The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 27, 2002
Filed:
May. 22, 2000
Szetsen Steven Lee, Taipei, TW;
Winbond Electronics Corp., Hsinchu, TW;
Abstract
A method of profile control in metal etching, wherein a metal layer is positioned on a dielectric layer comprising an aluminum-alloy layer on the dielectric and an anti-reflection layer on the aluminum-alloy layer. The method of the present invention includes a step of performing a breakthrough step of a first etch recipe to remove the anti-reflection layer and a certain thickness of the aluminum-alloy layer until a predetermined depth is reached. The method then further includes a step of performing a main etch step of a second etch recipe having a higher etch rate than the first etch recipe to remove the remaining residue of the aluminum-alloy layer. The main object of the present invention is to achieve formations of metal lines with smooth and tapered sidewalls. Thereby, the method of the present invention reduces the possibility of forming voids during the subsequent deposition process, which improves the reliability of the IC devices made.