Carbon hard masks for patterning applications and methods related thereto

US11469097B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Applied Materials, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Eswaranand Venkatasubramanian · Santa Clara, US
• Yang Yang · San Diego, US
• Pramit Manna · Sunnyvale, US
• Kartik Ramaswamy · San Jose, US
• Takehito Koshizawa · San Jose, US
• Abhijit Basu Mallick · Palo Alto, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 8, 2019
• Grant date: Oct 11, 2022
• Expiry date: Oct 5, 2039

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01L21/0332
• WIPO field: Semiconductors
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Embodiments herein provide methods of depositing an amorphous carbon layer using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process and hard masks formed therefrom. In one embodiment, a method of processing a substrate includes positioning a substrate on a substrate support, the substrate support disposed in a processing volume of a processing chamber, flowing a processing gas comprising a hydrocarbon gas and a diluent gas into the processing volume, maintaining the processing volume at a processing pressure less than about 100 mTorr, igniting and maintaining a deposition plasma of the processing gas by applying a first power to one of one or more power electrodes of the processing chamber, maintaining the substrate support at a processing temperature less than about 350° C., exposing a surface of the substrate to the deposition plasma, and depositing an amorphous carbon layer on the surface of the substrate.