Substrate processing method and substrate processing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025347002-A1
Application number	US-202519270815-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 16, 2025
Priority date	Jan 17, 2023
Publication date	Nov 13, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A substrate processing method includes: preparing a substrate in which patterns of a conductor and an insulator are formed in a substrate surface of the substrate; coating the substrate surface of the substrate with an ionic liquid including a metal salt; and applying energy to the substrate coated with the ionic liquid. The applying the energy to the substrate includes forming a metal layer on a surface of the conductor by precipitating a metal of the metal salt on the surface of the conductor by a reduction reaction of the metal salt.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A substrate processing method, comprising:
preparing a substrate in which patterns of a conductor and an insulator are formed in a substrate surface of the substrate; coating the substrate surface of the substrate with an ionic liquid including a metal salt; and applying energy to the substrate coated with the ionic liquid, wherein the applying the energy to the substrate includes forming a metal layer on a surface of the conductor by precipitating a metal of the metal salt on the surface of the conductor by a reduction reaction of the metal salt.

2 . The substrate processing method of claim 1 , wherein, in the coating the substrate surface of the substrate with the ionic liquid, the ionic liquid coated on the substrate includes a reductant which undergoes the reduction reaction with the metal salt.

3 . The substrate processing method of claim 1 , further comprising: disposing a reductant on the substrate surface of the substrate after the preparing the substrate and before the coating the substrate surface of the substrate with the ionic liquid.

4 . The substrate processing method of claim 3 , wherein the reductant includes a metal having a larger ionization tendency than the metal of the metal salt.

5 . The substrate processing method of claim 3 , wherein the reductant includes:
a main chain; a first functional group formed at a first end of the main chain to be selectively adsorbed to the conductor; and a second functional group formed at a second end of the main chain to reduce the metal of the metal salt.

6 . The substrate processing method of claim 1 , wherein, in the applying the energy to the substrate, the substrate is heated to a temperature in a range of 150 degrees C. to 400 degrees C.

7 . The substrate processing method of claim 1 , wherein, in the applying the energy to the substrate, the conductor is selectively heated by irradiating microwaves onto the substrate.

8 . The substrate processing method of claim 7 , wherein, in the applying the energy to the substrate, a stage on which the substrate is placed is cooled.

9 . The substrate processing method of claim 1 , wherein the conductor is a metal or a semiconductor.

10 . The substrate processing method of claim 1 , wherein the metal salt is one selected from a group consisting of RuCl 3 , NbCl 5 , TaCl 5 , TiI 4 , TiCl 4 , ZrI 4 , ZrCl 4 , Hfl 4 , HFCl 4 , WCl 6 , and MoCl 6 .

11 . The substrate processing method of claim 2 , wherein the reductant is one selected from a group consisting of SnCl 2 , WCl 5 , VCl 2 , TiCl 2 , and GeCl 2 .

12 . The substrate processing method of claim 4 , wherein the reductant includes one selected from a group consisting of Mg, Al, Sr, Li, and Ti.

13 . The substrate processing method of claim 5 , wherein the second functional group is an amino group.

14 . A substrate processing system, comprising:
a coating apparatus configured to coat a surface of a substrate with an ionic liquid including a metal salt, wherein a conductor and an insulator are formed on the surface of the substrate; and an energy supply apparatus configured to apply energy to the substrate coated with the ionic liquid.

15 . The substrate processing system of claim 14 , wherein the energy supply apparatus is a heating apparatus configured to heat the substrate.

16 . The substrate processing system of claim 14 , wherein the energy supply apparatus is a microwave irradiation apparatus configured to heat the conductor of the substrate by irradiating microwaves onto the substrate.

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Akiyama Koji
• Sato Kotaro
• Iwashita Mitsuaki
• Ueda Hirokazu

Classifications

• H10W20/48

  Insulating materials thereof · CPC title

• H10W20/01

  Manufacture or treatment · CPC title

• H10P50/242

  of Group IV materials · CPC title

• H10P14/40

  of conductive or resistive materials · CPC title

• H10P14/46 Primary

  using a liquid · CPC title