Applied Materials, Inc.

Wendy H Yeh

Christopher Dennis Bencher

Hichem M'Saad

Martin Jay Seamons

Sudha S Rathi

Sang H Ahn

Sum-Yee Betty Tang

Wei Liu

Gilad Almogy

Abhilash J Mayur

Dean C Jennings

Kwangduk Douglas Lee

Mark Yam

Meihua Shen

Haifan Liang

Jian Ding

Melvin Warren Montgomery

Matthew Spuller

Jim Zhongyi He

Yung-Hee Yvette Lee

Alexander Buxbaum

Chris D Bencher

Sudha S R Rathi

Luc Van Autryve

Richard A Brough

Michael S Barnes

Deenesh Padhi

Bok Hoen Kim

Visweswaren Sivaramakrishnan

Hongching Shan

Christopher S Ngai

Claes H Bjorkman

Yuxiang May Wang

Kenny Linh Doan

Michael C Kwan

Jingbao Liu

Eda Tuncel

Priya Kulkarni

Hong D Nguyen

Heraldo L Botelho

Chistopher D Bencher

Andy (Hsin Chiao) Luan

A method of forming a device using a graded anti-reflective coating is provided. One or more amorphous carbon layers are formed on a substrate. An anti-reflective coating (ARC) is formed on the one or more amorphous carbon layers wherein the ARC layer has an absorption coefficient that varies across the thickness of the ARC layer. An energy sensitive resist material is formed on the ARC layer. An image of a pattern is introduced into the layer of energy sensitive resist material by exposing the energy sensitive resist material to patterned radiation. The image of the pattern introduced into the layer of energy sensitive resist material is developed.

Graded ARC for high NA and immersion lithography

An anti-reflective hard mask layer left on a radiation-blocking layer during fabrication of a reticle provides functionality when the reticle is used in a semiconductor device manufacturing process.

Method of reducing critical dimension bias during fabrication of a semiconductor device

A method of etching a substrate is provided. The method of etching a substrate includes transferring a pattern into the substrate using a double patterned amorphous carbon layer on the substrate as a hardmask. Optionally, a non-carbon based layer is deposited on the amorphous carbon layer as a capping layer before the pattern is transferred into the substrate.

Techniques for the use of amorphous carbon (APF) for various etch and litho integration schemes

A process for selectively removing photoresist, organic overlayers, and/or polymers/residues from a substrate without altering the surface chemistry and adhesion properties of the underlying substrate layers is provided. Generally, the process includes pretreating the substrate with hydrogen (e.g., by way of a hydrogen-based plasma) prior to deposition of a photoresist layer, and then ashing the substrate with a hydrogen-based plasma to selectively remove the photoresist, organic overlayers, and/or polymers/residues from the substrate during etching, post-etch, rework, etc. The hydrogen-based ashing process of the invention may be used post-etch to remove the residue photoresist, or may be used in a rework stripping process to remove misaligned patterns. The hydrogen-based ashing process following the initial hydrogen surface pretreatment substantially reduces surface chemistry poisoning, while retaining adequate adhesion properties following ashing.

Hydrogen treatment to improve photoresist adhesion and rework consistency

Methods are provided for depositing amorphous carbon materials. In one aspect, the invention provides a method for processing a substrate including positioning the substrate in a processing chamber, introducing a processing gas into the processing chamber, wherein the processing gas comprises a carrier gas, hydrogen, and one or more precursor compounds, generating a plasma of the processing gas by applying power from a dual-frequency RF source, and depositing an amorphous carbon layer on the substrate.

Liquid precursors for the CVD deposition of amorphous carbon films

We have reduced the critical dimension bias for reticle fabrication. Pattern transfer to the radiation-blocking layer of the reticle substrate essentially depends upon use of a hard mask to which the pattern is transferred from a photoresist. The photoresist pull back which occurs during pattern transfer to the hard mask is minimalized. In addition, a hard mask material having anti-reflective properties which are matched to the reflective characteristics of the radiation-blocking layer enables a reduction in critical dimension size and an improvement in the pattern feature integrity in the hard mask itself. An anti-reflective hard mask layer left on the radiation-blocking layer provides functionality when the reticle is used in a semiconductor device manufacturing process.

Reticle fabrication using a removable hard mask

A method of processing a substrate comprising depositing a layer comprising amorphous carbon on the substrate and then exposing the substrate to electromagnetic radiation have one or more wavelengths between about 600 nm and about 1000 nm under conditions sufficient to heat the layer to a temperature of at least about 300&#xb0; C. is provided. Optionally, the layer further comprises a dopant selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, boron, phosphorus, fluorine, and combinations thereof. In one aspect, the layer comprising amorphous carbon is an anti-reflective coating and an absorber layer that absorbs the electromagnetic radiation and anneals a top surface layer of the substrate. In one aspect, the substrate is exposed to the electromagnetic radiation in a laser annealing process.

Absorber layer for DSA processing

A method of processing a substrate comprising depositing a layer comprising amorphous carbon on the substrate and then laser annealing the substrate is provided. Optionally, the layer further comprises a dopant selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, boron, phosphorus, fluorine, and combinations thereof. In one aspect, the layer comprising amorphous carbon is an anti-reflective coating and an absorber layer that absorbs electromagnetic radiation emitted by the laser and anneals a top surface layer of the substrate.

A method is described for decreasing the critical dimensions of integrated circuit features in which a first masking layer () is deposited, patterned and opened in the manner of typical feature etching, and a second masking layer () is deposited thereon prior to etching the underlying insulator. The second masking layer is advantageously coated in a substantially conformal manner. Opening the second masking layer while leaving material of the second layer on the sidewalls of the first masking layer as spacers leads to reduction of the feature critical dimension in the underlying insulator. Ashable masking materials, including amorphous carbon and organic materials are removable without CMP, thereby reducing costs. Favorable results are also obtained utilizing more than one masking layer () underlying the topmost masking layer () from which the spacers are formed. Embodiments are also described in which slope etching replaces the addition of a separate spacer layer. Substructures formed in the fabrication process are also described. Spacers are also shown to be favorably employed in making feature-in-feature structures.

Ashable layers for reducing critical dimensions of integrated circuit features

A method is provided for forming an amorphous carbon layer, deposited on a dielectric material such as oxide, nitride, silicon carbide, carbon doped oxide, etc., or a metal layer such as tungsten, aluminum or poly-silicon. The method includes the use of chamber seasoning, variable thickness of seasoning film, wider spacing, variable process gas flows, post-deposition purge with inert gas, and post-deposition plasma purge, among others, to make the deposition of an amorphous carbon film at low deposition temperatures possible without any defects or particle contamination.

Methods for the reduction and elimination of particulate contamination with CVD of amorphous carbon

Techniques for the use of amorphous carbon (APF) for various etch and litho integration scheme

A layer of antireflective coating (ARC) material for use in photolithographic processing. In one embodiment the ARC material has the formula SiOH:C, where w, x, y and z represent the atomic percentage of silicon, oxygen, hydrogen and carbon, respectively, in the material and where w is between 35 and 55, x is between 35 and 55, y is between 4 and 15, z is between 0 and 3 and the atomic percentage of nitrogen in the material is less than or equal to 1 atomic percent.

Nitrogen-free antireflective coating for use with photolithographic patterning

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Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Wendy H Yeh