International Business Machines Corporation

Henry J Grabarz

Kevin Shawn Petrarca

Donald Francis Canaperi

Mahadevaiyer Krishnan

Michael Straight Hibbs

Steven Erik Steen

Rebecca D Mih

Alfred Grill

Hariklia Deligianni

John Michael Cotte

Laertis Economikos

Bomy A Chen

Joseph S Logan

James T Yeh

William M Holber

A reticle carrier for a polishing tool capable of accommodating a reticle includes a base plate with an obverse and reverse surfaces, a retaining ring secured to the obverse surface of the base plate forming a recess defined by the obverse surface of the rigid base plate and internal edges of the retaining ring. A reticle pad supports a reticle in the recess. The base plate and the reticle pad having an array of matching, aligned passageway holes therethrough for exhaustion of air from space between the base plate and a the reticle and for supply of air to that space so a vacuum can retain a the reticle in place on the reticle carrier under vacuum conditions and application of air under pressure can eject a reticle from the reticle carrier.

Reticle carrier

A method for manufacturing an optical projection reticle employs a damascene process. First feature recesses are etched into a projection reticle mask plate which is transmissive or transparent. Then feature recesses are tilled with a radiation transmissivity modifying material comprising a partially transmissive material and/or a radiation absorber for absorbing actinic radiation. Sacrificial materials may be added to the recess temporarily prior to filling the recess to provide gaps juxtaposed with the material filling the recess. Thereafter, the sacrificial materials are removed. Then the projection mask is planarized leaving feature recesses filled with transmissivity modifying material, and any gaps desired. The projection mask is planarized while retained in a fixture holding it in place during polishing with a polishing tool and a slurry.

Method of manufacture of damascene reticle

A method and apparatus are described for performing both electroplating of a metal layer and planarization of the layer on a substrate. Electroplating and electroetching of metal (such as copper) are performed in a repeated sequence, followed by chemical-mechanical polishing. An electroplating solution, electroetching solution, and a non-abrasive slurry are dispensed on a polishing pad in the respective process steps. The substrate is held against the pad with a variable force in accordance with the process, so that the spacing between substrate and pad may be less during electroplating than during electroetching.

Integrated plating and planarization process and apparatus therefor

An electron cyclotron resonance plasma heating apparatus system and process in which microwave energy is transmitted directly in an axial direction through an evacuated chamber to generate energetic electrons. These energetic electrons spiral around the magnetic field lines formed by the solenoid and spiral substantially parallel to the axis. A metal atom vapor source transmits the metal atom vapor into the chamber through a housing port in the chamber wall. The metal atom vapor source in the housing is out of the line of sight of the substrate. The metal atoms are ionized by the energized electrons, and these ionized metal atoms are confined to the plasma column substantially free of neutral atoms as such ionized metal approaches and contacts the substrate in said evacuated chamber. In this way, the ionized metal atoms substantially avoid contact with the wall of chamber. A sputter target of a second metal may be placed in the plane of the substrate and a bias voltage applied to the target. Atoms of the second metal are then sputtered off and ionized by the plasma and are deposited on the substrate with the first metal ions.

Method and apparatus for filing high aspect patterns with metal

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Huntington, CT, United States of America

Henry J Grabarz