Patent · US Active

Sidewall and chamfer protection during hard mask removal for interconnect patterning

US8551877B2 · kind B2 · utility

9Cited by
42References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 7, 2012
Grant dateOct 8, 2013
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 5, 2032

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01L2221/1063
  • WIPO fieldSemiconductors
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method for method for removing a hard mask is described. The method includes forming at least a portion of a trench-via structure in a low-k insulation layer on a substrate using one or more etching processes and a hard mask layer overlying the low-k insulation layer. Thereafter, the method includes depositing a SiOCl-containing layer on exposed surfaces of the trench-via structure to form an insulation protection layer, performing one or more etching processes to anisotropically remove at least a portion of the SiOCl-containing layer from at least one surface on the trench-via structure, and removing the hard mask layer using a mask removal etching process.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.