# US 2016/0254162 A1 · Sacrificial-film removal method and substrate processing device

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- Number: US 2016/0254162 A1
- Document ID: US20160254162A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 15/032,516
- Filed: 2014-10-27
- Published: 2016-09-01
- Earliest claimed: 2013-10-30
- Assignees: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.; Central Glass Company, Limited
- Applicants: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.; Central Glass Company, Limited
- Inventors: Manabu Okutani; Tomonori Umezaki; Akiou Kikuchi
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20160254162A1

## CPC

- H10P 50/642: {Chemical etching}
- H10P 50/242: {of Group IV materials}
- H10P 50/266: {by vapour etching only}
- H10P 50/667: {by liquid etching only}
- H10P 70/20: {Cleaning during device manufacture}
- H10P 70/23: {during, before or after processing of insulating materials}
- H10P 72/0406: {for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like}
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

The present invention is a sacrificial-film removal method of removing a sacrificial film from a surface of a substrate provided with a plurality of struts and the sacrificial film embedded between the plurality of struts, including: a wet etching step where the sacrificial film is removed to its halfway depth by supplying an etchant to the surface of the substrate; a rinse step where a residue adhering to the surface of the substrate is washed out by supplying a rinsing liquid to the surface of the substrate after the wet etching step; a drying step where a liquid component on the surface of the substrate is removed after the rinse step; and a dry etching step where the sacrificial film remaining on the surface of the substrate is removed by supplying an etching gas to the surface of the substrate after the drying step.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A sacrificial-film removal method of removing a sacrificial film from a surface of a substrate provided with a plurality of struts and the sacrificial film embedded between the plurality of struts, including:
a wet etching step where the sacrificial film is removed to its halfway depth by supplying an etchant to the surface of the substrate;
a rinse step where a residue adhering to the surface of the substrate is washed out by supplying a rinsing liquid to the surface of the substrate after the wet etching step;
a drying step where a liquid component on the surface of the substrate is removed after the rinse step; and
a dry etching step where the sacrificial film remaining on the surface of the substrate is removed by supplying an etching gas to the surface of the substrate after the drying step.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The sacrificial-film removal method according to claim 1, further including a low-surface-tension liquid displacing step where the rinsing liquid on the surface of the substrate is displaced with a low-surface-tension liquid whose surface tension is lower than that of the rinsing liquid by supplying the low-surface-tension liquid to the surface of the substrate after the rinse step and prior to the drying step.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The sacrificial-film removal method according to claim 1, wherein a supporting film supporting the plurality of struts is further formed on the surface of the substrate, the supporting film is provided with a plurality of hole portions, and removal by the etchant is started from portions of the sacrificial film corresponding to the plurality of hole portions in the wet etching step.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The sacrificial-film removal method according to claim 3, wherein a natural oxide film is formed on a surface of the supporting film, and the method further including:
a preprocessing step where the natural oxide film formed on the surface of the supporting film is removed prior to the wet etching step.

### Claim 5

A substrate processing apparatus, including:
a substrate holding unit holding a substrate provided with a plurality of struts and a sacrificial film embedded between the plurality of struts;
an etchant supply unit for supplying an etchant to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit;
an etching gas supply unit for supplying an etching gas to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit;
a rinsing liquid supply unit for supplying a rinsing liquid to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit;
a substrate rotating unit for rotating the substrate held by the substrate holding unit; and
a control unit controlling the etchant supply unit, the etching gas supply unit, the rinsing liquid supply unit and the substrate rotating unit, wherein
the control unit performs a wet etching step where the sacrificial film is removed to its halfway depth by supplying an etchant to the surface of the substrate, a rinse step where a residue adhering to the surface of the substrate is washed out by supplying a rinsing liquid to the surface of the substrate after the wet etching step, a drying step where a liquid component on the surface of the substrate is removed after the rinse step, and a dry etching step where the sacrificial film remaining on the surface of the substrate is removed by supplying an etching gas to the surface of the substrate after the drying step.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the substrate holding unit includes a first substrate holding unit holding the substrate, and a second substrate holding unit holding the substrate,
the substrate processing apparatus further includes: a wet processing chamber for performing a wet etching treatment using an etchant to the substrate; and
a dry processing chamber provided in a manner separated from the wet processing chamber for performing a dry etching treatment using an etching gas to the substrate after the wet etching treatment,
the wet processing chamber accommodates the first substrate holding unit, the substrate rotating unit, the etchant supply unit and the rinsing liquid supply unit, and
the dry processing chamber accommodates the second substrate holding unit and the etching gas supply unit.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, further including a processing chamber collectively accommodating the substrate holding unit, the substrate rotating unit, the etchant supply unit, the rinsing liquid supply unit and the etching gas supply unit.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, further including a low-surface-tension liquid supply unit for supplying a low-surface-tension liquid whose surface tension is lower than that of the rinsing liquid to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, wherein
the control unit performs a low-surface-tension liquid displacing step where the rinsing liquid on the surface of the substrate is displaced with the low-surface-tension liquid by supplying the low-surface-tension liquid to the surface of the substrate after the rinse step and prior to the drying step.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the substrate holding unit includes a first substrate holding unit holding the substrate, and a second substrate holding unit holding the substrate,
the substrate processing apparatus further includes: a wet processing chamber for performing a wet etching treatment using an etchant to the substrate; and
a dry processing chamber provided in a manner separated from the wet processing chamber for performing a dry etching treatment using an etching gas to the substrate after the wet etching treatment,
the wet processing chamber accommodates the first substrate holding unit, the substrate rotating unit, the etchant supply unit, the rinsing liquid supply unit and the low-surface-tension liquid supply unit, and
the dry processing chamber accommodates the second substrate holding unit and the etching gas supply unit.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, further including a processing chamber collectively accommodating the substrate holding unit, the substrate rotating unit, the etchant supply unit, the rinsing liquid supply unit, the low-surface-tension liquid supply unit and the etching gas supply unit.