Immersion lithography watermark reduction
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsChing-Yu Chang, Vincent Yu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided is a method of performing a lithography process. The method includes: exposing, through an immersion lithography process, a photo-sensitive material on a substrate, the immersion lithography process using a fluid for the exposing; thereafter treating the photo-sensitive material with a solution to neutralize quenchers that have diffused into the photo-sensitive material through the liquid, wherein the solution contains a substance that diffuses into the photo-sensitive material at a first rate that is dependent on a second at which the quenchers diffuse into the photo-sensitive material; thereafter removing a portion of the photo-sensitive material; thereafter performing a post-exposure bake to the photo-sensitive material; and developing the photo-sensitive material.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- exposing, through an immersion lithography process, a photo-sensitive layer on a substrate;
- thereafter treating the photo-sensitive layer, the treating includes using a solution to neutralize quenchers that have diffused into the photo-sensitive layer, wherein a material composition of the solution is a function of a diffusion rate of the quenchers into the photo-sensitive layer;
- and
- thereafter removing a portion of the photo-sensitive layer.
A method, comprising:
- exposing, through an immersion lithography process, a photo-sensitive material on a substrate, the immersion lithography process using a fluid for the exposing;
- thereafter treating the photo-sensitive material with a solution to neutralize quenchers that have diffused into the photo-sensitive material through the liquid, wherein the solution contains a substance that diffuses into the photo-sensitive material at a first rate that is dependent on a second at which the quenchers diffuse into the photo-sensitive material;
- thereafter removing a portion of the photo-sensitive material;
- thereafter performing a post-exposure bake to the photo-sensitive material;
- and
- developing the photo-sensitive material.
A method, comprising:
- exposing a photoresist on a wafer using an immersion lithography apparatus that contains a fluid for the exposing;
- treating the photoresist, after the exposing, with a solution to neutralize quenchers that have diffused into the photoresist through the liquid, wherein the treating comprises configuring at least one of the following process parameters:
- a molecular size of a substance, a molecular concentration of the substance, treatment temperature, and treatment pressure, and a diffusion rate of the substance;
- removing, after the treating, an upper portion of the photoresist;
- performing, after the removing, a post-exposure bake to the photoresist;
- and
- developing the photoresist.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.