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AssigneeNone recorded
InventorsJames Charles Zesch, Joost J. Vlassak
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A treated thin film that reduces the intrusions or migrations of photolithography materials is achieved by introducing a sol-gel layer onto a porous thin film prior to applying the photolithography/photoresist material layer. Curing the sol-gel layer results in the sol-gel layer merging or unifying with the underlying porous thin film layer so that the combined sol-gel/thin film layer exhibits substantially the same properties as the untreated porous thin film layer before the sol-gel was applied. As a result, a greater etching accuracy is achieved.
1] A method of reducing the effects of surface penetrating defects in a substrate having a thin film, comprising:
2] The method of claim 1, wherein the sol-gel is a liquid.
3] The method of claim 1, wherein curing the sol-gel yields the sol-gel/thin film layer that exhibits at least one property that is substantially the same as the corresponding property in the thin film layer resulting from the applying step.
4] The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one property is at least one of a coefficient of thermal expansion and an etch rate.
5] The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one property includes, in addition, an increased mechanical strength.
6] The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one property includes, in addition, a substantially uniform medium for transmitting acoustic waves.
7] The method of claim 1, further comprising
8] A treated thin film having reduced effects of porosity voids or other surface penetrating defects, the treated thin film comprising:
9] The method of claim 7, wherein the sol-gel is a liquid.
10] The treated thin film layer of claim 8,
11] The treated porous thin film of claim 10, wherein the treated thin film layer exhibits at least one property substantially similar to the corresponding property in the porous thin film layer before the sol-gel layer was applied.
12] The treated porous thin film of claim 10, wherein the at least one property is at least one of mechanical strength, coefficient of thermal expansion, etch rate, and velocity of sound.
13] The treated thin film of claim 11, further comprising a photoresist material layer applied on or over the sol-gel/thin film layer, wherein the photoresist material layer is patterned and developed to produce a patterned photoresist material layer defining protected and unprotected portions of the treated thin film layer.
14] The treated porous thin film of claim 13, wherein the unprotected portions of the treated thin film layer are removed using an etchant such that a patterned treated thin film is obtained.
15] A treated thin film layer having reduced effects of porosity voids or other surface penetrating defects, the treated thin film comprising:
16] The treated thin film of claim 15, wherein the sol-gel is a liquid.
17] The treated thin film of claim 15, wherein the treated thin film includes at least one of an oxide and a metallic salt.
18] The treated thin film layer of claim 15, wherein the sol-gel material includes at least one material selected from the group consisting of oxides, nitrides, sulfides, antimonides, arsenides, borides, bromides, carbides, chlorides, cyanides, disulfides, fluorides, hydroxides, iodides, monoxides, nitrides, oxyfluorides, oxynitrides, pentoxides, peroxides, phosphides, selenides, tellurides, titanides, aluminates, silicates, stannates, titanates and tungstates.
19] The thin film layer of claim 17, wherein the treated thin film layer includes a metallic salt that includes zinc.
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Manufacture or treatment of masks on semiconductor bodies, e.g. by lithography or photolithography: of masks comprising organic materials
Creating layers of material on a substrate: processes for creating layers of materials not provided for in groups B81C1/00357 - B81C1/00373
Interconnections or connectors in packages: bond pads, in general
Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or component: composite having voids in a component [e.g., porous, cellular, etc.]
Term end not estimated
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to reducing the porosity of porous thin films.
2. Description of Related Art
Various exemplary embodiments of the systems and methods of this invention will be described in detail with reference to the following figures, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a conventional method for depositing a thin film on a substrate;
FIG. 2 represents a substrate having an ideal thin film layer formed on or over the substrate and a photoresist material layer formed over the thin film;
This invention is directed to reducing the porosity in porous thin films and improving the accuracy and quality of photoresist-patterned thin films. Altering conventional methods of making thin films by adding a sol-gel layer to the thin film layer prior to applying a photoresist material layer reduces the number of cracks or other surface defects in the thin film layer. Baking or curing the sol-gel layer after applying the sol-gel layer to the thin film layer results in the sol-gel and thin film layers substantially combining to form a single unified layer of similar properties. As a result, the combined sol-gel/thin film layer has, for example, a co-efficient of thermal expansion or an etch rate that is substantially the same as that of a continuous non-porous thin film of the same material, which the thin film ideally would have had without the sol-gel layer. Generally, the sol-gel material, or a precursor of the sol-gel material, is applied to the thin film in liquid form and then converted by post application processing such as baking or curing to form a unified sol-gel/thin film layer.
It should be appreciated, of course, that the application of a sol-gel layer to a porous thin film may be used in applications other than a photolithography/photoresist material etching application, which is set forth and described herein as an exemplary illustration only of some of the benefits and advantages of reducing the effects of porosity defects in a thin film layer by adding and combining the sol-gel layer with the thin film layer.
Other exemplary benefits and/or advantages of the combined sol-gel/thin film layer having reduced porosity defects include an increased mechanical integrity of the sol-gel/thin film layer. As a result, more uniform strength or stability exists in the sol-gel/thin film layer rendering wire bonding, for example, more reliable. For instance, the sol-gel/thin film layer provides greater mechanical strength than non-sol-gel treated thin films.