Applied Materials, Inc.

Judy Wang

Shawming Ma

Bryan Y Pu

Jingbao Liu

Shing-Li Sung

Yunsang Kim

Hongching Shan

Claes H Bjorkman

Jong Mun Kim

Ruiping Wang

Kenny Linh Doan

Jie Zhou

Ajey M Joshi

Wonseok Lee

Chang-Lin Hsieh

Hun Sang Kim

Bryan Liao

Takehiko Komatsu

Melody Chang

Shin-Li Sung

Etching of carbonaceous layers with an etchant gas mixture including molecular oxygen (O) and a gas including a carbon sulfur terminal ligand. A high RF frequency source is employed in certain embodiments to achieve a high etch rate with high selectivity to inorganic dielectric layers. In certain embodiments, the etchant gas mixture includes only the two components, COS and O, but in other embodiments additional gases, such as at least one of molecular nitrogen (N), carbon monoxide (CO) or carbon dioxide (CO) may be further employed to etch to carbonaceous layers.

Plasma etching carbonaceous layers with sulfur-based etchants

Methods to etch an opening in a substrate layer with reduced critical dimensions are described. A multi-layered mask including a lithographically patterned photoresist and an unpatterned organic antireflective coating (BARC) is formed over a substrate layer to be etched. The BARC layer is etched with a significant negative etch bias to reduce the critical dimension of the opening in the multi-layer mask below the lithographically define dimension in the photoresist. The significant negative etch bias of the BARC etch is then utilized to etch an opening having a reduced critical dimension into the substrate layer. To plasma etch an opening in the BARC with a significant negative etch bias, a polymerizing chemistry, such as CHFis employed. In a further embodiment, the polymerizing chemistry provide at low pressure is energized at a relatively low power with a high frequency capacitively coupled source.

Etch process with controlled critical dimension shrink

In one embodiment of the present invention, a halogen-free plasma etch processes is used to define a feature in a multi-layered masking stack including an amorphous carbon layer. In a particular embodiment, oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), and carbon monoxide (CO) are utilized to etch the amorphous carbon layer to form a mask capable of producing sub-100 nm features in a substrate film having a reduced line edge roughness value. In another embodiment, the present invention employs an Oplasma pretreatment preceding the halogen-free amorphous carbon etch to first form an oxidized silicon region in a patterned photoresist layer to increase the selectivity of the amorphous carbon etch relative to a patterned photoresist layer containing unoxidized silicon.

Halogen-free amorphous carbon mask etch having high selectivity to photoresist

A plasma etch process for successively different layers, including an anti-reflection coating (ARC), an amorphous carbon layer (ACL) and a dielectric layer, with successively different etch chemistries is performed in a single plasma reactor chamber. A first transition step is performed after etching the ARC by replacing the fluorine-containing process gas used in the ARC etch step with an inert species process gas. A flush step is performed after etching the ACL by replacing the hydrogen-containing process gas used in the ACL etch step with argon gas.

Dielectric plasma etch process with in-situ amorphous carbon mask with improved critical dimension and etch selectivity

A method of opening a carbon-based hardmask layer composed of amorphous carbon containing preferably at least 60% carbon and between 10 and 40% hydrogen. The hardmask is opened by plasma etching using an etching gas composed of H, N, and CO. The etching is preferably performed in a plasma etch reactor having an HF biased pedestal electrode and a capacitively VHF biased showerhead.

Process to open carbon based hardmask

A method for etching a dielectric in a thermally controlled plasma etch chamber with an expanded processing window. The method is adapted to incorporate benefits of a the thermal control and high evacuation capability of the chamber. Etchent gases include hydrocarbons, oxygen and inert gas. Explanation is provided for enablling the use of hexafluoro-1,3-butadiene in a capacitively coupled etch plasma. The method is very useful for creating via, self aligned contacts, dual damascene, and other dielectric etch.

Etch method using a dielectric etch chamber with expanded process window

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Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Judy Wang