Methods for treating a deep-UV resist mask prior to gate formation etch to improve gate profile
AssigneeAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc.
InventorsLewis Shen, Wenge Yang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hard resist layer is formed on and/or within a deep-UV configured resist mask prior to patterning a semiconductor device feature. The hard resist layer reduces the amount of polymer residue generated during the patterning process, which can effect the resulting profile of the device feature. The hard resist mask is formed by either ion implantation or plasma treatments. Due to the formation of the hard resist layer, the thickness of the resist mask can be reduced, thereby increasing the resolution capabilities of the resist mask.
Claims16
A method for fabricating a device feature in a semiconductor device, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming a second layer on a first layer;
- forming an unhardened resist mask comprised of a deep-ultraviolet configured resist material to a thickness of between 3,000 and 6,000 angstroms on the second layer, the unhardened resist mask having at least one opening that exposes a selected portion of a top surface of the underlying second layer;
- implanting ions into the unhardened resist mask to selectively form a hard resist layer near and/or at a surface of the unhardened resist mask;
- and
- etching through the selected portion of the second layer to expose a portion of the first layer.
A method for fabricating a device feature in a semiconductor device, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming a second layer on a first layer;
- forming an unhardened resist mask comprised of a deep-ultraviolet configured resist material to a thickness of between 3,000 and 6,000 angstroms on the second layer, the unhardened resist mask having at least one opening that exposes a selected portion of a top surface of the underlying second layer;
- exposing the unhardened resist mask to a plasma to selectively form a hard resist layer near and/or at a surface of the unhardened resist mask;
- etching through the selected portion of the second layer to expose a portion of the first-layer.
A method for forming a hardened resist layer at/or near a surface of an unhardened resist mask using ion implantation techniques, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming an unhardened resist mask comprised of a deep-ultraviolet configured resist material to a thickness of between 3,000 and 6,000 angstroms on a top layer of a layer stack, wherein the unhardened resist mask comprises a plurality of polymer molecules;
- and
- passing ionized molecules through at least a portion of the plurality of polymer molecules in the unhardened resist mask sufficient to selectively form the hardened resist layer with cross-linked chains of polymer molecules.
A method for forming a hardened resist layer at or near a surface of an unhardened resist mask using plasma treatment techniques, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming an unhardened resist mask comprised of a deep-ultraviolet configured resist material to a thickness of between 3,000 and 6,000 angstroms on a top layer of a layer stack, wherein the unhardened resist mask comprises a plurality of polymer molecules;
- causing molecules from a plasma to contact at least a portion of the plurality of polymer molecules in the unhardened resist mask sufficient to selectively form the hardened resist layer with cross-linked chains of polymer molecules.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.