# US 11,441,101 B2 · Cleaning composition, cleaning method, and method for manufacturing semiconductor

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- Number: US 11,441,101 B2
- Document ID: US11441101B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/336,658
- Filed: 2017-09-22
- Published: 2021-09-16
- Granted: 2022-09-13
- Earliest claimed: 2016-09-30
- Assignees: Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.; Tokyo Electron Limited
- Applicants: Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.; Tokyo Electron Limited
- Inventors: Isao Hirano; Kazumasa Wakiya; Shoichi Terada; Junji Nakamura; Takayuki Toshima
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11441101B2

## CPC

- C11D 1/62: Quaternary ammonium compounds
- C11D 1/12: Sulfonic acids or sulfuric acid esters; Salts thereof
- C11D 3/222: {Natural or synthetic polysaccharides, e.g. cellulose, starch, gum, alginic acid or cyclodextrin}
- C11D 3/37: Polymers {(polymeric surface-active agents C11D1/008; polysaccharides C11D3/222)}
- C11D 3/3765: {in liquid compositions}
- C11D 3/3773: {in liquid compositions}
- C11D 3/378: {(Co)polymerised monomers containing sulfur, e.g. sulfonate}
- C11D 7/06: Hydroxides
- C11D 7/3209: {Amines or imines with one to four nitrogen atoms; Quaternized amines}
- C11D 7/34: containing sulfur
- G03F 7/0392: {the macromolecular compound being present in a chemically amplified positive photoresist composition}
- G03F 7/11: having cover layers or intermediate layers, e.g. subbing layers {(G03F7/091 - G03F7/093, B41N3/03 take precedence)}
- G03F 7/425: {containing mineral alkaline compounds; containing organic basic compounds, e.g. quaternary ammonium compounds; containing heterocyclic basic compounds containing nitrogen}
- G03F 7/426: {containing organic halogen compounds; containing organic sulfonic acids or salts thereof; containing sulfoxides}
- H10P 50/00: Etching of wafers, substrates or parts of devices
- H10P 52/00: Grinding, lapping or polishing of wafers, substrates or parts of devices
- H10P 76/00: Manufacture or treatment of masks on semiconductor bodies, e.g. by lithography or photolithography
- C11D 2111/22: Electronic devices, e.g. PCBs or semiconductors
- C11D: DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL
- G03F: PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; (phototypographic composing devices B41B; photosensitive materials or processes for photographic purposes G03C; electrophotography, sensitive layers or processes therefor G03G)
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

A cleaning composition which can remove a layer of interest using a conventional apparatus, such as a coater, a baking furnace and a cleaning chamber, installed in semiconductor manufacturing equipment while preventing the damage or deformation of layers other than the layer of interest, such as a substrate and an interlayer insulation film; a cleaning method using the cleaning composition; and a method for producing a semiconductor employing the cleaning method. A layer of interest formed on a substrate is cleaned with a cleaning composition containing a component capable of decomposing the layer of interest and a film-forming polymer. An example of the layer of interest is a hard mask film. An example of the component is at least one of a basic compound and an acidic compound.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A single cleaning composition for cleaning a layer to be treated, wherein said layer to be treated is formed on a substrate, the single cleaning composition comprising:
a component (A) capable of decomposing the layer to be treated,
a film-forming polymer (B); and
a solvent,
wherein a content of the component (A) in the cleaning composition is 5 to 150% by mass with respect to the total mass of the film-forming polymer (B) and the solvent, and a content of the component (B) is 1 to 30% by mass with respect to the total mass of the film-forming polymer (B) and the solvent,
the component (A) is an acidic compound (A2), and
the acidic compound (A2) is at least one selected from the group consisting of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, pentafluoroethanesulfonic acid, heptafluoropropanesulfonic acid, and nonafluorobutanesulfonic acid.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The cleaning composition according to claim 1, wherein the layer to be treated is a hardmask film.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The cleaning composition according to claim 2, wherein the hardmask film is a carbon hardmask film.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The cleaning composition according to claim 2, wherein the hardmask film comprises a polymer having ether bonds.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The cleaning composition according to claim 2, wherein the hardmask film comprises elemental fluorine.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The cleaning composition according to claim 1, wherein the film-forming polymer (B) is a film-forming polymer resistant to the component (A).

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The cleaning composition according to claim 1, wherein the film-forming polymer (B) is at least one selected from the group consisting of a polymer having a constitutional unit derived from (meth)acrylic acid, a polymer having a constitutional unit derived from a vinyl group-containing compound, and a polysaccharide.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The cleaning composition according to claim 1, wherein the solvent is at least one selected from the group consisting of water and an organic solvent.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

A cleaning method, comprising forming a coating film by applying the cleaning composition according to claim 1 onto a layer to be treated, laminated on a substrate.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The cleaning method according to claim 9, further comprising heating the coating film.

### Claim 11 (depends on 9)

The A cleaning method according to claim 9, further comprising:
forming a coating film by applying a cleaning composition onto a layer to be treated, laminated on a substrate, the cleaning composition comprising a component (A) capable of decomposing the layer to be treated, a film-forming polymer (B); and a solvent, and
heating the coating film at a temperature of not lower than a glass transition temperature of the film-forming polymer (B) and not lower than a boiling point of the component (A),
wherein a content of the component (A) in the cleaning composition is 5 to 150% by mass with respect to the total mass of the film-forming polymer (B) and the solvent, and a content of the component (B) is 1 to 30% by mass with respect to the total mass of the film-forming polymer (B) and the solvent.

### Claim 12 (depends on 9)

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor comprising a cleaning method according to claim 9.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The cleaning composition according to claim 1, wherein the film-forming polymer (B) is at least one selected from the group consisting of poly(N-vinylacetamide), polyvinylsulfonic acid, polyvinylphosphonic acid, and cross-linking polyacrylic acid.