Dry silylation plasma etch process
US6809036B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 30, 2002 |
| Grant date | Oct 26, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 30, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03F7/36
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A dry silylation process involving plasma etching of a substrate (100) having an upper surface (100S) coated with a first layer (L1) of silylatable material with one or more silylated regions (S1, S2) formed therein. The plasma (66) is oxygen-based plasma having a first region (66L) with a low plasma density and high radical density, and a second region (66U) having a high plasma density and a low radical density. The process includes the steps of exposing the one or more silylated regions to the first plasma region to form respective one or more oxidized regions (OR1, OR2) from the one or more silylated regions. The next step is then exposing the substrate to the second plasma region to selectively etch the silylatable material that is directly exposed to the plasma. The process of the present invention can be used, for example, to form photoresist patterns (P) having straight (vertical) sidewalls (SW) in the fabrication of a semiconductor device.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.