Tokyo Electron Limited

Steven Grzeskowiak

Eric Chih-Fang Liu

Katie Lutker-Lee

David L O'Meara

Xinghua Sun

Daniel Santos Rivera

A method of processing a substrate that includes: forming recesses in a first mask layer over a mask stack including a lower hardmask, a middle mask, and an upper hardmask, the recesses defining an initial pattern including a plurality of spacer structures, each of the spacer structures having a first sidewall and an opposite second sidewall, the first sidewall having a different height from the second sidewall; etching the upper hardmask, selectively to the middle mask, to transfer the initial pattern to the upper hardmask; etching the middle mask, selectively to the lower hardmask and the patterned upper hardmask, to transfer a pattern of the patterned upper hardmask to the middle mask; and etching the lower hardmask, selectively to the patterned middle mask, to transfer a pattern of the patterned middle mask to the lower hardmask.

Double hardmasks for self-aligned multi-patterning processes

A method of forming a semiconductor device includes forming, over a hardmask layer and an underlying layer of a substrate, a pattern of first trenches between adjacent template lines, each of the first trenches exposing a portion of the hardmask layer, and each of the template lines including a mandrel and spacers on sidewalls of the mandrel; forming a pattern of first blocks over the pattern of the first trenches and the template lines, the first blocks dividing the first trenches to form a pattern of first stencil trenches; transferring the pattern of first stencil trenches to the hardmask layer to form a pattern of first hardmask trenches, each of the first hardmask trenches exposing a portion of the underlying layer; forming a first fill layer filling the first hardmask trenches and exposing the mandrels; selectively removing the mandrels to form second trenches, each of the second trenches exposing a portion of the hardmask layer; and forming a conformal liner in the second trenches and over a surface of the spacers, a surface of the first blocks, and a surface of the first fill layer to form third trenches.

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Albany, NY, United States of America

Steven Grzeskowiak