Substrate processing method and substrate processing device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11670517-B2
Application number	US-201917262807-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 4, 2019
Priority date	Aug 31, 2018
Publication date	Jun 6, 2023
Grant date	Jun 6, 2023

Abstract

An alkaline etchant containing a quaternary ammonium hydroxide, water, and an inhibitory substance for inhibiting contact between hydroxide ions generated from the quaternary ammonium hydroxide and objects P1 to P3 to be etched is prepared. The prepared etchant is supplied to a substrate in which the polysilicon-containing objects P1 to P3 to be etched and objects O1 to O3 not to be etched, which are different from the objects P1 to P3 to be etched, are exposed, thereby etching the objects P1 to P3 to be etched while preventing the objects O1 to O3 not to be etched from being etched.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A substrate processing method to supply an alkaline etching liquid to a substrate on which an etching object including polysilicon and a non-etching object different from the etching object are exposed, the substrate processing method comprising:
an etching liquid making step of making the alkaline etching liquid including quaternary ammonium hydroxide, water and inhibitor that inhibits contact of a hydroxide ion generated from the quaternary ammonium hydroxide and the etching object; and
a selective etching step of etching the etching object while inhibiting etching of the non-etching object by supplying the etching liquid made in the etching liquid making step to the substrate on which the etching object and the non-etching object are exposed, wherein
the etching liquid making step includes a concentration determining step of determining concentration of the inhibitor in the etching liquid based on a target value of a difference of etching speeds of a plurality of crystal planes of a silicon single crystal constituting the polysilicon.

2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein the concentration of the inhibitor in the etching liquid made in the etching liquid making step is 20 percent concentration of mass or more, and less 100 percent concentration of mass.

3. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein a molecule of the inhibitor is larger than the hydroxide ion.

4. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein
the etching liquid making step includes a pre-discharge mixing step of mixing the quaternary ammonium hydroxide, the water and the inhibitor before the etching liquid is discharged from a discharge port, and
the selective etching step includes a discharging step of causing the discharge port to discharge the etching liquid made in the etching liquid making step toward the substrate.

5. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , further comprising a natural oxide film removing step of supplying an oxide film removing liquid to the substrate and removing a natural oxide film of the etching object before the selectively etching step.

6. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein the etching object is a thin film obtained by performing a plurality of steps including a deposition step of depositing the polysilicon and a heat treatment step of heating the polysilicon deposited in the deposition step.

7. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein the etching liquid making step includes a dissolved oxygen concentration changing step of lowering dissolved oxygen concentration of at least one of the quaternary ammonium hydroxide, the water and the inhibitor.

8. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , further comprising an atmosphere oxygen concentration changing step of lowering oxygen concentration in an atmosphere that is in contact with the etching liquid held by the substrate.

9. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 , wherein the inhibitor is glycol.

10. The substrate processing method according to claim 9 , wherein the etching liquid making step is a step of making the alkaline etching liquid including TMAH (tetramethylammonium hydroxide) as the quaternary ammonium hydroxide, the water and propylene glycol as the glycol.

Assignees

• Screen Holdings Co Ltd

Inventors

• Negoro Sei
• Kobayashi Kenji

Classifications

• H10P72/7618

  characterised by a movable susceptor, stage or support, others than those only rotating on their own vertical axis, e.g. susceptors on a rotating carrousel · CPC title

• H10P72/0404

  for general liquid treatment, e.g. etching followed by cleaning · CPC title

• H10P70/15

  by wet cleaning only (H10P70/52 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H10P14/416

  of highly doped semiconductor materials, e.g. polysilicon layers or amorphous silicon layers · CPC title

• H10P50/667 Primary

  by liquid etching only · CPC title