Tokyo Electron Limited

Teruhiko Onoe

Haruhiko Yoshioka

Kazutoshi Yoshioka

Hiroyuki Sakai

Kimiharu Matsumura

Shunichi Iimuro

Keisuke Shigaki

Yutaka Amemiya

A method and an apparatus, both for ashing unnecessary layers such as a photoresist layer, formed on a semiconductor wafer, by applying ozone to the layer, are disclosed. An ashing gas containing oxygen atom radical, or containing oxygen gas and an ashing-promoting gas, is applied to the layer, thereby ashing the layer readily and efficiently. The surface temperature of the layer is set at a prescribed value, and the ashing gas is applied uniformly onto the entire surface of the layer, or onto a part thereof, thus ashing the whole layer, or a part thereof, uniformly at a high rate, and the end-point of the ashing process is detected, thereby to enhance the efficiency of the ashing process.

Method of ashing layers, and apparatus for ashing layers

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Kofu, Japan

Teruhiko Onoe