Applied Materials, Inc.

Jeremiah T P Pender

Srinivas D Nemani

Daniel John Hoffman

Steven C Shannon

Tarreg Mawari

Xiaoye Zhao

Yan Ye

Sean S Kang

Gerardo Delgadino

Yifeng Zhou

Khoi Doan

Hee Yeop Chae

Mehul B Naik

He Ren

Keiji Horioka

Mang-Mang Ling

Bradley J Howard

Chia-Ling Kao

Hairong Tang

Methods for eliminating early exposure of a conductive layer in a dual damascene structure and for etching a dielectric barrier layer in the dual damascene structure are provided. In one embodiment, a method for etching a dielectric barrier layer disposed on a substrate includes patterning a substrate having a dielectric bulk insulating layer disposed on a dielectric barrier layer using a hardmask layer disposed on the dielectric bulk insulating layer as an etching mask, exposing a portion of the dielectric barrier layer after removing the dielectric bulk insulating layer uncovered by the dielectric bulk insulating layer, removing the hardmask layer from the substrate, and subsequently etching the dielectric barrier layer exposed by the dielectric bulk insulating layer.

Methods for etching a dielectric barrier layer in a dual damascene structure

Methods of removing photoresists from low-k dielectric films are described. For example, a method includes forming and patterning a photoresist layer above a low-k dielectric layer, the low-k dielectric layer disposed above a substrate. Trenches are formed in the exposed portions of the low-k dielectric layer. A plurality of process cycles is performed to remove the photoresist layer. Each process cycle includes forming a silicon source layer on surfaces of the trenches of the low-k dielectric layer, and exposing the photoresist layer to an oxygen source to form an Si&#x2014;O-containing layer on the surfaces of the trenches of the low-k dielectric layer and to remove at least a portion of the photoresist layer.

Method of removing a photoresist from a low-k dielectric film

Methods for etching an etching stop layer disposed on the substrate using a cyclical etching process are provided. In one embodiment, a method for etching an etching stop layer includes performing a treatment process on the substrate having a silicon nitride layer disposed thereon by supplying a treatment gas mixture into the processing chamber to treat the silicon nitride layer, and performing a chemical etching process on the substrate by supplying a chemical etching gas mixture into the processing chamber, wherein the chemical etching gas mixture includes at least an ammonium gas and a nitrogen trifluoride, wherein the chemical etching process etches the treated silicon nitride layer.

Methods for etching an etching stop layer utilizing a cyclical etching process

A significantly improved low-k dielectric patterning method is described herein using plasma comprising an oxygen radical source and a silicon source to remove the photo-resist layer.

Method of patterning a low-k dielectric film

Methods for monitoring process drift using plasma characteristics are provided. In one embodiment, a method for monitoring process drift using plasma characteristics includes obtaining metrics of current and voltage information of a first waveform coupled to a plasma during a plasma process formed on a substrate, obtaining metrics of current and voltage information of a second waveform coupled to the plasma during the plasma process formed on the substrate, the first and second waveforms having different frequencies, determining at least one characteristic of the plasma using the metrics obtained from each different frequency waveform, and adjusting the plasma process in response to the determined at least one characteristic of the plasma.

Method for monitoring process drift using plasma characteristics

Methods for determining characteristics of a plasma are provided. In one embodiment, a method for determining characteristics of a plasma includes obtaining metrics of current and voltage information for first and second waveforms coupled to a plasma at different frequencies, determining at least one characteristic of the plasma using the metrics obtained from each different frequency waveform. In another embodiment, the method includes providing a plasma impedance model of a plasma as a function of frequency, and determining at least one characteristic of a plasma using model. In yet another embodiment, the method includes providing a plasma impedance model of a plasma as a function of frequency, measuring current and voltage for waveforms coupled to the plasma and having at least two different frequencies, and determining ion mass of a plasma from model and the measured current and voltage of the waveforms.

Method for determining plasma characteristics

A chamber dry cleaning process particularly useful after a dielectric plasma etch process which exposes an underlying copper metallization. After the dielectric etch process, the production wafer is removed from the chamber and a cleaning gas is excited into a plasma to clean the chamber walls and recover the dielectric etching characteristic of the chamber. Preferably, the cleaning gas is reducing such as hydrogen gas with the addition of nitrogen gas. Alternatively, the cleaning gas may an oxidizing gas. If the wafer pedestal is vacant during the cleaning, it is not electrically biased. If a dummy wafer is placed on the pedestal during cleaning, the pedestal is biased. The cleaning process is advantageously performed every wafer cycle.

Chamber recovery after opening barrier over copper

Methods for determining characteristics of a plasma are provided. In one embodiment, a method for determining characteristics of a plasma includes obtaining metrics of a plasma at two different frequencies, and determining at least one characteristic of the plasma utilizing the metrics. In another embodiment, a method for determining characteristics of a plasma includes obtaining metrics of current and voltage information for first and second waveforms coupled to a plasma at different frequencies, determining at least one characteristic of the plasma using the metrics obtained from each different frequency waveform. In another embodiment, the method includes providing a plasma impedance model of a plasma as a function of frequency, and determining at least one characteristic of a plasma using model.

A process of selectively etching a sacrificial light absorbing material (SLAM) over a dielectric material, such as carbon doped oxide, on a substrate using a plasma of a gas mixture in a plasma etch chamber. The gas mixture comprises a hydrofluorocarbon gas, an optional hydrogen-containing gas, an optional fluorine-rich fluorocarbon gas, a nitrogen gas, an oxygen gas, and an inert gas. The process could provide a SLAM to a dielectric material etching selectivity ratio greater than 10:1.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Jeremiah T P Pender