New spin-on metal hardmask materials for lithography processes

Yao, Huirong; Wolfer, Elizabeth; Rahman, Dalil; Anyadiegwu, Clement; McKenzie, Douglas; Dioses, Alberto; Cho, JoonYeon; Padmanaban, Munirathna

doi:10.1117/12.2011226

Cited by 6 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…The spin-on MHM samples were spin-coated on a silicon wafer and baked at 250-350 °C for 60-120s. The center etch condition of 10mT/Power450W/Bias100V/100CF 4 (sccm)/60de g Temp was used for CF 4 gas. The etch condition of 5mT/Power 400W/Bias 200V/29O 2 (sccm)/ 160Ar(sccm)/40deg Temp was used for O 2 gas.…”

Section: Blank Etch Rate and Pattern Etch Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The film thickness was recorded periodically until the film was completely washed away. The wet etch rate was obtained by measuring film loss at different time intervals during wet-etch process if there is a linear relationship between film loss and etching time [4,5].…”

Section: Wet Etch Rate Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Future generation of lithography processes require hard masks with higher resistance to plasma etch and materials that can be easily wet stripped after pattern transfer process to prevent dry etch damage to the substrate underneath [4,5]. Previously we reported that AZ® Spin-on metal hard mask (MHM) materials are useful for generating metal oxide containing underlayers [4][5][6][7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The specially designed underlayers can be used to significantly improve photosensitivity of EUV photoresist performance [8,10]. The metal oxide films have excellent dry etch resistance and/or good gap fill performances so that they can be used as a hard mask to replace silicon underlayers in processes, such as trilayer or image reversal processes [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The etch performance is unique for each metal under fluorinated gas or oxygen gas conditions. For example, the etch resistance of ZrOx films is generally higher than that of SiOx reference or TiOx films under CF 4 [11]. The filling capability of MHM materials can also be used in device manufacturing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spin-on Metal Oxides and Their Applications for Next Generation Lithography

Yao

Wolfer

McKenzie

et al. 2016

J. Photopol. Sci. Technol.

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Metal oxide or metal nitride films are used as hard mask materials in the semiconductor lithography processes due to their excellent etch resistances against the plasma etches. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD) techniques are usually used to deposit the metal containing materials on substrates or underlying films, which uses specialized equipment and can lead to high cost-of-ownership and low throughput.The present paper describes formation and functional properties of novel metal oxide hard masks by simple solution spin coating process. These stable metal oxide formulations containing significant amount of Ti, W, Hf, Zr and Al possess good etch selectivity and therefore good pattern transfer capability. The metal oxide films can be removed by commonly used wet chemicals in the fab environment such as TMAH developer, solvents or other oxidizing agents.The hard mask material absorbs DUV wavelengths and hence can be used as a spin-on inorganic or hybrid antireflective coating to control substrate reflectivity. Some metal hard masks are also developed for via or trench filling applications for electronic devices as high K materials. The research demonstrated that these metal oxide hard masks are compatible with litho track and etch processing without concern of metal contamination. They can, therefore be integrated as replacements of CVD or ALD metal, metal oxide, metal nitride or spin-on silicon-containing hard mask films in 193 nm or EUV processes. This paper discusses coating, optical, filling, etch and wet removal properties the spin-on metal oxide formulations. In addition, a new potential application in self-aligned quadruple patterning cut process for advanced technology nodes is also described.

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Section: Blank Etch Rate and Pattern Etch Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Wet Etch Rate Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spin-on Metal Oxides and Their Applications for Next Generation Lithography

Yao

Wolfer

McKenzie

et al. 2016

J. Photopol. Sci. Technol.

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Development of TiO₂ containing hardmasks through plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition

Silva¹,

Seshadri²,

Chung³

et al. 2017

J. Micro/Nanolith. MEMS MOEMS

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Novel spin-on metal hardmask materials for filling applications

et al. 2014

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Hardmasks are indispensable materials during pattern transfer to the desired substrates in the semiconductor manufacturing process. Primarily there are two types of hardmask materials -organic and inorganic -and they can be coated onto substrates or underlying materials either by a simple spin-on process or by more expensive methods such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD) and sputtering process. Most inorganic hardmasks such as SiO2, SiON, SiN and TiN are deposited using the CVD process.Future nodes require hardmasks with high etch resistance as the designs move from horizontal to vertical (3D). We have reported novel spin-on metallic hardmasks (MHM) with comparable or higher etch resistance than SiO2. 1-2 In addition to high etch resistance, they are easy to remove using wet etch chemicals. The spin-on process offers high throughput and commonly used spin tracks can be utilized; thereby reducing overall process costs when compared with CVD.Via-fill performance is also an important attribute of hardmask materials for these future nodes. Organic spin-on materials, both siloxane-and carbon-based, are used in filling applications of deep via or deep trench fill, such as those found in LELE double-patterning schemes. Inorganic materials deposited by either chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD) have higher resistance to oxygenated plasma than organic materials, but are hindered by their poor filling performance. Therefore, novel tungsten (W) containing MHM materials having both good filling performance and higher resistance to oxygenated plasma than organic materials would be of value in some filling applications. The present paper describes specific metal oxides useful for filling applications. In addition to basic filling performance and etch resistance, other properties such as optical properties, outgas and shelf life via forced aging etc. will be discussed.

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New spin-on metal hardmask materials for lithography processes

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Spin-on Metal Oxides and Their Applications for Next Generation Lithography

Spin-on Metal Oxides and Their Applications for Next Generation Lithography

Development of TiO₂ containing hardmasks through plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition

Novel spin-on metal hardmask materials for filling applications

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New spin-on metal hardmask materials for lithography processes

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Spin-on Metal Oxides and Their Applications for Next Generation Lithography

Spin-on Metal Oxides and Their Applications for Next Generation Lithography

Development of TiO2 containing hardmasks through plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition

Novel spin-on metal hardmask materials for filling applications

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Product

Resources

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Development of TiO₂ containing hardmasks through plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition