Back to results
US 7,202,176 B1Granted
Enhanced stripping of low-k films using downstream gas mixing
AssigneeNovellus Systems, Inc.
InventorsHaruhiro Harry Goto, David Cheung, Prabhat Kumar Sinha
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention pertains to methods for removing unwanted material from a work piece. More specifically, the invention pertains to stripping photo-resist material and removing etch-related residues from a semiconductor wafer during semiconductor manufacturing. Methods involve implementing a hydrogen plasma operation with downstream mixing with an inert gas. The invention is effective at stripping photo-resist and removing residues from low-k dielectric material used in Damascene devices.
Claims21
A method of removing material from a work piece surface in a reaction chamber comprising:
- (a) introducing a gas comprising hydrogen into a plasma source;
- (b) generating a plasma from the gas introduced into the plasma source;
- (c) introducing an inert gas downstream of the plasma source and upstream of the work piece;
- and
- (d) removing the material from the work piece.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.