Lam Research Corporation

Martin Shim

Qian Fu

Zhongkui Tan

Ben-Li Sheu

Jonathan Sungehul Kim

Lin Cui

Yansha Jin

A method for processing a stack with an etch layer below a mask is provided. The mask is treated by flowing a treatment gas, wherein the treatment gas comprises a sputtering gas and a trimming gas, providing pulsed TCP power to create a plasma from the treatment gas, and providing a pulsed bias, wherein the pulsed bias has a same period as the pulsed TCP power, wherein the pulsed TCP power and pulsed bias provide a first state with a first bias above a sputter threshold and a first TCP power, which causes species from the sputtering gas to sputter and redeposit material from the mask, and provide a second state with a second bias below the sputter threshold and a second TCP power, wherein the second TCP power is greater than the first TCP power, which causes species from the trimming gas to chemically trim the mask.

Edge roughness reduction

A method for reducing line width roughness (LWR) of a feature in an etch layer below a patterned photoresist mask having mask features is provided. The method includes (a) non-etching plasma pre-etch treatment of the photoresist mask, and (b) etching of a feature in the etch layer through the pre-treated photoresist mask using an etching gas. The non-etching plasma pre-etch treatment includes (a1) providing a treatment gas containing Hand COS, (a2) forming a plasma from the treatment gas, and (a3) stopping the treatment gas.

Method for reducing line width roughness with plasma pre-etch treatment on photoresist

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Pleasanton, CA, United States of America

Martin Shim