Reduction of Line Wiggling
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsJiann-Horng Lin, Cheng-Li Fan, Chih-Hao Chen
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Abstract
A method for reducing wiggling in a line includes forming a silicon patterning layer over a substrate and depositing a mask layer over the silicon patterning layer. The mask layer is patterned to form one or more openings therein. The mask layer is thinned and the one or more openings are widened, to provide a smaller height-to-width ratio. The pattern of the mask layer is then used to pattern the silicon patterning layer. The silicon patterning layer is used, in turn, to pattern a target layer where a metal line will be formed.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- depositing a pattern layer over a target layer;
- depositing a first mask layer over the pattern layer;
- etching the first mask layer to form a first opening in the first mask layer;
- reducing a height to width ratio of the first opening;
- extending the first opening to the pattern layer;
- and
- etching the target layer based on a pattern of the pattern layer to form a patterned target layer.
A method comprising:
- forming a metal line in an insulating layer disposed over a contact layer, the insulating layer being a layer of an interconnect, the metal line coupled to a contact disposed in the contact layer, the metal line having a first portion which overlaps the contact, the first portion of the metal line having a wiggle along its length, wherein a perpendicular distance between an average midline of the first portion of the metal line and an furthest point of a sidewall of the first portion of the metal line is a first distance, wherein a perpendicular distance between the average midline of the first portion of the metal line and a nearest point of a sidewall of the first portion of the metal line is a second distance, a difference between the first distance and the second distance being greater than zero and less than 30 Å.
A device comprising:
- a contact disposed in a contact layer;
- an insulating layer disposed over the contact layer, the insulating layer being a layer of an interconnect;
- and
- a metal line disposed in the insulating layer, the metal line coupled to the contact, the metal line having a first portion which overlaps the contact, the first portion of the metal line having a wiggle along its length, wherein a perpendicular distance between an average midline of the first portion of the metal line and an furthest point of a sidewall of the first portion of the metal line is a first distance, wherein a perpendicular distance between the average midline of the first portion of the metal line and a nearest point of a sidewall of the first portion of the metal line is a second distance, a difference between the first distance and the second distance being greater than zero and less than 30 Å.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.