WO2001050508A1 - Etch and ash photoresist removal process - Google Patents
Etch and ash photoresist removal process Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2001050508A1 WO2001050508A1 PCT/US2000/035602 US0035602W WO0150508A1 WO 2001050508 A1 WO2001050508 A1 WO 2001050508A1 US 0035602 W US0035602 W US 0035602W WO 0150508 A1 WO0150508 A1 WO 0150508A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- ashing
- photoresist
- etch
- substrate
- temperature
- Prior art date
Links
- 229920002120 photoresistant polymer Polymers 0.000 title claims abstract description 35
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 34
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 31
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 29
- 238000005530 etching Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 16
- 238000004380 ashing Methods 0.000 claims description 18
- 235000012431 wafers Nutrition 0.000 description 19
- 239000011261 inert gas Substances 0.000 description 14
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 description 12
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 9
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 5
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicium dioxide Chemical compound O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 4
- 239000001307 helium Substances 0.000 description 4
- 229910052734 helium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 4
- SWQJXJOGLNCZEY-UHFFFAOYSA-N helium atom Chemical compound [He] SWQJXJOGLNCZEY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 238000001020 plasma etching Methods 0.000 description 4
- 229910021417 amorphous silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052681 coesite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052906 cristobalite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 238000000151 deposition Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000008021 deposition Effects 0.000 description 2
- 150000002500 ions Chemical class 0.000 description 2
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 2
- 229910021420 polycrystalline silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000000377 silicon dioxide Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910052682 stishovite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052905 tridymite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000006117 anti-reflective coating Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000007423 decrease Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002950 deficient Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000593 degrading effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001627 detrimental effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000009931 harmful effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000007943 implant Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000000059 patterning Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- 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
-
- 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
- G03F7/26—Processing photosensitive materials; Apparatus therefor
- G03F7/42—Stripping or agents therefor
Definitions
- the present invention relates generally to semiconductor devices and their fabrication and, more particularly, to semiconductor devices and their manufacture involving techniques for improving photoresist removal.
- One process commonly used for substrate removal during semiconductor wafer processing is plasma etching.
- One particular application involves forming a photoresist pattern on the wafer substrate and using the pattern in connection with plasma etching to form wafer structure.
- the photoresist is exposed to the energetic bombardment of ions as well as to the etch chemistry itself. This exposure can transform an upper layer of photoresist into a hard crust layer.
- this photoresist having a transformed layer is placed into a conventional high-temperature asher, the stress difference between the crust layer and the unchanged photoresist below (induced by the high temperature) causes the crust layer to pop off. Once the photoresist has popped, it is more difficult to strip and will often leave residue on the wafer.
- More aggressive ash processes such as the addition of CF 4 and/or N 2 /H, to the ash chemistry, or a more aggressive wet strip process, such as the addition of an HF dip, have been used to remove popped resist.
- a more aggressive ash or wet strip process causes undesirable etching of other structures on the wafer.
- the resist residue if left on the wafer, can even act as a mask for later etch, implant, or HF- based wet strip steps.
- the present invention is directed to the removal of photoresist from a semiconductor wafer, and is exemplified in a number of implementations and applications, some of which are summarized below.
- a photoresist layer is formed over the substrate of a semiconductor wafer, and the substrate is etched. After etching, the wafer is ashed at a temperature sufficiently low enough not to cause the crust layer of photoresist to pop. Once the upper portion, or crust, of the photoresist layer is removed, the remainder can be removed in a conventional ashing process. By removing the upper portion of the photoresist layer before conventionally ashing the chip, the portion of the photoresist layer that is hardened during the etching step will not be present, and the detrimental effects of photoresist popping are reduced or eliminated.
- the removal of the photoresist crust layer is performed sequentially in the same tool as the plasma etching process.
- Plasma etch tools are typically operated at the same low temperatures required for photoresist crust removal.
- a plasma etching arrangement is arranged to use the photoresist as a mask for etching the substrate.
- a first ashing step is adapted to ash the semiconductor chip at a temperature sufficiently low to remove an upper portion of the photoresist layer and inhibit photoresist popping.
- a second ashing step in a conventional high temperature asher follows to remove the remainder of the photoresist.
- FIG. 1 is a semiconductor chip having undergone pholoresist deposition and an etch process, for use in connection with an example embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 shows the semiconductor chip of FIG. 1 having undergone a first ashing process, according to an example embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 3 is an arrangement for etching a semiconductor wafer and sequentially performing a first ashing process, according to another example embodiment of the present invention.
- the present invention is believed to be applicable for a variety of different types of semiconductor devices, and the invention has been found to be particularly suited for devices requiring or benefiting from the formation of structure having about vertical side walls. While the present invention is not necessarily limited to such devices, various aspects of the invention may be appreciated through a discussion of various examples using this context.
- an inert gas such as helium
- a conventional etch gas as it is supplied for etching a semiconductor chip substrate
- the inert gas improves the profile while maintaining good etch selectivity to material such as oxide located in the chip.
- FIG. 1 shows such a chip 100 having a substrate 120 formed over a thin gate oxide layer 1 10, and a mask 130 formed over a portion 140 of the substrate 120.
- the substrate may, for example, include gate material such as poly-silicon or amorphous silicon.
- the substrate includes an anti-reflective coating over the substrate 120.
- FIG. 2 shows the chip 100 of FIG. 1 being etched.
- a plasma 230 is generated from an etch gas 210 and an inert gas 220, and is then supplied to the substrate 120.
- the etch gas 220 may, for example, include a plurality of gases.
- the etch and inert gas supplies, the plasma power, and the etch pressure at which the plasma is supplied are sufficient to achieve about vertical side wall profiles 250 of the masked portion 140 while maintaining the high etch selectivity.
- an etch pressure of between about 5 - 100 mTorr, a plasma source power (for controlling the plasma density) of between about 50-400 W, and a plasma bias power (for controlling the energy supplied to the ions) of between about 10-200 W provide conditions adequate for achieving the about vertical side walls.
- the mask 130 masks the portion 140 of the substrate, and the remaining substrate is etched, as shown in FIG. 3.
- the resulting structure 340 formed from the masked portion 140 of the substrate has about vertical side walls 350.
- the selectivity of the etch gas to the thin oxide layer 1 10, while in the presence of the inert gas is about infinite.
- the infinite select! ⁇ ity permits the formation of the structure 340 without etching the thin oxide layer 1 10, thereby reducing the harmful effects of problems, such as microtrenching, associated with etch processes that are not as highly selective.
- the inert gas can also improve the resulting structure by removing depositions on the side walls.
- the etch and inert gas supply to the chip can be accomplished in various manners.
- the chip 100 is placed in an etch chamber, and the gases are supplied to the chip via a supply to the etch chamber.
- the etch gas 210 may include, for example, a typical etch gas chemistry used in highly selective Si/SiO 2 etch processes.
- Helium can be supplied as the inert gas and used with the highly selective Si/SiO 2 etch chemistry for etching the chip.
- the helium is supplied at a volumetric flow rate of between about 25- 500 seem.
- the helium is supplied at a flow rate of at least about 500 seem.
- the inert gas and the etch gas are mixed prior to their introduction to the chip.
- the side walls 350 of the resulting structure 340 are shown to be close to vertical.
- the resulting side walls have an included angle ⁇ of at least about 85°, and in another the included angle ⁇ is about 90°.
- This resulting structure 340 is useful because vertical side walls exhibit improved performance over side walls having a tapered profile.
- FIGs. 1-3 show one structure 340, it should be noted that a plurality of such structures may be formed on the chip.
- the chip may be part of a semiconductor wafer having a plurality of chips, some or all of which having a structure formed in a similar manner.
- the structure 340 in FIG. 3 may include a gate used in connection with a transistor.
- the thin oxide 1 10 is a gate oxide
- the chip 100 includes structure such as source and drain regions near the gate.
- the present invention is particularly advantageous for the formation of deep sub-micron gate structure. For example, in one implementation a gate having a width of less than about 0.20 microns is formed. In another implementation a gate having a width of about 0.15 microns is formed. In still another implementation, a gate having a width of less than about 0.15 microns is formed.
- FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process for manufacturing a semiconductor chip, according to another example embodiment of the present invention.
- a thin oxide layer is formed over a semiconductor chip at block 410.
- a substrate such as gate material including poly- silicon or amorphous silicon, is formed over the oxide at block 420.
- a mask material is patterned over the substrate at block 430, and the chip is then placed in an etch chamber at block 440.
- the mask may be patterned, for example, for forming one or more gate structures on the chip.
- a vacuum is drawn on the chamber at block 450, and an etch gas and an inert gas are supplied to the etch chamber and a plasma is generated at block 460.
- the etch pressure is held about constant during the addition of the inert gas.
- the plasma anisotropically etches the unmasked substrate in a manner that forms about vertical side wall profiles on the masked structures that are not etched.
- the unmasked substrate is etched while etching little or none of the thin oxide layer.
- the mask material is removed from the chip at block 470.
- the chip may then be annealed or further processed in other manners.
- a semiconductor chip is manufactured.
- the chip includes a gate structure having at least one side wall that is about vertical and an underlying thin oxide.
- the gate structure is formed by patterning a mask over the structure and etching the structure with a highly selective etch gas while in the presence of an inert gas.
- the inert gas facilitates the formation of about vertical side walls while not degrading the selectivity of the etch gas.
- the resulting gate profile has side walls that are about vertical, and the thin oxide layer is not etched due to the use and maintenance of the highly selective etch process.
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- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Drying Of Semiconductors (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2001550788A JP2003519912A (en) | 1999-12-30 | 2000-12-29 | Etching and ashing photoresist removal process |
EP00989595A EP1166342A1 (en) | 1999-12-30 | 2000-12-29 | Etch and ash photoresist removal process |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US47586999A | 1999-12-30 | 1999-12-30 | |
US09/475,869 | 1999-12-30 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2001050508A1 true WO2001050508A1 (en) | 2001-07-12 |
Family
ID=23889497
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2000/035602 WO2001050508A1 (en) | 1999-12-30 | 2000-12-29 | Etch and ash photoresist removal process |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP1166342A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2003519912A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2001050508A1 (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7943290B2 (en) * | 2006-05-11 | 2011-05-17 | Samsung Led Co., Ltd. | Method of forming fine pattern using azobenzene-functionalized polymer and method of manufacturing nitride-based semiconductor light emitting device using the method of forming fine pattern |
CN102610496A (en) * | 2012-03-31 | 2012-07-25 | 上海集成电路研发中心有限公司 | Photoresist removing method of structure with large height-width ratio |
US10101470B2 (en) | 2013-09-18 | 2018-10-16 | Koninklijke Philips N.V. | Laser etched scintillation crystals for increased performance |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2320335A (en) * | 1996-11-01 | 1998-06-17 | Nec Corp | Removing a resist film |
JPH1131681A (en) * | 1997-07-11 | 1999-02-02 | Hitachi Ltd | Ashing method and its device |
US5968374A (en) * | 1997-03-20 | 1999-10-19 | Lam Research Corporation | Methods and apparatus for controlled partial ashing in a variable-gap plasma processing chamber |
-
2000
- 2000-12-29 WO PCT/US2000/035602 patent/WO2001050508A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2000-12-29 JP JP2001550788A patent/JP2003519912A/en active Pending
- 2000-12-29 EP EP00989595A patent/EP1166342A1/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2320335A (en) * | 1996-11-01 | 1998-06-17 | Nec Corp | Removing a resist film |
US5968374A (en) * | 1997-03-20 | 1999-10-19 | Lam Research Corporation | Methods and apparatus for controlled partial ashing in a variable-gap plasma processing chamber |
JPH1131681A (en) * | 1997-07-11 | 1999-02-02 | Hitachi Ltd | Ashing method and its device |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 1999, no. 05 31 May 1999 (1999-05-31) * |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7943290B2 (en) * | 2006-05-11 | 2011-05-17 | Samsung Led Co., Ltd. | Method of forming fine pattern using azobenzene-functionalized polymer and method of manufacturing nitride-based semiconductor light emitting device using the method of forming fine pattern |
CN102610496A (en) * | 2012-03-31 | 2012-07-25 | 上海集成电路研发中心有限公司 | Photoresist removing method of structure with large height-width ratio |
US10101470B2 (en) | 2013-09-18 | 2018-10-16 | Koninklijke Philips N.V. | Laser etched scintillation crystals for increased performance |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP1166342A1 (en) | 2002-01-02 |
JP2003519912A (en) | 2003-06-24 |
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