Patterned sidewall smoothing using a pre-smoothed inverted tone pattern
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsKafai Lai, Hari V. Mallela, Hiroyuki Miyazoe, Reinaldo A. Vega, Rajasekhar Venigalla
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments are directed to a method and resulting structures for smoothing the sidewall roughness of a post-etched film. A sacrificial layer is formed on a substrate. A patterned mask is formed by removing portions of the sacrificial layer to expose a surface of the substrate. The sidewalls of the patterned mask are smoothed and a target layer is formed over the patterned mask and the substrate. Portions of the target layer are removed to expose a surface of the patterned mask and the patterned mask is removed.
Claims17
A method for forming a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
- forming a sacrificial layer on a substrate;
- forming a patterned mask by removing portions of the sacrificial layer to expose a surface of the substrate, thereby forming one or more cavities in the sacrificial layer at one or more locations where the surface of the substrate is exposed;
- smoothing sidewalls of the patterned mask;
- forming a target layer over the patterned mask and the substrate, such that the target layer completely fills in the one or more cavities;
- removing portions of the target layer to expose a surface of the patterned mask;
- and
- removing the patterned mask;
- wherein a sidewall angle after smoothing the sidewalls of the patterned mask is less than about 90 degrees as measured from the surface of the patterned mask.
A method for forming a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
- forming a sacrificial layer on a substrate;
- forming a patterned mask by removing portions of the sacrificial layer to expose a surface of the substrate, thereby forming one or more cavities in the sacrificial layer at one or more locations where the surface of the substrate is exposed;
- smoothing sidewalls of the patterned mask;
- forming a target layer over the patterned mask and the substrate, such that the target layer completely fills in the one or more cavities;
- removing portions of the target layer to expose a surface of the patterned mask;
- and
- removing the patterned mask;
- wherein a sidewall angle of the target layer after removing the patterned mask is greater than about 90 degrees as measured from a top surface of the target layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.