Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Jiann-Kwang Wang

Chi-Wen Liu

Ying-Lang Wang

Shih-Chi Lin

Yi-Lung Cheng

Wen-Kung Cheng

Ming-Hua Yoo

Jin-Yuan Lee

Chue-San Yoo

Kuo-Chen Lin

Hsien-Tsung Liu

Pei-Jan Wang

Wen-Cheng Chin

Sheng-Rong Huang

Two problems seen in CMP as currently executed are a tendency for slurry particles to remain on the surface and the formation of a final layer of oxide. These problems have been solved by adding to the slurry a quantity of TMAH or TBAH. This has the effect of rendering the surface being polished hydrophobic. In that state a residual layer of oxide will not be left on the surface at the conclusion of CMP. Nor will many slurry abrasive particles remain cling to the freshly polished surface. Those that do are readily removed by a simple rinse or buffing. As an alternative, the CMP process may be performed in three stages&#x2014;first convention CMP, then polishing in a solution of TMAH or TBAH, and finally a gentle rinse or buffing.

CMP process leaving no residual oxide layer or slurry particles

Two problems seen in CMP as currently executed are a tendency for slurry particles to remain on the surface and the formation of a final layer of oxide. These problems have been solved by adding to the slurry a quantity of TMAH or TBAH. This has the effect of rendering the surface being polished hydrophobic. In that state a residual layer of oxide will not be left on the surface at the conclusion of CMP. Nor will many slurry abrasive particles remain cling to the freshly polished surface. Those that do are readily removed by a simple rinse or buffing. As an alternative, the CMP process may be performed in three stages&mdash;first convention CMP, then polishing in a solution of TMAH or TBAH, and finally a gentle rinse or buffing.

In a semiconductor manufacturing fabrication plant with production to-order type operation, hundreds of devices and various processes are managed. To provide short cycle time and precise delivery to satisfy customer expectations is a major task. A dispatching algorithm named 'Required Turn Rate (RTR)' functions according to the level of current wafers in process (WIP) algorithm revising the due date for every lot to satisfy the demand from Master Production Scheduling (MPS). Further the RTR algorithm calculates the RTR of each lot based on process flow to fulfill the delivery requirement. The RTR algorithm determines not only due date and production priority of each lot, but also provides RTR for local dispatching. The local dispatching systems of each working area dispatch the lots by using required turn rate to maximize output and machines utilization.

Dynamic lot dispatching required turn rate factory control system and

A method is described for making a tapered opening for an integrated circuit having a feature size of about one micrometer or less which will in due course be filled with a metallurgy conductor. An integrated circuit structure is provided having device elements within a semiconductor substrate and multilayer insulating layers thereover. A resist masking layer is formed over the said multilayer insulating layer having openings therein in the areas where the said openings are desired. The multilayer insulating layer is anisotropically etched through a first thickness to form a first opening using the resist masking layer as a mask. A second thickness portion of the multilayer insulating layer is isotropically etched to substantially uniformly enlarge and taper the first opening while using the unchanged resist layer. The remaining thickness of the multilayer insulating layer is anisotropically etched through to the semiconductor substrate to form the desirable tapered opening with a metal step coverage improvement over the state of the art between about 20 to 60%. Metal step coverage is defined as the ratio of thickness of the thinnest metal in the contact hole to the metal thickness on the horizontal area. The resist layer mask is removed.

Tapered opening sidewall with multi-step etching process

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Hsin-Chu, Taiwan

Jiann-Kwang Wang