This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-173638 filed on Oct. 25, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method for forming a pattern,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-539361 discloses a method for patterning a substrate. In the method, first, a substrate including a radiation sensitive layer is received, Then, a patterned resist mask is produced on the substrate by developing a pattern transferred to the radiation sensitive layer through an extreme ultraviolet lithography process. Then, the patterned resist mask is overcoated with an image inversion material. Then, the upper portion of the image inversion material is removed. Then, a patterned image inversion material mask is produced by removing the patterned resist mask.
In one exemplary embodiment, a method for forming a pattern includes (a) thrilling, on a substrate, a first pattern having an Opening and containing a first material, (b) forming a filling portion in the opening, the filling portion containing a second material different from the first material, and (c) removing the first pattern so that the filling portion remains as a second pattern inverted with respect to the first pattern. At least one of the first material or the second material contains tin.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, exemplary embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, exemplary embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
Hereinafter, various exemplary embodiments will be described.
In one exemplary embodiment, a method for forming a pattern includes (a) forming, on a substrate, a first pattern having an opening and containing a first material, (b) forming a filling portion in the opening, the filling portion containing a second material different from the first material, and (c) removing the first pattern so that the filling portion remains as a second pattern inverted with respect to the first pattern. At least one of the first material or the second material contains tin.
According to the above method, it is possible to invert the pattern from the first pattern to the second pattern.
The first material may contain tin. In this case, the pattern can be inverted from the first pattern containing tin to the second pattern.
The first material may contain tin oxide.
The second material may contain at least one of carbon, silicon, or metal.
In (c), the first pattern may be removed by using a hydrogen bromide gas. In this case, since the first pattern can be removed without using plasma, it is possible to increase the etching selectivity of the first pattern to the filling portion.
The second material may contain tin. In this case, the pattern can be inverted from the first pattern to the second pattern containing tin.
The second material may contain tin oxide.
The first material may contain at least one of carbon, silicon, or metal.
The first material may contain tin. The second material may contain at least one of carbon, silicon, or metal. In (c), the first pattern may be removed by using at least one of a hydrogen fluoride gas, a hydrogen chloride gas, a hydrogen bromide gas, a hydrogen iodide gas, a fluorine gas, a chlorine gas, a bromine gas, an iodine gas, a boron trichloride gas, a helium gas, a neon gas, an argon gas, a xenon gas, a nitrogen gas, a hydrocarbon gas, or a methanol gas.
The first material may contain tin oxide, and the second material may contain at least one of carbon or silicon.
In (c), the first pattern may be removed. by using at least one of the hydrogen bromide gas or the hydrocarbon gas.
The first material may contain carbon. The second material may contain tin. In (c), the first pattern may be removed by using at least one of an oxygen-containing gas, a fluorine-containing gas, or a nitrogen-containing gas.
The first material may contain silicon, and the second material may contain tin. In (c), the first pattern may be removed by using a fluorine-containing gas.
The first material may contain tin. The second material may contain tin oxide. An oxygen concentration of the second material may be higher than an oxygen concentration of the first material. In (c), the first pattern may be removed by using at least one of a hydrogen fluoride gas, a hydrogen chloride gas, a hydrogen bromide gas, a hydrogen iodide gas, a fluorine gas, a chlorine gas, a bromine gas, an iodine gas, a boron trichloride gas, a helium gas, a neon gas, an argon gas, a xenon gas, a nitrogen gas, a hydrocarbon gas, or a methanol gas.
An either one pattern containing tin of the first pattern and the second pattern may be formed from a CND film or an ALD film.
The CND film or the ALL) film may be a tin-containing photoresist film.
The photoresist film may be a photoresist film for EUV exposure.
An unexposed portion of the photoresist film may contain tin. An exposed portion of the photoresist film may contain tin oxide. An oxygen concentration in the exposed portion may be higher than an oxygen concentration in the unexposed portion.
(a) may include (a1) forming a mask pattern corresponding to the first pattern, on an underlying film provided on the substrate, and (a2) forming the first pattern by etching the underlying film with the mask pattern. In this case, it is possible to form a pattern corresponding to the first pattern from the underlying film.
The underlying film may include at least one of a silicon-containing film or a carbon-containing film.
The filling portion may be a first filling portion, The method may further include (d) forming a second filling portion containing a third material different from the first material and the second material, in an opening of the second pattern, and (e) removing the second pattern so that the second filling portion remains as a third pattern corresponding to the first pattern. In this case, it is possible to obtain a third pattern that is made of a different material from the material of the first pattern and that has the same shape as the first pattern.
The filling portion may be a first filling portion. The method may further include, before (a), (f) forming, on the substrate, a third pattern having an opening and containing a third material, the third material being different from the first material and the second material, and (g) forming a second filling portion containing the first material in the opening of the third pattern. In (a), the third pattern may be removed so that the second filling portion may remain as the first pattern. In this case, it is possible to obtain the second pattern that is made of a different material from the material of the third pattern and that has the same shape as the third pattern.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof The exemplary embodiments described in the detailed description, drawing, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other exemplary embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here.
The present disclosure provides a pattern forming method capable of forming an inverted pattern.
Hereinafter, various exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference signs.
In Step ST1, a pattern PT1 (first pattern) having an opening OP1 is formed on a substrate W, as illustrated in
First, a photoresist film 18 is formed on the substrate W as illustrated in
The photoresist film 18 may be formed on the underlying film UR. The photoresist film 18 contains tin, The photoresist film 18 may be a negative resist film. The photoresist film 18 may be formed by a wet process or a dry process. Examples of the wet process include coating. The photoresist film 18 may be formed by coating the substrate W with a tin-containing resist material, for example. Examples of the dry process include CVD. The photoresist film 18 may be formed by CVD using a tin-containing gas, Examples of the tin-containing gas include an organotin compound gas, a SnCl4 gas, a Sn(CH3)4 gas, and a SnH4 gas.
Then, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
In Step ST2, as illustrated in
First, as illustrated in
Examples of the wet process include coating. For example, the liquid second material is applied onto the substrate W by using a spin coater. Then, the liquid second material is solidified by exposure or baking. As a result, the filling film FL1a can be formed.
Examples of the dry process include CVD. When the filling film FL1a contains silicon, for example, the filling film FL1a may be formed by CVD using a silicon-containing gas. Examples of the silicon-containing gas include a SiCl4 gas, a Si2Cl6 gas, and a SiBr4 gas. The silicon-containing gas is vaporized under conditions of a high temperature or low pressure and liquefied under conditions of a low temperature or high pressure. Thus, the liquid second material can be formed on the substrate W by adjusting at least one of the temperature or the pressure. Then, the liquid second material is solidified by oxidation or chlorine desorption. As a result, the filling film FL1a can be formed.
Then, as illustrated in
In Step ST3, as illustrated in
Examples of the substance for removing the pattern PT1 are the same as the examples of the substance for removing the unexposed portion 18b in Step ST1. The pattern PT1 may be removed by using at least one of a hydrogen fluoride gas, a hydrogen chloride gas, a hydrogen bromide gas, a hydrogen iodide gas, a fluorine gas, a chlorine gas, a bromine gas, an iodine gas, a boron trichloride gas, a helium gas, a neon gas, an argon gas, a xenon gas, a nitrogen gas, a hydrocarbon gas, or a methanol (CH3OH) gas. The pattern PT1 may be removed by plasma (ashing) generated from a gas containing at least one of hydrogen, chlorine, or bromine. Alternatively, the pattern PT1 may he removed by using a gas containing at least one of hydrogen, chlorine, or bromine without using plasma.
After Step ST3, the underlying film UR may be etched by using the pattern PT2 as a mask. Thus, a pattern corresponding to the pattern PT2 is formed from the underlying film UR. Then, the oxide film 12 may be etched by using the obtained pattern as a mask. As a result, a pattern is formed. from the oxide film 12. Then, the silicon-containing film 10 may be etched by using the pattern obtained from the oxide film 12 as a mask.
According to the method MT in the present embodiment, the pattern can be inverted from the pattern PT1 to the pattern PT2. Since a photoresist film containing tin is usually a negative resist film, it is difficult to reduce the width (critical dimension) of a pattern formed from a photoresist film containing tin. However, according to the method MT in the present embodiment, it is possible to for m the pattern PT2 having relatively small width by reducing the width of the opening OP1 of the pattern PT1. Therefore, it is possible to form a contact hole having relatively small width in the silicon-containing film 10 by etching using the pattern PT2 as the mask. Furthermore, in the method MT in the present embodiment, by using a substance containing at least one of hydrogen, chlorine, or bromine in Step ST3, it is possible to selectively remove the pattern PT1 containing tin while leaving the filling portion FL1. The materials containing tin have the special property of being more reactive with substances containing at least one of hydrogen, chlorine, or bromine than many other materials. Therefore, when the pattern. PT1 containing tin is used, the number of choices for the material of the filling portion FL1 is increased.
In the present embodiment, in Step ST1, a pattern PT11 (first pattern) having an opening OP2 is formed on a substrate W, as illustrated in
In Step ST1, first, a pattern PT1 (mask pattern) corresponding to the pattern PT11 is formed on an underlying film UR provided on the substrate W, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
In Step ST2, as illustrated in
First, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
In Step ST3, as illustrated in
According to the method MT in the present embodiment, it is possible to set the aspect ratio of the pattern PT12 to be larger than the aspect ratio of the pattern P12 in the first embodiment. Therefore, when the oxide film 12 is etched by using the pattern PT12 as a mask, a favorable etching selectivity can be obtained.
In Step ST1, a pattern PT21 (first pattern) having an opening OP3 is formed on a substrate W, as illustrated in
First, a photoresist film 28 is formed on the substrate W as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
In Step ST2, as illustrated in
First, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
In Step ST3, as illustrated in
When the pattern PT21 contains, for example, carbon, examples of a substance that does not contain hydrogen, chlorine, and bromine include an oxygen-containing gas, a fluorine-containing gas, and a nitrogen-containing gas. Examples of the oxygen-containing gas include an oxygen gas, a carbonyl sulfide (COS) gas, and a sulfur oxide (SO2) gas. Examples of the fluorine-containing gas include a fluorocarbon (CxFy) gas, a hydrofluorocarbon (CxHyFz) gas, and a nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) gas. Examples of the nitrogen-containing gas include a nitrogen gas.
When the pattern PT21 contains silicon, for example, examples of the substance that does not contain hydrogen, chlorine, and bromine include a fluorine-containing gas. The fluorine-containing gas may contain carbon or nitrogen. Examples of the fluorine-containing gas include a fluorocarbon (CxFy) gas, a hydrofluorocarbon (CxHyFz) gas, and a NF3 gas.
When the pattern PT21 contains a metal other than tin, for example, examples of the substance that does not contain hydrogen, chlorine, and bromine include a fluorine-containing gas. Examples of the fluorine-containing gas include a hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas, a fluorocarbon (CxFy) gas, a NF3 gas, and a SF6 gas. The pattern PT21. may be removed as follows. First, the surface of the pattern PT21 is fluorinated by using a fluorine-containing gas. Then, the surface of the fluorinated pattern PT21 is exposed to a metal-containing precursor containing a metal complex. Examples of the metal-containing precursor include tin(II) acetylacetonate (Sn(acac)2). Another highly volatile metal complex is produced by ligand exchange between a metal fluoride and a metal complex. As a result, the pattern PT21 is etched.
According to the method MT in the present embodiment, the pattern can be inverted from the pattern PT21 to the pattern PT22. Since a photoresist film containing tin is usually a negative resist film, it is difficult to reduce the width of a pattern formed from a photoresist film containing tin. However, according to the method MT in the present embodiment, it is possible to form the pattern PT22 having relatively small width by reducing the width of the opening OP3 of the pattern PT21. Therefore, it is possible to form a contact hole having relatively small width in the silicon-containing film 10 by etching using the pattern PT22 as the mask. Furthermore, in the method MT in the present embodiment, by using a substance that does not contain hydrogen, chlorine, and bromine in Step ST3, it is possible to selectively remove the pattern PT21 while leaving the filling portion FL3 containing tin. The materials containing tin have the special property of being less reactive with substances that do not contain hydrogen, chlorine, and bromine than many other materials. Therefore, when the filling portion FL3 containing tin is used, the number of choices for the material of the pattern PT21 is increased.
in Step ST1, first, a pattern PT21 (mask pattern) corresponding to the pattern PT31 is formed on an underlying film UR provided on the substrate W, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
in Step ST2, as illustrated in
First, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
In Step ST3, as illustrated in
According to the method MT in the present embodiment, it is possible to set the aspect ratio of the pattern PT32 to be larger than the aspect ratio of the pattern PT22 in the third embodiment. Therefore, when the oxide film 12 is etched by using the pattern PT32 as a mask, a favorable etching selectivity can be obtained.
In Step ST4, as illustrated in
Step ST4 may be performed in the same manner as Step ST2. First, as illustrated in
In Step ST5, as illustrated in
When the pattern PT2 contains carbon, and the filling portion FL11 contains metal other than tin or silicon, the pattern PT2 may be removed by an oxygen-containing gas or a nitrogen-containing gas. Examples of the oxygen-containing gas include an oxygen gas, a carbonyl sulfide (COS) gas, and a sulfur oxide (SO2) gas. Examples of the nitrogen-containing gas include a nitrogen gas.
When the pattern PT2 contains silicon, and the filling portion FL11 contains carbon, the pattern PT2 may be removed by a halogen-containing gas. Examples of the halogen-containing gas include a fluorocarbon (CxFy) gas, hydrofluorocarbon (CxFyFz) gas, a NF3 gas, a hydrogen fluoride gas, a hydrogen chloride gas, and a hydrogen bromide gas.
When the pattern PT2 contains silicon, and the filling portion FL11 contains metal other than tin, the pattern PT2 may be removed by a fluorine-containing gas. Examples of the fluorine-containing gas include a fluorocarbon (CxFy) gas, a hydrofluorocarbon (CxHyFz) gas, and a NF3 gas.
When the pattern PT2 contains metal other than tin, and the filling portion FL11 contains carbon or silicon, the pattern PT2 may be removed by a hydrogen-containing gas or a halogen-containing gas. Examples of the hydrogen-containing gas include a hydrogen fluoride gas, a hydrogen chloride gas, a hydrogen bromide gas, and a hydrogen gas. Examples of the halogen-containing gas includes a chlorine gas and a bromine gas.
According to the method. MT1 in the present embodiment, it is possible to form the pattern PT3 that contains a material different from the material of the pattern PT1 and that has the same shape as the pattern PT1.
in Step ST6, a pattern PT4 (third pattern) having an opening OP12 is formed on a substrate W, as illustrated in
In Step ST7, a filling portion FL12 (second filling portion) is formed in the opening OP12 of the pattern PT4. The filling portion FL12 contains the first material.
Step ST7 may be performed in the same manner as Step ST2. First, as illustrated in
After Step ST7, in Step ST1, by removing the pattern PT4, the filling portion FL12 remains as a pattern PT21 (first pattern) as illustrated in
When the pattern PT4 contains carbon, and the filling portion FL12 contains metal other than tin or silicon, the pattern PT4 may be removed by an oxygen-containing gas or a nitrogen-containing gas. Examples of the oxygen-containing gas include an oxygen gas, a carbonyl sulfide (COS) gas, and a sulfur oxide (SO2) gas. Examples of the nitrogen-containing gas include a nitrogen gas.
When the pattern PT4 contains silicon, and the filling portion FL12 contains carbon, the pattern PT4 may be removed by a halogen-containing gas. Examples of the halogen-containing gas include a fluorocarbon (CxFy) gas, hydrofluorocarbon (CxHyFz) gas, a NF3 gas, a hydrogen fluoride gas, a hydrogen chloride gas, and a hydrogen bromide gas.
When the pattern PT4 contains silicon, and the filling portion FL12 contains metal other than tin, the pattern PT4 may be removed by a fluorine-containing gas. Examples of the fluorine-containing gas include a fluorocarbon (CxFy) gas, a hydrofluorocarbon (CxHyFz) gas, and a NF3 gas.
When the pattern PT4 contains metal other than tin, and the filling portion FL12 contains carbon or silicon, the pattern PT4 may be removed by a hydrogen-containing gas or a halogen-containing gas. Examples of the hydrogen-containing gas include a hydrogen fluoride gas, a hydrogen chloride gas, a hydrogen bromide gas, and a hydrogen gas. Examples of the halogen-containing gas includes a chlorine gas and a bromine gas.
According to the method MT2 in the present embodiment, it is possible to form the pattern PT22 that contains a material different from the material of the pattern PT4 and that has the same shape as the pattern PT4.
In each embodiment, the tin-containing pattern may be a Sn-containing film. The Sn-containing film may be formed by a dry process or a wet process. The Sn-containing film may be a Sn film or a SnO film. The Sn-containing film may be a photoresist film or a non-photoresist film. The pattern containing tin may be formed from any one of a CVD film, an ALD film, and a PVD film. The pattern containing tin may be formed by CND or ALD using, for example, t-butyltris(dimethylamino)tin as a precursor and using, for example, H2O as an oxidizing agent. The CVD film, the ALD film, and the PVD film may be formed by plasma energy. The CVD film and the ALD film may be formed by thermal energy. The CVD film or the ALD film may be a photoresist film containing tin. The photoresist film may be a photoresist film for EUV exposure. When the unexposed portion of the photoresist film contains tin, and the exposed portion of the photoresist film contains tin oxide, the oxygen concentration in the exposed portion may be higher than the oxygen concentration in the unexposed portion. The unexposed portions may be oxygen-free.
The coating and developing device 110 and the exposure device 120 may constitute a pattern forming device 101. A substrate W may be transported between the coating and developing device 110 and the exposure device 120, Step ST1 may be performed by using the pattern forming device 101. In Step ST1, the pattern PT1, the pattern PT11, the pattern PT21, or the pattern PT31 may be formed by using the pattern forming device 101. After Step ST1, the substrate W may be transported from the coating and developing device 110 to the coating device 130.
Step ST2 may be performed by using the coating device 130 and the etching device 140. The coating device 130 may be, for example, a spin coater or a slit coater. The apparatus 100 may include a CVD device instead of the coating device 130. The apparatus 100 may include a CMP device instead of the etching device 140. In Step ST2, the substrate W may be transported from the coating device 130 to the etching device 140. In Step ST2, the filling portion FL1, the filling portion FL2, the filling portion FL3, and the filling portion FL4 may be formed. After Step ST2, the substrate W may be transported from the etching device 140 to the asher 150.
Step ST3 may be performed by using the asher 150. The apparatus 100 may include a cleaning device instead of the asher 150. In Step ST3, the pattern PT1, the pattern PT11, the pattern PT21, or the pattern PT31 may be removed by using the asher 150. As a result, the pattern PT2, the pattern PT12, the pattern PT22, or the pattern PT32 may be formed. After Step ST3, the substrate W may be transported from the asher 150 to the etching device 160. The etching device 160 may be used for etching the oxide film 12 of the substrate W.
The CVD device 210, the exposure device 220, and the etching device 230 may constitute a pattern forming device 201, The substrate W may be transported from the CVD device 210 to the etching device 230 through the exposure device 220. Step ST1 may be performed. by using the pattern forming device 201. In Step ST1, the pattern PT1, the pattern PT11, the pattern PT21, or the pattern PT31 may be formed by using the pattern forming device 201. After Step ST1, the substrate W may be transported from the etching device 230 to the CVD device 240.
Step ST2 may be performed by using the CVD device 240 and the etching device 250. In Step ST2, the substrate W may be transported from the CVD device 240 to the etching device 250. in Step ST2, the filling portion FL1, the filling portion FL2, the filling portion FL3, and the filling portion FL4 may be formed, After Step ST2, the substrate W may be transported from the etching device 250 to the asher 260.
Step ST3 may be performed by using the asher 260. After Step ST3, the substrate W may be transported from the asher 260 to the etching device 270. The etching device 270 may be used for etching the oxide film 12 of the substrate W
Although the various exemplary embodiments have been described above, various additions, omissions, substitutions, and changes may be made without being limited to the exemplary embodiments described above. Other embodiments can be formed by combining elements in different embodiments.
From the above description, it will be understood that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described for purposes of explanation in the present specification, and that various changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed in the present specification are not intended to limit, and the true scope and spirit are indicated by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2021-173638 | Oct 2021 | JP | national |