Low temperature gas-phase carbon removal
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorsChing-Mei Hsu, Nitin K. Ingle, Hiroshi Hamana, Anchuan Wang
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Abstract
A method of etching carbon films on patterned heterogeneous structures is described and includes a gas phase etch using remote plasma excitation. The remote plasma excites a fluorine-containing precursor and an oxygen-containing precursor, the plasma effluents created are flowed into a substrate processing region. The plasma effluents etch the carbon film more rapidly than silicon, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, silicon carbon nitride and silicon oxide.
Claims14
A method of etching a patterned substrate, the method comprising:
- transferring the patterned substrate into a substrate processing region of a substrate processing chamber, wherein the patterned substrate has exposed portions of carbon-containing material and an exposed alternative material, wherein the carbon-containing material is silicon-free and wherein the exposed alternative material consists of one of exposed silicon, exposed silicon nitride, exposed silicon carbon nitride, exposed silicon carbide or exposed silicon oxide;
- flowing an oxygen-containing precursor into a remote plasma region fluidly coupled to the substrate processing region;
- flowing a fluorine-containing precursor into the remote plasma region;
- combining the oxygen-containing precursor with the fluorine-containing precursor;
- forming a remote plasma in the remote plasma region from the oxygen-containing precursor and the fluorine-containing precursor to produce plasma effluents;
- passing the plasma effluents through an ion suppressor and subsequently into the substrate processing region;
- and etching the exposed portions of carbon-containing material, wherein the substrate processing region is devoid of ionic species during the etching.
A method of etching a patterned substrate, the method comprising:
- transferring the patterned substrate into a substrate processing region of a substrate processing chamber, wherein the patterned substrate has exposed carbon hardmask, wherein the exposed carbon hardmask consists only of carbon and hydrogen and wherein the patterned substrate further comprises a second exposed portion comprising one of silicon, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, silicon carbon nitride or silicon oxide;
- flowing a fluorine-containing precursor and an oxygen-containing precursor into a remote plasma region fluidly coupled to the substrate processing region while forming a remote plasma in the remote plasma region to produce plasma effluents;
- flowing the plasma effluents in the substrate processing region, and etching the exposed carbon hardmask, wherein the substrate processing region is devoid of ionic species during the operation of etching the exposed carbon hardmask and wherein a selectivity of the etching (exposed carbon hardmask:second exposed portion) is greater than 25:1.
A method of etching a patterned substrate, the method comprising:
- transferring the patterned substrate into a substrate processing region of a substrate processing chamber, wherein the patterned substrate has exposed portions of carbon hardmask;
- flowing nitrogen trifluoride into a remote plasma region and combining oxygen with the nitrogen trifluoride, wherein the remote plasma region is fluidly coupled to the substrate processing region;
- forming a remote plasma from the nitrogen trifluoride and the oxygen in the remote plasma region to produce plasma effluents;
- passing the plasma effluents through a showerhead disposed between the remote plasma region and the substrate processing region;
- etching the exposed portions of carbon hardmask, wherein the carbon hardmask is silicon-free and the substrate processing region is devoid of plasma during the etching;
- and
- removing the patterned substrate from the substrate processing region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.