Patterning platinum by alloying and etching platinum alloy
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorsSebastian Meier, Helmut Rinck
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Abstract
There is provided a method of patterning platinum on a substrate. A platinum layer is deposited on the substrate, and a patterned photoresist layer is formed over the platinum layer leaving partly exposed regions of the platinum layer. An aluminum layer is deposited over the partly exposed regions of the platinum layer. An alloy is formed of aluminum with platinum from the partly exposed regions. The platinum aluminum alloy is etched away leaving a remaining portion of the platinum layer to form a patterned platinum layer on the substrate. In an embodiment, a thin hard mask layer is deposited on the platinum layer on the semiconductor substrate before the patterned photoresist layer is formed.
Claims19
A method of forming a microelectronic device, comprising:
- providing a substrate having a top surface;
- forming a layer of a first metal on the top surface of the substrate;
- forming a patterned photoresist layer over the layer of first metal leaving an exposed region in the layer of first metal;
- forming a layer of second metal over the exposed region in the layer of first metal;
- forming an alloy of the first and the second metals at the exposed region of the layer of the first metal;
- and
- etching the layer of first metal, and the alloyed first and second metals, at the exposed region of the layer of first metal, thereby leaving a remaining portion of the layer of first metal to form a patterned layer of first metal on the substrate;
- wherein the first metal is an inert metal and the second metal is a metal that readily forms an etchable alloy with the inert metal, and
- wherein the etchable alloy has a greater susceptibility to etching than the inert metal.
A method of forming a microelectronic device, comprising
- depositing a platinum layer on a semiconductor substrate;
- forming a patterned photoresist layer over the platinum layer leaving an exposed region in the platinum layer;
- depositing a metal layer over the platinum layer and the exposed region;
- forming an alloy of metal and platinum in the exposed region of the platinum layer;
- and
- etching the metal layer and the alloyed metal and platinum at the exposed region of the platinum layer, thereby leaving a remaining portion of the platinum layer to form a patterned platinum layer on the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.