Treatment system and method
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsWan-Yi Kao, Kuang-Yuan Hsu, Tze-Liang Lee
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Abstract
A method of descumming a dielectric layer is provided. In an embodiment the dielectric layer is deposited over a substrate, and a photoresist is applied, exposed, and developed after the photoresist has been applied. Once the pattern of the photoresist is transferred to the underlying dielectric layer, a descumming process is performed, wherein the descumming process utilizes a mixture of a carbon-containing precursor, a descumming precursor, and a carrier gas. The mixture is ignited into a treatment plasma, and the treatment plasma is applied to the dielectric layer in order to descum the dielectric layer.
Claims20
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
- applying a photoresist over a dielectric layer;
- exposing a first surface of the dielectric layer through the photoresist;
- and
- treating the first surface with a plasma process using a treatment mixture comprising a first treatment precursor and a recovery precursor, wherein treating the first surface comprises:
- removing atoms from the first surface of the dielectric layer using the first treatment precursor, wherein removing atoms comprises breaking first bonds at the first surface of the dielectric layer to produce open terminal groups, the first bonds comprising bonds between silicon atoms and nitrogen atoms at the first surface of the dielectric layer;
- and
- replacing the removed atoms by carbon atoms from the recovery precursor, wherein replacing the atoms comprises bonding the open terminal groups with the carbon atoms from the recovery precursor.
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
- depositing a low-k dielectric layer over a substrate;
- patterning the low-k dielectric layer to form a first surface of the low-k dielectric layer;
- and
- after the patterning the low-k dielectric layer, descumming the first surface of the low-k dielectric layer, wherein descumming the first surface of the low-k dielectric layer comprises:
- breaking first bonds between silicon atoms and nitrogen atoms at the first surface of the low-k dielectric layer using a treatment precursor, wherein breaking first bonds creates first open terminal groups at the first surface of the low-k dielectric layer;
- and
- bonding carbon atoms from a recovery precursor to the first open terminal groups.
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
- depositing a dielectric layer, wherein the dielectric layer comprises first bonds between silicon atoms and oxygen atoms, second bonds between silicon atoms and carbon atoms, and third bonds between silicon atoms and nitrogen atoms;
- patterning an opening that extends from a first side of the dielectric layer to a second side of the dielectric layer opposite the first side;
- after the patterning the opening, breaking the second bonds and the third bonds by applying a plasma of a descumming precursor, wherein the breaking the second bonds leaves first open terminal groups, and the breaking the third bonds leaves second open terminal groups;
- and
- bonding the first open terminal groups and the second open terminal groups to carbon by applying a plasma of a recovery precursor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.