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:
Jan. 30, 2007
Filed:
Sep. 30, 2002
Vaidyanathan Balasubramaniam, Beverly, MA (US);
Masaaki Hagiwara, Beverly, MA (US);
Eiichi Nishimura, Malden, MA (US);
Kouichiro Inazawa, Nirasakishi Yamanashi, JP;
Vaidyanathan Balasubramaniam, Beverly, MA (US);
Masaaki Hagiwara, Beverly, MA (US);
Eiichi Nishimura, Malden, MA (US);
Kouichiro Inazawa, Nirasakishi Yamanashi, JP;
Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A method is provided for plasma ashing to remove photoresist remnants and etch residues that are formed during preceding plasma etching of dielectric layers. The ashing method uses a two-step plasma process involving an oxygen-containing gas, where low or zero bias is applied to the substrate in the first cleaning step to remove significant amount of photoresist remnants and etch residues from the substrate, in addition to etching and removing detrimental fluoro-carbon residues from the chamber surfaces. An increased bias is applied to the substrate in the second cleaning step to remove the remains of the photoresist and etch residues from the substrate. The two-step process reduces the memory effect commonly observed in conventional one-step ashing processes. A method of endpoint detection can be used to monitor the ashing process.