Method for removing resist layer from substrate with combustible gas

Abstract

Method and apparatus for removing a resist layer from a substrate surface of different material, such as a semiconductor slice, in the fabrication of an electronic structure, involving exposure of the resist layer to a flame from a combustible gas. The resist layer is employed as a mask in patterning the substrate surface via selective etching, diffusion, or other procedures and is removed from the substrate when it has served its purpose. The resist material may include not only light-sensitive resists more commonly termed 'photoresists', but also electron beam-sensitive resists, and resists applied by stencil techniques. The resist layer is exposed to the flame for a period of time sufficient to decompose the resist material, the length of the exposure being a function of several factors, including the type of resist, the thickness of the layer, and the manufacturing processes to which the slice was subjected prior to the resist removal step. No vacuum or other special ambient atmospheric condition is required for this resist removal process, but the slice may be positioned on a belt or other mobile platform and the means for producing the flame may also be adjustable in order to effectively vary the parameters of exposure time and temperature, depending on the aforementioned factors.