Claims
- 1. An apparatus for exposing a photoresist-developed substrate, comprising:
a chamber, the chamber having at least one gas inlet, the gas inlet being adapted to introduce a gas into the chamber; a support within the chamber; and a substrate on the support, the substrate having at least one developed photoresist layer, the substrate being exposed to a curing environment within the chamber, the curing environment being defined through the introduction of the gas through the gas inlet and causing at least a portion of the developed photoresist layer to convert to a hardened layer.
- 2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the developed photoresist layer is a silicon containing photoresist.
- 3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the gas is one of oxygen and ammonia.
- 4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the chamber is an etch chamber.
- 5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the hardened layer has a thickness of between about 5% to about 75% of the developed photoresist layer.
- 6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the hardened layer is one of silicon dioxide and silicon nitride.
- 7. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein a temperature of the curing environment is between about −30° C. and about 70° C.
- 8. The apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein the oxygen flow rate into the chamber is between about 50 sccm and about 500 sccm.
- 9. The apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein the ammonia flow rate into the chamber is between about 100 sccm and about 2000 sccm.
- 10. An apparatus for curing a photoresist on a substrate, comprising:
a chamber, the chamber having at least one gas inlet, the gas inlet being adapted to introduce a gas into the chamber; a support within the chamber; and a substrate on the support, the substrate having a first photoresist layer and a second photoresist layer, the first photoresist layer being disposed over the second photoresist layer, the first photoresist layer being formulated to contain a hardening agent, the hardening agent interacting with the gas to form a hardened layer at a top region of the first photoresist layer.
- 11. The apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein the gas is one of oxygen and ammonia.
- 12. The apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein the support is a chuck.
- 13. The apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein the second photoresist layer is about 6000 Å.
- 14. The apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein an etch selectivity ratio of the first photoresist layer and the second photoresist layer is between about 8 and about 15.
- 15. The apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein the hardening agent is silicon.
- 16. The apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein the hardened layer includes one of silicon dioxide and silicon nitride.
- 17. A method for increasing a selectivity of a photoresist, comprising:
providing a substrate with a developed photoresist layer, the developed photoresist layer being formulated to contain a hardening agent; exposing the substrate and the developed photoresist layer to a gas, the gas being formulated to interact with the hardening agent; and converting a portion of the developed photoresist layer to a hardened layer, the hardened layer being created by an interaction of the hardening agent with the gas.
- 18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the gas is one of oxygen and ammonia.
- 19. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the hardening agent is silicon.
- 20. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the hardened layer is one of silicon dioxide and silicon nitride.
- 21. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the providing a substrate with a developed photoresist layer further includes,
placing the substrate in an etch chamber.
- 22. The method as recited in claim 21, wherein the exposing the substrate to a gas further includes,
controlling the flow rate of the gas to the chamber between about 50 sccm and about 2000 sccm.
- 23. The method as recited in claim 21, wherein the exposing the substrate to a gas further includes,
controlling the pressure of the chamber between about 50 mT and about 300 mT.
- 24. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the portion of the developed photoresist layer converted to the hardened layer is between about 5% and about 75% of the photoresist layer.
- 25. A method for curing photoresist, comprising:
providing a substrate with a first photoresist layer and a second photoresist layer, the first photoresist being developed and disposed over the second photoresist layer, the first photoresist layer being formulated to contain a hardening agent; exposing the first photoresist layer to a curing environment, the curing environment including a gas for interacting with the hardening agent; and converting a portion of the first photoresist layer to a hardened layer, the hardened layer being formed to increase an etching selectivity ratio.
- 26. The method for curing a photoresist as recited in claim 25, wherein the hardening agent is silicon.
- 27. The method for curing a photoresist as recited in claim 25, wherein the gas is one of oxygen and ammonia.
- 28. The method for curing a photoresist as recited in claim 25, wherein the hardened layer is one of silicon dioxide and silicon nitride.
- 29. The method for curing a photoresist as recited in claim 25, wherein the curing environment is contained within an etch chamber.
- 30. In an etch chamber having a top and a bottom electrode, process gas inlets, and a chuck for holding a wafer, the wafer including a dielectric layer to be etched, a method for curing a photoresist disposed on the wafer, comprising:
introducing a gas into an etch chamber through a process gas inlet, the gas in the etch chamber defining a curing environment; exposing the wafer to the curing environment, the wafer having a developed photoresist layer, the developed photoresist layer being formulated so as to contain a hardening agent; interacting the hardening agent with the curing environment; and converting a portion of the developed photoresist layer to a hardened layer.
- 31. The method for curing a photoresist as recited in claim 30, wherein the gas is one of oxygen and ammonia.
- 32. The method for curing a photoresist as recited in claim 30, wherein the hardening agent is silicon.
- 33. The method for curing a photoresist as recited in claim 30, further comprising:
controlling the gas flow rate, a temperature of the etch chamber, a pressure of the etch chamber, and a power supply to the top and the bottom electrode.
- 34. The method for curing a photoresist as recited in claim 30, wherein the
portion of the photoresist layer converted to a hardened layer is between about 5% and about 75% of the photoresist layer.
- 35. The method for curing a photoresist as recited in claim 33, wherein the power to the top electrode is maintained at between about 100 watts and 1500 watts.
- 36. The method for curing a photoresist as recited in claim 33, wherein the power to the bottom electrode is maintained at between about 0 watts and 1000 watts.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______(Attorney Docket No. LAM2P257), filed on the same day as the instant application and entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ARGON PLASMA INDUCED ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT CURING STEP FOR INCREASING SILICON-CONTAINING PHOTORESIST SELECTIVITY.” This application is hereby incorporated by reference.