In another embodiment, the biasingsource 140 is configured to provide pulsed RF power between about 10 to about 150 W, at a frequency between about 2 to about 5 kHz, with a duty cycle between about 80 to about 95 percent. In yet another embodiment, the biasing source provides a pulsed RF power of about 10 W. - In one embodiment configured as a DPS® reactor, the
substrate support pedestal 124 includes anelectrostatic chuck 160. Theelectrostatic chuck 160 comprises at least oneclamping electrode 132 and is controlled by achuck power supply 166. In alternative embodiments, thesubstrate pedestal 124 may comprise substrate retention mechanisms such as a susceptor clamp ring, a mechanical chuck, and the like. - A
gas panel 120 is coupled to theprocessing chamber 100 to provide process and/or other gases to the interior of thechamber body 102. In the embodiment depicted inFIG. 1 , thegas panel 120 is coupled to one ormore inlets 116 formed in achannel 118 in thesidewall 104 of thechamber body 102. It is contemplated that the one ormore inlets 116 may be provided in other locations, for example, in theceiling 108 of theprocessing chamber 100. - In one embodiment, the
gas panel 120 is adapted to provide process gas through theinlets 116 and into the interior of thechamber body 102. During processing, a plasma is formed of the process gas in thechamber body 102 and maintained through inductive coupling of power from theplasma power source 112. The plasma may alternatively be formed remotely or ignited by other methods. In one embodiment, the process gas provided from thegas panel 120 includes at least one chlorine containing gas and carbon monoxide (CO) gas. Examples of chlorine containing gases include Cl2, BCl3, and HCl, among others. - The pressure in the
processing chamber 100 is controlled using athrottle valve 162 and avacuum pump 164. Thevacuum pump 164 andthrottle valve 162 are capable of maintaining chamber pressures in the range of about 1 to about 20 mTorr. - The temperature of the
wall 104 may be controlled using liquid-containing conduits (not shown) that run through thewall 104. Wall temperature is generally maintained at about 65 degrees Celsius. Typically, thechamber wall 104 is formed from a metal (e.g., aluminum, stainless steel, and the like) and is coupled to anelectrical ground 106. Theprocessing chamber 100 also comprises conventional systems for process control, internal diagnostic, end point detection, and the like. Such systems are collectively shown assupport systems 154. - A
reticle adapter 182 is used to secure a substrate (such as a reticle or other workpiece) 122 onto thesubstrate support pedestal 124. Thereticle adapter 182 generally includes alower portion 184 milled to cover an upper surface of the pedestal 124 (for example, the electrostatic chuck 160) and a top portion 186 having anopening 188 that is sized and shaped to hold thesubstrate 122. Theopening 188 is generally substantially centered with respect to thepedestal 124. Theadapter 182 is generally formed from a single piece of etch resistant, high temperature resistant material such as polyimide ceramic or quartz. A suitable reticle adapter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,217, issued on Jun. 26, 2001, and incorporated herein by reference. Anedge ring 126 may cover and/or secure theadapter 182 to thepedestal 124. - A
lift mechanism 138 is used to lower or raise theadapter 182, and hence, thesubstrate 122, onto or off of the substrate support pedestals 124. Generally, thelift mechanism 162 comprises a plurality of lift pins (onelift pin 130 is shown) that travel through respective guide holes 136. - In operation, the temperature of the
substrate 122 is controlled by stabilizing the temperature of thesubstrate pedestal 124. In one embodiment, thesubstrate support pedestal 124 comprises aheater 144 and anoptional heat sink 128. Theheater 144 may be one or more fluid conduits configured to flow a heat transfer fluid therethrough. In another embodiment, theheater 144 may include at least oneheating element 134 that is regulated by aheater power supply 168. Optionally, a backside gas (e.g., helium (He)) from agas source 156 is provided via agas conduit 158 to channels that are formed in the pedestal surface under thesubstrate 122. The backside gas is used to facilitate heat transfer between thepedestal 124 and thesubstrate 122. During processing, thepedestal 124 may be heated by the embeddedheater 144 to a steady-state temperature, which in combination with the helium backside gas, facilitates uniform heating of thesubstrate 122. - The
controller 146 comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 150, amemory 148, and supportcircuits 152 for theCPU 150 and facilitates control of the components of theprocessing chamber 100 and, as such, of the etch process, as discussed below in further detail. Thecontroller 146 may be one of any form of general-purpose computer processor that can be used in an industrial setting for controlling various chambers and sub-processors. Thememory 148 of theCPU 150 may be one or more of readily available memory such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), floppy disk, hard disk, or any other form of digital storage, local or remote. Thesupport circuits 152 are coupled to theCPU 150 for supporting the processor in a conventional manner. These circuits include cache, power supplies, clock circuits, input/output circuitry and subsystems, and the like. The inventive method is generally stored in thememory 148 or other computer-readable medium accessible to theCPU 150 as a software routine. Alternatively, such software routine may also be stored and/or executed by a second CPU (not shown) that is remotely located from the hardware being controlled by theCPU 150. -
FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of a flow diagram for amethod 200 of fabricating aphotomask 320 as shown in FIGS. 3A-G in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Themethod 200 is generally stored in thememory 148, typically as a software routine. Although themethod 200 of the present invention is discussed as being implemented as a software routine, some or all of the method steps that are disclosed therein may be performed in hardware as well as by the software controller. As such, the invention may be implemented in software as executed upon a computer system, in hardware as an application specific integrated circuit or other type of hardware implementation, or a combination of software and hardware. - The
method 200 begins atstep 202 whensubstrate 122 is placed on asupport pedestal 124. Thesubstrate 122 generally comprises afilm stack 300 of the photomask structure being fabricated. Thefilm stack 300 includes an optically transparent silicon based material, such as quartz (i.e., silicon dioxide (SiO2))layer 302, having an opaque light-shieldingchromium layer 304, known as a photomask material, processed to form a patterned mask on the surface of thequartz layer 302. Thechromium layer 304 may be chromium and/or chromium oxynitride. Thesubstrate 122 may also include an attenuating layer 306 (shown in phantom), such as silicon nitride (SiN) doped with molybdenum (Mo) or Molybdenum silicon (MoSi), interposed between thequartz layer 302 andchromium layer 304, as shown inFIG. 3A . - At
step 204, a carbonhard mask layer 308 is deposited on thesubstrate 122 utilizing a chemical vapor depositing process as shown inFIG. 3B . The carbonhard mask layer 308 has a thickness of, but not limited to, about 50 Å to about 1000 Å. The carbonhard mask layer 308 may be a high-temperature inorganic carbon material, referred to as α-carbon. In another embodiment, themask layer 308 may be a material sold under trade name Advanced Patterning Film (APF™), by Applied Materials, Inc., located in Santa Clara, Calif. - In one embodiment, a carbon
hard mask layer 308 is deposited by heating a gas mixture comprising one or more hydrocarbon compounds and an inert gas to thermally decompose the one or more hydrocarbon compounds and an inert gas to thermally decompose the one or more hydrocarbon compounds in the gas mixture to form an amorphous carbon layer. Suitable hydrocarbon compounds include gases having the general formula CxHy, wherein x has a range of 2 to 4 and y has a range of 2 to 10. The gas mixture may be heated to a temperature between about 100 to about 700° C. During deposition, a bias power may be configured to engineer the stress of the deposited material to improve adhesion of thehard mask layer 308 to the underlying film. Particularly, as the critical dimensions of the photomask approach the 45 nm range, poor adherence of the carbonhard mask layer 308 which promotes etch bias will result in unacceptable transfer of CDs from the masking materials to the photomask. - In one embodiment, the carbon
hard mask layer 308 may include a dielectric anti-reflective coating (DARC) layer used to control the reflection of light during a lithographic patterning process. Typically, the DARC layer comprises silicon dioxide (SiO2), silicon oxynitride (SiON), silicon nitride (Si3N4), and the like. In one illustrative embodiment, a hard mask layer includes α-carbon film and a DARC layer having a combined thickness of about 1800 Angstroms. - At
step 206, a resistlayer 310 is patterned over the carbonhard mask layer 308, as commonly known in the art. The resist layer may be patterned by any suitable method. - At
step 208, the carbonhard mask layer 308 is etched using the patternedphotoresist mask 310 layer as an etch mask, as shown inFIG. 3D . - In one embodiment, the carbon
hard mask layer 308 may be etched by providing hydrogen bromide (HBr) at a rate of 20 to 200 sccm, oxygen (O2) at a rate of 10 to 40 sccm (i.e., a HBr:O2 flow ratio ranging from 1:2 to 20:1), and argon (Ar) at a rate of 20 to 200 sccm, applying power to an inductively coupled antenna between 200 to 1500 W, applying a cathode bias power between 50 and 200 W, and maintaining a wafer temperature between 50 and 200 degrees Celsius at a pressure in the process chamber between 2 and 20 mTorr. One process recipe provides HBr at a rate of 60 sccm, O2 at a rate of 26 sccm, (i.e., a HBr:O2 flow ratio of about 2.3:1), and Ar at a rate of 60 sccm, applies 600 W of power to the antenna, 60 W of a bias power, maintains a wafer temperature of 80 degrees Celsius, and maintains a pressure of 4 mTorr. - At
optional step 210, thephotoresist mask 310 is removed from the carbonhard mask layer 308, as shown inFIG. 3E . In one embodiment, thephotoresist mask 310 may be removed contemporarily with the etching of the carbonhard mask layer 308 atstep 208. In another embodiment, thephotoresist mask 310 may be removed in-situ the hard mask etch chamber by exposure to an oxygen containing plasma. Thephotoresist mask 310 may alternatively be left on thefilm stack 300. Thephotoresist 310 will eventually be consumed during subsequent etch processes, or be removed with the patterned carbonhard mask layer 308 atstep 214 as described below. - At
step 212, thechromium layer 304 is etched using the patterned carbonhard mask layer 308 as an etch mask.FIG. 3F depicts thefilm stack 300 with thechromium layer 304 etched. In one embodiment, theetch step 212 utilizes a plasma formed from a chlorine containing gas and carbon monoxide (CO) introduced into theprocess chamber 100. Exemplary chlorine containing gas may include one or more of Cl2, BCl3, and HCl, among others. - In another embodiment, the
chromium layer 304 is etched atstep 212 by providing Cl2 at a rate of 50 to 1000 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm) and CO at a rate of 10 to 500 sccm. In yet another embodiment, thechromium layer 304 is etched by providing Cl2 at a rate of 200 to 400 sccm and CO at a rate of 100 to 300 sccm. One specific process recipe provides Cl2 at a rate of 300 sccm, CO at a rate of 150 sccm. The pressure in the process chamber is maintained at between 2 and 50 mTorr, and in one embodiment, between 2 and 10 mTorr. In yet another embodiment, the pressure is maintained at around 3 mTorr. - During the chromium
layer etch step 212, a pulsed bias power is applied to thesupport pedestal 124 to bias thesubstrate 122. In a first example, thesubstrate 122 is biased with a pulsed RF power of less than about 100 W, and in a second example, thesubstrate 122 is biased with a pulsed RF of about 8 W. The bias power may be pulsed with a frequency and duty cycle as described above, for example, with a frequency in the range of about 1 to about 10 kHz, and with a duty cycle between about 10 to about 95 percent. The pulsed bias power may be DC and/or RF. In another embodiment, the biasingsource 140 is provides pulsed RF power between about 5 to about 25 W, at a frequency between about 2 to about 5 kHz, with a duty cycle between about 80 to about 95 percent. In yet another embodiment, the biasing source provides a pulsed RF power of about 10 W. - During
step 212, plasma, formed of the process gases, is maintained in thechamber 100 by applying RF power of between about 100 to about 1000 W from theplasma power source 112 to theantenna 110. In another example, the plasma is maintained by applying RF power of between 100 to about 500 W. In yet another embodiment, the RF power is applied at around 300 W. It is contemplated that the plasma may be ignited by any number of methods. - The
chromium layer 304 exposed on thesubstrate 122 through the patterned carbonhard mask layer 308 is etched until an endpoint is reached. The endpoint may be determined by time, optical interferometry, chamber gas emission spectrograph or by other suitable methods. - At
step 214, the carbonhard mask layer 308 is removed to form aphotomask 320. In another embodiment, the carbonhard mask layer 308 may be removed in-situ theprocessing chamber 170 in which theetching step 212 was performed. For example, a carbonhard mask layer 308 may be removed by exposure to an oxygen containing plasma in-situ processing chamber 170 following the chromium layer etch. In another embodiment, the carbonhard mask layer 308 may be removed using a plasma formed from hydrogen bromide and oxygen. A HBr:O2 flow ratio may range between about 1:10 to 10:1. Argon may also be present in the plasma. In another embodiment, the plasma is energized with a source power of 200 to 1000 W and a bias power of 0 to 300 W, while the temperature of the substrate is maintained between about 20 to about 80 degrees Celsius. Alternatively, a plasma formed from hydrogen (H2) or a mixture of oxygen and a diluent gas such as argon (Ar) may be used to remove the carbonhard mask layer 308. - Thus, a method for etching chromium layer has been provided that advantageously improves critical dimension transfer by high selectivity of the chromium layer to the carbon hard mask layer. Accordingly, the method of etching a chromium layer with improved CD control described herein advantageously facilitates fabrication of photomask suitable for patterning features having small critical dimensions.
- While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
Claims (17)
1. Computer-readable media containing instructions, that when executed by a controller cause a semiconductor processing system to perform an etch method on a substrate disposed in the system, the substrate having a carbon hard mask disposed over a chromium layer and a quartz layer, the method comprising:
flowing about 50 to about 1000 sccm of chlorine containing gas into a processing chamber of the system;
flowing about 10 to about 500 sccm of CO into the processing chamber;
forming a plasma of the process gas;
biasing the substrate with a power of less than 100 W; and
etching the chromium layer exposed through the patterned hard mask.
2. The computer-readable media of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the controller, cause the method to further comprise:
flowing at least one of Cl2, BCl3, or HCl into the processing chamber.
3. The computer-readable media of claim 2 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the controller, cause the method to further comprise:
flowing about 300 sccm of Cl2 into the processing chamber;
flowing about 150 sccm of CO into the processing chamber;
maintaining chamber pressure at around 3 mTorr;
applying a plasma source power at around 300 Watts; and
supplying a plasma bias power at around 8 Watts.
4. The computer-readable media of claim 2 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the controller, cause the method to further comprise:
flowing about 200 to about 400 sccm of Cl2 into the processing chamber; and
flowing about 100 to about 300 sccm of CO into the processing chamber.
5. The computer-readable media of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the controller, cause the method to further comprise:
pulsing the bias power.
6. Computer-readable media containing instructions, that when executed by a controller cause a semiconductor processing system to perform an etch method on a substrate disposed in the system, the method comprising:
patterning a carbon hard mask layer on the substrate, the carbon hard mask layer disposed on a chromium layer having a underlying quartz layer, the patterning of the hard mask layer forming a hard mask on the chromium layer;
flowing about 200 to about 400 sccm of Cl2 into the processing chamber;
flowing about 100 to about 300 sccm of CO into the processing chamber;
forming a plasma of the process gas in the processing chamber;
biasing the substrate with a power of less than 100 W;
etching the chromium layer exposed through the patterned hard mask; and
removing the hard mask.
7. The computer-readable media of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the controller, cause the method to further comprise:
removing the hard mask in-situ the chamber in which the chromium layer is etched.
8. The computer-readable media of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the controller, cause the method to further comprise:
pulsing the bias power.
9. A semiconductor processing chamber, comprising:
a chamber body having a substrate support pedestal disposed therein;
a reticle adapter disposed on the substrate support pedestal, the reticle adapter suitable for retaining a photomask reticle;
a gas panel coupled to the chamber body and configured to provide Cl2 and CO into the processing body;
a power source interface with the chamber and configured to provide sufficient power as to form a plasma from Cl2 and CO provided to the processing body;
a power source coupled to the substrate support pedestal;
a controller arranged to control the function of the processing chamber; and
computer-readable media containing instructions, that when executed by the controller, cause an etch method to be performed on a photomask reticle disposed on the reticle adapted, the photomask reticle having a carbon hard mask disposed over a chromium layer and a quartz layer, the instructions comprising:
instructions for flowing process gases into the processing chamber, the process gases comprising chlorine containing gas and CO gas;
instructions for energizing the process gas into a plasma; and
instructions for biasing the photomask reticle with a power of less than 100 W while the chromium layer is etched through the patterned hard mask.
10. The semiconductor processing chamber of claim 9 , wherein the computer-readable media further comprise instructions for providing about 50 to about 1000 sccm of chlorine containing gas into the chamber body.
11. The semiconductor processing chamber of claim 9 , wherein the computer-readable media further comprise instructions for flowing about 10 to about 500 sccm of CO into the processing chamber;
12. The semiconductor processing chamber of claim 9 , wherein the computer-readable media further comprise instructions for providing flowing at least one of Cl2, BCl3, or HCl into the processing chamber.
13. The semiconductor processing chamber of claim 9 , wherein the computer-readable media further comprise instructions for:
flowing about 300 sccm of Cl2 into the processing chamber;
flowing about 150 sccm of CO into the processing chamber;
maintaining chamber pressure at around 3 mTorr;
applying a plasma source power at around 300 Watts; and
supplying a plasma bias power at around 8 Watts.
14. The semiconductor processing chamber of claim 9 , wherein the computer-readable media further comprise instructions for:
flowing about 200 to about 400 sccm of Cl2 into the processing chamber; and
flowing about 100 to about 300 sccm of CO into the processing chamber.
15. The semiconductor processing chamber of claim 9 , wherein the computer-readable media further comprise instructions for:
pulsing the bias power.
16. A method for etching a photomask reticle comprising:
robotically transferring a photomask reticle to an opening of a reticle adapted in a processing chamber;
forming a plasma within the processing chamber from CO and Cl-containing gases;
etching a chromium layer through a patterned carbon-containing hard mask layer in the presence of the plasma.
17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:
biasing the photomask reticle with a power of less than 100 W while the chromium layer is etched through the patterned hard mask.
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US20080131789A1 (en) * | 2005-09-28 | 2008-06-05 | Ajay Kumar | Method for photomask fabrication utilizing a carbon hard mask |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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KR100828781B1 (en) | 2008-05-09 |
KR20070035976A (en) | 2007-04-02 |
US20070072435A1 (en) | 2007-03-29 |
US20080280212A9 (en) | 2008-11-13 |
TW200712757A (en) | 2007-04-01 |
TWI333124B (en) | 2010-11-11 |
US20080131789A1 (en) | 2008-06-05 |
US7718539B2 (en) | 2010-05-18 |
CN1940717A (en) | 2007-04-04 |
JP2007096295A (en) | 2007-04-12 |
US7375038B2 (en) | 2008-05-20 |
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