Claims
- 1. A method for photolithographic processing of semiconductors, said method comprising the steps of:
- placing a wafer having a surface into a plasma confinement chamber;
- introducing a noble gas into said confinement chamber;
- ionizing said noble gas using a radio frequency electric field in said confinement chamber to create a noble-gas plasma so that a superficial etch of said wafer is performed;
- removing said wafer from said confinement chamber;
- applying a photoresist directly to said surface of said wafer;
- exposing a selected portion of said photoresist to patterned light so as to create definite soluble and insoluble portions of said photoresist; and
- applying solvent to remove said soluble portions of said photoresist.
- 2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said surface is silicon.
- 3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said surface is metallic.
- 4. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said surface is silicon dioxide.
- 5. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said surface is silicon nitride.
- 6. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said radio frequency energy is characterized by a power between 150 watts and 250 watts.
- 7. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said ionizing step is continued for between 45 seconds and 90 seconds.
- 8. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said noble gas passes through said vacuum chamber at a rate between 80 sccm and 125 sccm.
- 9. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said vacuum chamber is under a pressure between 100 mTorr and 200 mTorr.
- 10. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said radio frequency energy is characterized by a power between 150 watts and 250 watts and wherein the pressure within said vacuum chamber is between 100 mTorr and 200 mTorr.
- 11. A method for photolithographic processing of semiconductors, said method comprising the steps of:
- placing a semiconductor wafer having a wafer surface into said vacuum chamber;
- introducing a noble gas into and exhausting said noble gas from said vacuum chamber at a rate between 80 sccm and 125 sccm so as to maintain a pressure between about 100 mTorr and 200 mTorr;
- ionizing said noble gas in said vacuum chamber by applying radio frequency energy between about 150 and 250 watts to generate a radio frequency electric field so that said wafer is superficially etched for a period of about 45 to 90 seconds;
- removing said wafer from said vacuum chamber;
- applying a photoresist directly to said wafer surface;
- exposing a selected portion of said photoresist to patterned radiation so as to create definite soluble and insoluble portions of said photoresist; and
- applying solvent to remove said soluble portions of said photoresist.
- 12. A method as recited in claim 11 wherein said noble gas is argon gas.
- 13. A method as recited in claim 11 said noble gas is at a pressure of about 150 mTorr.
- 14. A method as recited in claim 11 wherein said noble gas passes through said vacuum chamber at a rate of about 100 sccm.
- 15. A method as recited in claim 11 wherein said radio frequency energy for generating said electrical field in said vacuum chamber is about 200 watts.
- 16. A method as recited in claim 11 wherein said ionizing step is continued for a period of time of about 60 seconds.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/626,940 filed Dec. 13, 1990 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4176003 |
Brower et al. |
Nov 1979 |
|
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
Sayka et al. "The Effect of Plasma Treatment on the Wetability of Substrate Materials" Solid State Technology, May 1989, pp. 69-70. |
"KTI HMDS" Brochure, KTI Chemicals Inc., HMOS-88-2500, 1988. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
626940 |
Dec 1990 |
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