Substrate treatment method, non-transitory computer storage medium and substrate treatment system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9341952-B2
Application number	US-201414188774-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 25, 2014
Priority date	Mar 6, 2013
Publication date	May 17, 2016
Grant date	May 17, 2016

Abstract

In the present invention, photolithography processing is performed on a substrate to form a resist pattern over the substrate, and a treatment agent is caused to enter a side surface of the resist pattern and metal is caused to infiltrate the side surface of the resist pattern via the treatment agent, the formed resist pattern has a high etching selection ratio with respect to a film to be treated on the substrate so as to suppress a so-called pattern collapse, therefore.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A substrate treatment method of forming a resist pattern over a substrate, the method comprising:
a resist pattern forming step of performing photolithography processing on a substrate to form a resist pattern over the substrate, wherein the resist pattern has a side surface; and
a metal treatment step of supplying a treatment agent which includes alcohol to the side surface of the resist pattern so as to cause the treatment agent to enter the side surface of the resist pattern and to cause metal carried with the treatment agent to infiltrate the side surface of the resist pattern via the treatment agent and to bond with functional groups which have an affinity for alcohol and which are in the side surface of the resist pattern,
wherein, in the substrate treated by the metal treatment step, the resist pattern is formed with at least two side surfaces which the metal has infiltrated, an un-infiltrated portion of the resist pattern being located between the at least two side surfaces of the resist pattern, the un-infiltrated portion is not infiltrated by the metal,
further comprising, after the metal treatment step, removing the un-infiltrated portion of the resist pattern being located between the at least two side surfaces and which the metal has not infiltrated, leaving the at least two side surfaces which the metal has infiltrated to form another resist pattern over the substrate,
wherein an infiltration amount of the metal infiltrating the resist pattern in the metal treatment step is controlled by adjusting at least a time period during which the metal is caused to infiltrate in the metal treatment step, an amount of solvent in the resist pattern treated in the metal treatment step, or an exposure amount at time when exposing the resist film in the resist pattern forming step.

2. The substrate treatment method according to claim 1 ,
wherein in the metal treatment step, the treatment agent is further caused to enter an upper surface of the resist pattern and the metal is caused to infiltrate the upper surface of the resist pattern via the treatment agent.

3. The substrate treatment method according to claim 1 ,
wherein in the metal treatment step, a metal-containing agent containing the metal in the treatment agent is supplied onto the substrate and the metal-containing agent is caused to enter the side surface of the resist pattern so as to cause the metal to infiltrate the side surface of the resist pattern.

4. The substrate treatment method according to claim 3 ,
wherein in the metal treatment step, the metal-containing agent is supplied in a liquid form or in a gas form onto the substrate.

5. The substrate treatment method according to claim 1 ,
wherein in the metal treatment step, after the treatment agent which includes alcohol is supplied onto the substrate and the treatment agent is caused to enter the side surface of the resist pattern, a metal-containing agent containing the metal is supplied onto the substrate and then the metal is carried with the treatment agent to infiltrate the side surface of the resist pattern.

6. The substrate treatment method according to claim 5 ,
wherein in the metal treatment step, the treatment agent and the metal-containing agent are supplied each in a liquid form or in a gas form onto the substrate.

7. The substrate treatment method according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in the metal treatment step, the treatment agent which is supplied to the resist pattern includes the metal which is dissolved in the alcohol included in the treatment agent, or the metal in a liquid form and the treatment agent which includes alcohol are separately supplied to the resist pattern.

8. The substrate treatment method according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in the substrate treated by the metal treatment step, the resist pattern includes lines which are spaced apart from each other, and a line of the resist pattern includes the at least two side surfaces and the un-infiltrated portion, the un-infiltrated portion is on an inside of the line, the un-infiltrated portion is sandwiched between the at least two side surfaces of the line of the resist pattern,
wherein, in the substrate after removing the un-infiltrated portion of the resist pattern, the un-infiltrated portion is removed from the inside of the line to leave the at least two side surfaces of the line spaced apart from each other and spaced apart from the side surfaces of other lines, in the another resist pattern.

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program running on a computer of a control unit that controls a substrate treatment system to cause the substrate treatment system to execute a substrate treatment method of forming a resist pattern over a substrate,
the substrate treatment method comprising:
a resist pattern forming step of performing photolithography processing on a substrate to form a resist pattern over the substrate, wherein the resist pattern has a side surface; and
a metal treatment step of supplying a treatment agent which includes alcohol to the side surface of the resist pattern so as to cause the treatment agent to enter the side surface of the resist pattern and to cause metal carried with the treatment agent to infiltrate the side surface of the resist pattern via the treatment agent and to bond with functional groups which have an affinity for alcohol and which are in the side surface of the resist pattern,
wherein, in the substrate treated by the metal treatment step, the resist pattern is formed with at least two side surfaces which the metal has infiltrated, an un-infiltrated portion of the resist pattern being located between the at least two side surfaces of the resist pattern, the un-infiltrated portion is not infiltrated by the metal,
further comprising, after the metal treatment step, removing the un-infiltrated portion of the resist pattern being located between the at least two side surfaces and which the metal has not infiltrated, leaving the at least two side surfaces which the metal has infiltrated to form another resist pattern over the substrate,
wherein an infiltration amount of the metal infiltrating the resist pattern in the metal treatment step is controlled by adjusting at least a time period during which the metal is caused to infiltrate in the metal treatment step, an amount of solvent in the resist pattern treated in the metal treatment step, or an exposure amount at time when exposing the resist film in the resist pattern forming step.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 9 ,
wherein, in the substrate treated by the metal treatment step, the resist pattern includes lines which are spaced apart from each other, and a line of the resist pattern includes the at least two side surfaces and the un-infiltrated portion, the un-infiltrated portion is on an inside of the line, the un-infiltrated portion is sandwiched between the at least two side surfaces of the line of the resist pattern,
wherein, in the substrate after removing the un-infiltrated portion of the resist pattern, the un-infiltrated portion is removed from the inside of the line to leave the at least two side surfaces of the line spaced apart from each other and spaced apart from the side surfaces of other lines, in the another resist pattern.

11. A substrate treatment system for forming a resist pattern over a substrate, the system comprising:
a resist film forming apparatus configured to form a resist film over a substrate;
an exposure apparatus configured to expose the resist film formed in the resist film forming apparatus;
a developing apparatus configured to develop the resist film exposed in the exposure appar

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Iwao Fumiko
• Shimura Satoru

Classifications

• G03F7/405 Primary

  Treatment with inorganic or organometallic reagents after imagewise removal · CPC title

• H10P76/2041 Primary

  Photolithographic processes · CPC title