Claims
- 1. A method for etching an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer on a substrate in a plasma processing system comprising:
introducing a process gas comprising one or more gasses collectively containing nitrogen (N), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O); forming a plasma from said process gas in said plasma processing system; and exposing said substrate with said ARC layer to said plasma.
- 2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said process gas comprises NH3.
- 3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said process gas comprises N2 and H2.
- 4. The method as recited in claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein said process gas comprises at least one of oxygen O2 and CO.
- 5. The method as recited in claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein said process gas further comprises helium.
- 6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said exposing said substrate with said ARC layer to said plasma is performed for a first period of time.
- 7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein said first period of time is determined by endpoint detection.
- 8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein said endpoint detection comprises optical emission spectroscopy.
- 9. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein said first period of time corresponds to the time to etch said ARC layer and is extended by a second period of time.
- 10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein said second period of time is a fraction of said first period of time.
- 11. A method of forming a bilayer mask for etching a thin film on a substrate comprising:
forming said thin film on said substrate; forming an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer on said thin film; forming a photoresist pattern on said ARC layer; and transferring said photoresist pattern to said ARC layer by plasma etching said ARC layer using a process gas comprising one or more gasses collectively containing nitrogen (N), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O).
- 12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein said process gas comprises NH3.
- 13. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein said process gas comprises N2 and H2.
- 14. The method as recited in claim 11, 12, or 13, wherein said process gas comprises at least one of O2 and CO.
- 15. The method as recited in claim 11, 12 or 13, wherein said process gas further comprises helium.
- 16. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein said etching of said ARC layer is performed for a first period of time.
- 17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein said first period of time is determined by endpoint detection.
- 18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein said endpoint detection comprises optical emission spectroscopy.
- 19. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein said first period of time corresponds to the time to etch said ARC layer and is extended by a second period of time.
- 20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein said second period of time is a fraction of said first period of time.
- 21. A plasma processing system for etching an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer on a substrate comprising:
a plasma processing chamber for facilitating the formation of a plasma from a process gas; and a controller coupled to said plasma processing chamber and configured to execute a process recipe utilizing said process gas, wherein said process gas comprises one or more gasses collectively containing nitrogen (N), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O).
- 22. The system as recited in claim 21, wherein said system further comprises a diagnostic system coupled to said plasma processing chamber, and coupled to said controller.
- 23. The system as recited in claim 22, wherein said diagnostic system is configured to receive a signal that is related to light emitted from said plasma.
- 24. The system as recited in claim 21, wherein said process gas comprises NH3.
- 25. The system as recited in claim 21, wherein said process gas comprises N2 and H2.
- 26. The system as recited in claim 21, 24 or 25, wherein said process gas comprises at least one of O2 and CO.
- 27. The system as recited in claim 21, 24 or 25, wherein said process gas further comprises helium.
- 28. The system as recited in claim 22, wherein said controller causes said substrate with said ARC layer to be exposed to said plasma for a first period of time.
- 29. The system as recited in claim 28, wherein said first period of time is determined by endpoint detection determined by said diagnostic system.
- 30. The system as recited in claim 29, wherein said diagnostic system comprises an optical emission spectroscopy device.
- 31. The system as recited in claim 28, wherein said first period of time corresponds to the time to etch said ARC layer and is extended by a second period of time.
- 32. The system as recited in claim 31, wherein said second period of time is a fraction of said first period of time.
- 33. A method for etching a high aspect ratio feature in an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer on a substrate in a plasma processing system comprising:
introducing a process gas comprising ammonia (NH3), and carbon monoxide (CO); forming a plasma from said process gas is said plasma processing system; and exposing said substrate with said ARC layer to said plasma, wherein said high aspect ratio feature comprises an aspect ratio greater than or equal to about 3-to-1.
- 34. The method as recited in claim 33, wherein said process gas further comprises helium.
- 35. The method as recited in claim 34, wherein the flow rate of helium is in the range of about 5 to about 300 sccm.
- 36. The method as recited in claim 33, wherein said exposing said substrate with said ARC layer to said plasma is performed for a first period of time.
- 37. The method as recited in claim 36, wherein said first period of time is determined by endpoint detection.
- 38. The method as recited in claim 37, wherein said endpoint detection comprises optical emission spectroscopy.
- 39. The method as recited in claim 36, wherein said first period of time corresponds to the time to etch said ARC layer and is extended by a second period of time.
- 40. The method as recited in claim 39, wherein said second period of time is a fraction of said first period of time.
- 41. The method as recited in claim 33, wherein the flow rate of NH3 is about 50 to about 1000 sccm.
- 42. The method as recited in claim 41 wherein the flow rate of CO is about 5 to about 300 sccm.
- 43. A method of forming a bilayer mask for etching a thin film on a substrate comprising:
forming said thin film on said substrate; forming an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer on said thin film; forming a photoresist pattern on said ARC layer; and transferring said photoresist pattern to said ARC layer by plasma etching a high aspect ratio feature in said ARC layer using a process gas comprising ammonia (NH3), and carbon monoxide (CO), wherein said high aspect ratio feature comprises an aspect ratio greater than or equal to about 3-to-1.
- 44. The method as recited in claim 43, wherein said process gas further comprises helium.
- 45. The method as recited in claim 44, wherein the flow rate of helium is in the range of about 5 to about 300 sccm.
- 46. The method as recited in claim 43, wherein said etching of said ARC layer is performed for a first period of time.
- 47. The method as recited in claim 46, wherein said first period of time is determined by endpoint detection.
- 48. The method as recited in claim 47, wherein said endpoint detection comprises optical emission spectroscopy.
- 49. The method as recited in claim 46, wherein said first period of time corresponds to the time to etch said ARC layer and is extended by a second period of time.
- 50. The method as recited in claim 49, wherein said second period of time is a fraction of said first period of time.
- 51. The method as recited in claim 43, wherein the flow rate of NH3 is about 50 to about 1000 sccm.
- 52. The method as recited in claim 51, wherein the flow rate of CO is about 5 to about 300 sccm.
- 53. A plasma processing system for etching a high aspect ratio feature in an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer on a substrate comprising:
a plasma processing chamber for facilitating the formation of a plasma from a process gas; and a controller coupled to said plasma processing chamber and configured to execute a process recipe utilizing said process gas, said. process gas comprises ammonia (NH3), and carbon monoxide (CO), wherein said high aspect ratio feature comprises an aspect ratio greater than or equal to 3-to-1.
- 54. The system as recited in claim 53, wherein said system further comprises a diagnostic system coupled to said plasma processing chamber, and coupled to said controller.
- 55. The system as recited in claim 54, wherein said diagnostic system is configured to receive a signal that is related to light emitted from said plasma.
- 56. The system as recited in claim 53, wherein said process gas further comprises helium.
- 57. The system as recited in claim 56, wherein the flow rate of helium is in the range of about 5 to about 300 sccm.
- 58. The system as recited in claim 53, wherein said controller causes said substrate with said ARC layer to be exposed to said plasma for a first period of time.
- 59. The system as recited in claim 58, wherein said first period of time is determined by endpoint detection determined by said diagnostic system.
- 60. The system as recited in claim 59, wherein said diagnostic system comprises an optical emission spectroscopy device.
- 61. The system as recited in claim 58, wherein said first period of time corresponds to the time to etch said ARC layer and is extended by a second period of time.
- 62. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein the flow rate of NH3 is about 50 to about 1000 sccm.
- 63. The method as recited in claim 62, wherein the flow rate of CO is about 5 to about 300 sccm.
- 64. A method for etching a feature in an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer on a substrate in a plasma processing system comprising:
introducing a process gas comprising ammonia (NH3), carbon monoxide (CO), and oxygen (O2); forming a plasma from said process gas is said plasma processing system; and exposing said substrate with said ARC layer to said plasma.
- 65. The method as recited in claim 64, wherein said process gas further comprises helium.
- 66. The method as recited in claim 64, wherein the flow rate of NH3 is in the range of about 50 to about 1000 sccm, the flow rate of O2 is in the range of about 5 to about 100 sccm and the flow rate of CO is in the range of about 5 to about 300 sccm.
- 67. The method as recited in claim 65, wherein the flow rate of helium is in the range of about 5 to about 300 sccm.
- 68. The method as recited in claim 64, wherein said exposing said substrate with said ARC layer to said plasma is performed for a first period of time.
- 69. The method as recited in claim 68, wherein said first period of time is determined by endpoint detection.
- 70. The method as recited in claim 69, wherein said endpoint detection comprises optical emission spectroscopy.
- 71. The method as recited in claim 68, wherein said first period of time corresponds to the time to etch said ARC layer and is extended by a second period of time.
- 72. The method as recited in claim 71, wherein said second period of time is a fraction of said first period of time.
- 73. A method of forming a bilayer mask for etching a thin film on a substrate comprising:
forming said thin film on said substrate; forming an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer on said thin film; forming a photoresist pattern on said ARC layer; and transferring said photoresist pattern to said ARC layer by plasma etching a feature in said ARC layer using a process gas comprising ammonia (NH3), carbon monoxide (CO), and oxygen (O2).
- 74. The method as recited in claim 73, wherein said process gas further comprises helium.
- 75. The method as recited in claim 73, wherein the flow rate of NH3 is in the range of about 50 to about 1000 sccm, the flow rate of O2 is in the range of about 5 to about 100 sccm and the flow rate of CO is in the range of about 5 to about 300 sccm.
- 76. The method as recited in claim 74, wherein the flow rate of helium is in the range of about 5 to about 300 sccm.
- 77. The method as recited in claim 73, wherein said etching of said ARC layer is performed for a first period of time.
- 78. The method as recited in claim 77, wherein said first period of time is determined by endpoint detection.
- 79. The method as recited in claim 78, wherein said endpoint detection comprises optical emission spectroscopy.
- 80. The method as recited in claim 77, wherein said first period of time corresponds to the time to etch said ARC layer and is extended by a second period of time.
- 81. The method as recited in claim 80, wherein said second period of time is a fraction of said first period of time.
- 82. A plasma processing system for etching a feature in an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer on a substrate comprising:
a plasma processing chamber for facilitating the formation of a plasma from a process gas; and a controller coupled to said plasma processing chamber and configured to execute a process recipe utilizing said process gas, said process gas comprises ammonia (NH3), carbon monoxide (CO), and oxygen (O2).
- 83. The system as recited in claim 82, wherein said system further comprises a diagnostic system coupled to said plasma processing chamber, and coupled to said controller.
- 84. The system as recited in claim 83, wherein said diagnostic system is configured to receive a signal that is related to light emitted from said plasma.
- 85. The system as recited in claim 82, wherein said process gas further comprises helium.
- 86. The system as recited in claim 82, wherein the flow rate of NH3 is in the range of about 50 to about 1000 sccm, the flow rate of O2 is in the range of about 5 to about 100 sccm and the flow rate of CO is in the range of about 5 to about 300 sccm.
- 87. The system as recited in claim 85, wherein the flow rate of helium is in the range of about 5 to about 300 sccm.
- 88. The system as recited in claim 82, wherein said controller causes said substrate with said ARC layer to be exposed to said plasma for a first period of time.
- 89. The system as recited in claim 88, wherein said first period of time is determined by endpoint detection determined by said diagnostic system.
- 90. The system as recited in claim 89, wherein said diagnostic system comprises an optical emission spectroscopy device.
- 91. The system as recited in claim 88, wherein said first period of time corresponds to the time to etch said ARC layer and is extended by a second period of time.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This non-provisional application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/435,286, which was filed on Dec. 23, 2002, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/483,235, which was filed on Jun. 30, 2003, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/483,234, which was filed on Jun. 30, 2003; the contents of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety.
Provisional Applications (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60435286 |
Dec 2002 |
US |
|
60483235 |
Jun 2003 |
US |
|
60483234 |
Jun 2003 |
US |