Method for double patterning a thin film
AssigneeTokyo Electron Limited
InventorsSandra L. Hyland, Shannon W. Dunn
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Abstract
A method of double patterning a thin film is described. The method comprises forming a thin film to be patterned on a substrate, forming an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer on the thin film, and forming a mask layer on the ARC layer. Thereafter, the mask layer is patterned to form a first pattern and a second pattern therein, and the first and second patterns are partially transferred to the ARC layer using a transfer process, such as an etching process or a developing process. Once the mask layer is removed, the first pattern and second patterns are completely transferred to the ARC layer using an etching process, and the first and second patterns in the ARC layer are transferred to the underlying thin film using another etching process.
Claims45
A method of double patterning a thin film on a substrate, comprising:
- preparing a film stack on said substrate, said film stack comprising said thin film formed on said substrate, an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer formed on said thin film, and a mask layer formed on said ARC layer;
- forming a first pattern in said mask layer;
- partially forming said first pattern in said ARC layer by forming said first pattern to a first depth less than the thickness of said ARC layer;
- forming a second pattern in said mask layer;
- partially forming said second pattern in said ARC layer by forming said second pattern to a second depth less than the thickness of said ARC layer;
- removing said mask layer;
- completing said forming of said first pattern and said second pattern in said ARC layer by etching said ARC layer;
- and
- transferring said first pattern and said second pattern to said thin film while substantially consuming said ARC layer.
The method of claim 21, wherein said performing a dry etching process comprises performing a dry plasma etching process, or a dry non-plasma etching process, or a combination thereof.
A computer readable medium containing program instructions for execution on a control system, which when executed by the control system, cause a patterning system to perform the steps of:
- preparing a film stack on a substrate, said film stack comprising a thin film formed on said substrate, an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer formed on said thin film, and a mask layer formed on said ARC layer;
- forming a first pattern in said mask layer;
- partially forming said first pattern in said ARC layer by forming said first pattern to a first depth less than the thickness of said ARC layer;
- forming a second pattern in said mask layer;
- partially forming said second pattern in said ARC layer by forming said second pattern to a second depth less than the thickness of said ARC layer;
- removing said mask layer;
- completing said forming of said first pattern and said second pattern in said ARC layer by etching said ARC layer;
- and
- transferring said first pattern and said second pattern to said thin film while substantially consuming said ARC layer.
A method of double patterning a thin film on a substrate, comprising:
- preparing a film stack on said substrate, said film stack comprising said thin film formed on said substrate, an anti-reflective coating (ARC) layer formed on said thin film, and a first mask layer formed on said ARC layer;
- forming a first pattern in said first mask layer;
- partially forming said first pattern in said ARC layer by forming said first pattern to a first depth less than the thickness of said ARC layer;
- removing said first mask layer following said partial forming of said first pattern in said ARC layer;
- forming a second mask layer on said ARC layer;
- forming a second pattern in said second mask layer;
- partially forming said second pattern in said ARC layer by forming said second pattern to a second depth less than the thickness of said ARC layer;
- removing said second mask layer following said partial forming of said second pattern in said ARC layer;
- completing said forming of said first pattern and said second pattern in said ARC layer by etching said ARC layer;
- and
- transferring said first pattern and said second pattern to said thin film while substantially consuming said ARC layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.