Method of reducing defects in anti-reflective coatings and semiconductor structures fabricated thereby
US6461970B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 10, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 8, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 10, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S438/905
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method of fabricating a substantially smooth-surfaced anti-reflective coating on a semiconductor device structure including generating a plasma from an inert gas in a process chamber in which the substantially smooth anti-reflective coating is to be deposited. The anti-reflective coating may be a dielectric anti-reflective coating (DARC) which includes silicon, oxygen and nitrogen, and is preferably of the general formula SixOyNz, where x equals 0.40 to 0.65, y equals 0.02 to 0.56 and z equals 0.05 to 0.33. Preferably, x+y+z equals one. The method may also include fabricating a silicon nitride layer over the anti-reflective coating. A semiconductor device which includes a silicon nitride layer over an anti-reflective coating that has been fabricated in accordance with the inventive method has a density of less than about 40,000 particles or surface roughness features in the silicon nitride of about 120-150 nanometers dimension per eight inch wafer. Accordingly, a mask that is subsequently formed over the silicon nitride layer has a substantially uniform thickness and is substantially distortion-free.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.