Tantalum oxide anti-reflective coating (ARC) integrated with a metallic transistor gate electrode and method of formation
US6004850A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 23, 1998 |
| Grant date | Dec 21, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 23, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH10D64/693
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for forming a tantalum-based anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer begins by forming an MOS metallic gate electrode layer (20) over a substrate (20). The MOS metallic gate electrode layer (20) is covered with an ARC layer (22). The ARC layer is preferably tantalum pentoxide or a tantalum pentoxide layer doped with one or more of nitrogen atoms and/or silicon atoms. The layers (22 and 20) are then selectively masked photoresist (24) that is selectively exposed to deep ultraviolet (DUV) radiation (28). The ARC layer (22) improves lithographic critical dimension (CD) control of the MOS metallic gate during exposure. The final MOS metallic gate is then patterned and etched using a fluorine-chlorine-fluorine time-progressed reactive ion etch (RIE) process, whereby metallic-gate MOS transistors are eventually formed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.