Claims
- 1. A processing method comprising the steps of:
- subjecting in a modifying gas atmosphere the surface of a substrate to selective irradiation with light that has an energy greater than a binding energy of a compound present in the form of a film constituting said surface of the substrate to reduce an area of said compound subjected to the selective irradiation, said selective irradiation thereby forming on said surface of the substrate a pattern of a surface-modified area and a surface-unmodified area, said surface-modified area constituting a reduced product and said surface-unmodified area constituting a non-reduced product; and
- etching the surface-unmodified area using said surface-modified area as a protective film.
- 2. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein said compound is a silicon nitride film, and a light source of said light is an Ar excimer laser.
- 3. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein said compound is a silicon nitride film, and a light source of said light is a Kr laser.
- 4. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein said compound is a silicon oxide film, and a light source of said light is an Ar excimer laser.
- 5. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein the modifying gas atmosphere comprises an atmosphere having a pressure of 10.sup.-8 Torr or less.
- 6. A processing method comprising the steps of:
- providing a substrate in a modifying gas atmosphere, said substrate having a compound in the form of a film at least on a surface of said substrate;
- subjecting the surface of the substrate selectively to irradiation with light that has an energy greater than a binding energy of the compound and capable of reducing the compound to thereby form on the surface of the substrate a surface-modified area, whereby a pattern of the surface-modified area and a surface-unmodified area is formed on the surface of the substrate; and
- plasma etching the surface-unmodified area.
- 7. The processing method according to claim 6, wherein the modifying gas atmosphere comprises an atmosphere having a pressure of 10.sup.-8 or less.
- 8. The processing method according to claim 6, wherein the compound comprises silicon oxide or silicon nitride.
- 9. The processing method according to claim 6, wherein the plasma etching is conducted employing plasma generated by microwaves.
- 10. The processing method according to claim 6, wherein the modifying gas atmosphere comprises NH.sub.3 gas.
- 11. The processing method according to claim 6, wherein the plasma etching is conducted by a plasma comprising NF.sub.3 gas.
- 12. The processing method according to claim 6, wherein the surface-modified area comprises silicon.
- 13. The processing method according to claim 6, wherein the plasma etching is conducted by a plasma comprising CF.sub.4 or C.sub.2 F.sub.6 gas.
Priority Claims (8)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2-254196 |
Sep 1990 |
JPX |
|
2-255148 |
Sep 1990 |
JPX |
|
2-261670 |
Sep 1990 |
JPX |
|
2-266461 |
Oct 1990 |
JPX |
|
2-313589 |
Nov 1990 |
JPX |
|
2-314951 |
Nov 1990 |
JPX |
|
2-314953 |
Nov 1990 |
JPX |
|
2-314954 |
Nov 1990 |
JPX |
|
Parent Case Info
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 08/251,666, filed May 31, 1994, pending, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/764,939 filed Sep. 24, 1991, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1389506 |
Jan 1965 |
FRX |
63-33569 |
Feb 1988 |
JPX |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
251666 |
May 1994 |
|
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
764939 |
Sep 1991 |
|