# US 12,604,710 B2 · Method and apparatus for in-situ dry development

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- Number: US 12,604,710 B2
- Document ID: US12604710B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/950,001
- Filed: 2022-09-21
- Published: 2024-03-21
- Granted: 2026-04-14
- Earliest claimed: 2022-09-21
- Assignees: Tokyo Electron Limited
- Applicants: Tokyo Electron Limited
- Inventors: Steven Grzeskowiak; Eric Chih-Fang Liu
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12604710B2

## CPC

- H10P 76/00: Manufacture or treatment of masks on semiconductor bodies, e.g. by lithography or photolithography
- G03F 7/70033: {by plasma extreme ultraviolet [EUV] sources}
- G03F 7/70733: {Handling masks and workpieces, e.g. exchange of workpiece or mask, transport of workpiece or mask}
- H01J 37/32743: {for introducing the material into processing chamber}
- H01J 37/32899: {Multiple chambers, e.g. cluster tools}
- H10P 72/0454: {surrounding a central transfer chamber}
- H10P 72/0464: {characterised by the construction of the transfer chamber}
- H10P 72/0466: {characterised by the construction of the load-lock chamber}
- H10P 72/0468: {comprising a chamber adapted to a particular process}
- H10P 72/3304: {characterised by movements or sequence of movements of transfer devices}
- H10P 76/2041: {Photolithographic processes}
- H01J 2237/334: Etching
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
- 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)
- H01J: ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS (spark-gaps H01T; electric arc lamps H05B31/00; particle accelerators H05H)

## Abstract

An embodiment etching tool includes an etch chamber for plasma etching a first wafer to be processed; a transfer chamber coupled to the etch chamber; a first run path between the transfer chamber and the etch chamber, the first run path including a path for moving the first wafer to be processed from the transfer chamber to the etch chamber, where the etching tool is configured to dry develop the first wafer to be processed before etching a hard mask on the first wafer in the etch chamber.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for forming a patterned structure, the method comprising:
depositing a photoresist film on a hard mask material disposed over a substrate;
exposing the photoresist film with a pattern of extreme ultraviolet radiation to form an exposed photoresist film;
partially wet developing the exposed photoresist film on a wet development track;
measuring a parameter of a feature of the exposed photoresist film by a parameter measuring tool and sending measurement data to a controller;
loading the substrate into an apparatus capable of dry developing and capable of hard mask etching;
dry developing the exposed photoresist film;
wherein a critical dimension of the feature is equal to a target critical dimension after the dry developing; and
after the dry developing, etching the hard mask material in a hard mask etch chamber to form the patterned structure.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the dry developing is performed in a dry develop chamber and the hard mask etching is performed in the hard mask etch chamber.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the dry developing and the hard mask etching are performed sequentially in the hard mask etch chamber.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the dry development is chemical vapor etch developing using hydrogen chloride or hydrogen bromide gas.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the dry developing is plasma etch developing using hydrogen bromide and argon gas.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further including:
blanket exposing the substrate with UV light prior to the dry developing.

### Claim 7

A method for forming a patterned structure, the method comprising:
depositing a photoresist film over a hard mask material disposed over a semiconductor substrate;
exposing the photoresist film with a pattern of extreme ultraviolet radiation to form an exposed photoresist film;
wet developing the exposed photoresist film on a wet development track;
wherein wet developing the exposed photoresist film on a wet development track comprises partially developing the exposed photoresist film in a hybrid wet development and in-situ dry development/hard mask etch system;
measuring a parameter of a feature of the exposed photoresist film by a parameter measuring tool and sending measurement data to a controller;
loading the substrate into a processing apparatus configured for dry developing and configured for plasma etching;
dry developing the exposed photoresist film to form a photoresist pattern; and
wherein a critical dimension of the feature is equal to a target critical dimension after the dry developing; and
etching the photoresist pattern into the hard mask material in a hard mask etch chamber to form the patterned structure.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein the wet developing comprises using 0% to 10% acetic acid, propylene glycol methyl ether acetate, and methyl isobutyl carbinol, or combinations thereof.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein the dry developing is chemical vapor etch developing comprising using hydrogen chloride or hydrogen bromide.

### Claim 10 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein the dry developing is plasma etch developing using hydrogen chloride, hydrogen bromide, argon, helium, or combinations thereof.

### Claim 11 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, further comprising generating a dry develop control signal based on the parameter.

### Claim 12 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, further comprising performing a thermal treatment or blanket UV exposure on the substrate in the processing apparatus.

### Claim 13

A method for forming a patterned structure, the method comprising:
partially wet developing a pattern in an EUV (extreme ultraviolet radiation) photoresist on a wet development track so that a critical dimension on a structure in the pattern is larger than a target critical dimension, the EUV photoresist being on a substrate;
measuring a parameter of a feature of the pattern by a parameter measuring tool and sending measurement data to a controller, the controller being programmed to generate a dry develop control signal based upon the parameter;
loading the substrate into an etching tool;
loading the substrate into a dry develop and hard mask etch chamber of the etching tool;
performing, one or more dry development steps using the dry develop control signal to adjust a dry develop recipe;
wherein the critical dimension on the structure is equal to the target critical dimension after the one or more dry development steps; and
etching the pattern after the one or more dry development steps in the dry develop and hard mask etch chamber to form the patterned structure.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, further comprising performing a thermal treatment on the substrate in the etching tool before loading the substrate into the dry develop and hard mask etch chamber.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, further comprising performing a blanket UV exposure on the substrate in the etching tool before loading the substrate into the dry develop and hard mask etch chamber.