# US 12,119,218 B2 · Sacrificial protection layer for environmentally sensitive surfaces of substrates > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,119,218 B2 - Document ID: US12119218B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/310,303 - Filed: 2020-01-28 - Published: 2024-01-25 - Granted: 2024-10-15 - Earliest claimed: 2019-01-29 - Assignees: Lam Research Corporation - Applicants: Lam Research Corporation - Inventors: Stephen M. Sirard; Ratchana Limary; Yang Pan; Diane Hymes - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12119218B2 ## CPC - H10P 14/683: {carbon-based polymeric organic materials, e.g. polyimides, poly cyclobutene or PVC} - H10P 72/0436: {mainly by radiation} - H10P 14/6342: {Liquid deposition, e.g. spin-coating, sol-gel techniques or spray coating} - H10P 14/6508: {by exposure to a liquid} - H10P 14/6538: {by exposure to UV light} - H10P 52/402: {of semiconductor materials} - H10P 70/20: {Cleaning during device manufacture} - H10P 72/0406: {for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like} - H10P 72/0448: {Apparatus for applying a liquid, a resin, an ink or the like} - H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 ## Abstract A method for protecting a surface of a substrate during processing includes a) providing a solution forming a co-polymer having a ceiling temperature; b) dispensing the solution onto a surface of the substrate to form a sacrificial protective layer, wherein the co-polymer is kinetically trapped to allow storage at a temperature above the ceiling temperature; c) exposing the substrate to ambient conditions for a predetermined period; and d) de-polymerizing the sacrificial protective layer by using stimuli selected from a group consisting of ultraviolet (UV) light and heat. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method comprising: a) providing a solution forming a co-polymer having a ceiling temperature; b) dispensing the solution onto a surface of a semiconductor substrate to form a sacrificial protective layer, wherein the co-polymer is kinetically trapped to allow storage at a temperature above the ceiling temperature; c) exposing the substrate to non-vacuum conditions for storage; and d) exposing the sacrificial protective layer to a stimulus to de-polymerize the sacrificial protective layer. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the co-polymer comprises a poly(aldehyde) co-polymer. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the ceiling temperature is lower than room temperature. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising dispensing a casting solvent on the substrate prior to dispensing the solution on the substrate. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising adding a thermal catalyst to the solution prior to dispensing the solution. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the thermal catalyst comprises a thermal acid generator or a thermal base generator. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising adding a photocatalyst to the solution prior to dispensing the solution. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein the photocatalyst comprises a photo acid generator or a photo base generator. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising adding a dye to the photocatalyst. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein d) includes: d1) dispensing a thermal catalyst onto the sacrificial protective layer; and d2) heating the substrate to a temperature that is greater than a catalyzed co-polymer degradation temperature and less than an un-catalyzed co-polymer temperature. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising repeating d1) and d2) one or more times until the sacrificial protective layer is removed. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising d3) heating the substrate to a temperature that is greater than the un-catalyzed co-polymer temperature to remove remaining portions of the sacrificial protective layer. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the thermal catalyst comprises a thermal acid generator or a thermal base generator. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: prior to b), performing a first treatment process on the substrate in a first substrate processing tool; performing a) and b) in the first substrate processing tool; performing d) in a second substrate processing tool; and performing a second treatment process on the substrate in the second substrate processing tool. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein: the first treatment process is selected from a group consisting of deposition, etching, stripping, cleaning, chemical mechanical planarization (CMP), patterning, or modification of electrical properties of the substrate; and the second treatment process is selected from a group consisting of deposition, etching, stripping, cleaning, chemical mechanical planarization (CMP), patterning, or modification of electrical properties of the substrate. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the stimulus comprises heat. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the stimulus comprises UV radiation. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the stimulus comprises acidic vapor. ### Claim 19 A method comprising: a) providing a semiconductor substrate having sensitive surface; and b) dispensing a solution comprising a polymer having a ceiling temperature onto the sensitive surface of the semiconductor substrate to form a sacrificial protective layer, wherein the polymer is kinetically trapped to allow storage at a temperature above the ceiling temperature; and c) transporting the semiconductor substrate in non-vacuum conditions for storage. ### Claim 20 A method comprising: receiving from storage a semiconductor substrate having a sensitive surface, the sensitive surface covered by a sacrificial protective layer comprising a polymer having a ceiling temperature, wherein the polymer is kinetically trapped to allow storage at a temperature above a ceiling temperature; transporting the semiconductor substrate in non-vacuum conditions for storage; and exposing the sacrificial protective layer to a stimulus to de-polymerize and remove the sacrificial protective layer without damaging the sensitive surface.