Selective etch of metal nitride films
US10014185B1 · kind B1 · utility
8Cited by
1References
14Claims
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Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 1, 2017 |
| Grant date | Jul 3, 2018 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 1, 2037 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/02244
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Processing methods comprising oxidizing a metal nitride film to form a metal oxynitride layer and etching the metal oxynitride layer with a metal halide etchant. The metal halide etchant can be, for example, WCl5, WOCl4 or TaCl5. Methods of filling a trench with a seam-free gapfill are also described. A metal nitride film is deposited in the trench to form a seam and pinch-off an opening of the trench. The pinched-off opening is subjected to a directional oxidizing plasma and a metal halide etchant to open the pinched-off top and allow access to the seam.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.