Method of metal oxide infiltration into photoresist
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorsNancy Fung, Mark J. Saly
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Abstract
Disclosed herein is a method for forming metal-oxides in the photoresist to improve profile control. The method includes infiltrating a metal oxide in a photoresist layer by pressurizing a methyl-containing material in a processing environment proximate a film stack. The film stack includes the photoresist layer, the photoresist layer being disposed on top of and in contact with an underlayer. The underlayer disposed on top of a substrate. The method includes etching the film stack including the photoresist layer implanted with the metal oxide.
Claims19
A method for infiltrating a photoresist layer, the method comprising:
- heating a methyl-containing material in a processing environment proximate a film stack, the film stack comprising patterned photoresist layers disposed on top of and in contact with an underlayer having a refractive index of between 1.47 and 2.0, wherein a metal oxide and a by-product gas are formed by interaction of the methyl-containing material with an oxidizing agent within the patterned photoresist layers near a top surface of the patterned photoresist layers, wherein the by-product gas diffuses out of the photoresist layer and does not diffuse through the underlayer;
- and
- etching portions of the underlayer exposed from the patterned photoresist layers infiltrated with the metal oxide.
A method for infiltrating a photoresist layer, the method comprising:
- pressurizing a methyl-containing material in a processing environment proximate a film stack, the film stack comprising patterned photoresist layers disposed on top of and in contact with an underlayer having a refractive index of between 1.47 and 2.0;
- heating the methyl-containing material to a predetermined temperature;
- oxidizing the methyl-containing material in the patterned photoresist layers, wherein a metal oxide and a by-product gas are formed by interaction of the methyl-containing material with an oxidizing agent within the patterned photoresist layers near a top surface of the patterned photoresist layers, wherein the by-product gas diffuses out of the photoresist layer and does not diffuse through the underlayer;
- and
- etching portions of the underlayer exposed from the patterned photoresist layers infiltrated with the oxidized methyl-containing material.
A semiconductor processing system, comprising:
- a semiconductor processing chamber;
- and
- a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions, the instructions when executed by a processor cause a method to be performed in the semiconductor processing chamber, the method comprising:
- selectively infiltrating patterned photoresist layers with a metal oxide by pressurizing a methyl-containing material in a processing environment proximate a film stack, the film stack comprising the patterned photoresist layers disposed on top of and in contact with an underlayer having a refractive index of between 1.47 and 2.0, wherein a metal oxide and a by-product gas are formed by interaction of the methyl-containing material with an oxidizing agent within the patterned photoresist layers near a top surface of the patterned photoresist layers, wherein the by-product gas diffuses out of the photoresist layers and does not diffuse through the underlayer;
- and
- etching portions of the underlayer exposed from the patterned photoresist layers infiltrated with the metal oxide.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.