Patterning of a hard mask material

US9514955B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-9514955-B2
Application numberUS-201514712327-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateMay 14, 2015
Priority dateJun 13, 2014
Publication dateDec 6, 2016
Grant dateDec 6, 2016

How to read this patent

A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.

  1. Title

    What the patent document calls the invention.

  2. Abstract

    A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.

  3. Assignees and inventors

    Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.

  4. Key dates

    Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.

  5. First independent claim

    The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.

  6. CPC / IPC classifications

    Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.

  7. Citations and related patents

    Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.

Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

A method for processing a substrate includes providing the substrate including a photoresist/bottom anti-reflection coating (PR/BARC) layer, a hard mask layer, a stop layer, a carbon layer and a stack including a plurality of layers. The method includes defining a hole pattern including a plurality of holes in the PR/BARC layer using photolithography; transferring the hole pattern into the carbon layer; filling the plurality of holes in the hole pattern with oxide to create oxide pillars; using a planarization technique to remove the hard mask layer, a remaining portion of the PR/BARC layer and the stop layer; stripping the carbon layer to expose the oxide pillars; filling space between the oxide pillars with hard a mask material including metal; planarizing at least part of the hard mask material; and stripping the oxide pillars to expose the hole pattern in the hard mask material.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

What is claimed is: 1. A method for processing a substrate, comprising: providing a substrate including a photoresist/bottom anti-reflection coating (PR/BARC) layer, a hard mask layer, a stop layer, a carbon layer and a stack including a plurality of layers; defining a hole pattern including a plurality of holes in the PR/BARC layer using photolithography; transferring the hole pattern, as defined in the PR/BARC layer, from the PR/BARC layer into the carbon layer; filling the plurality of holes in the hole pattern, as defined in the PR/BARC layer and the carbon layer, with oxide to create oxide pillars; using a planarization technique to remove the hard mask layer, a remaining portion of the PR/BARC layer and the stop layer; stripping the carbon layer to expose the oxide pillars; and filling space between the oxide pillars with a hard mask material including metal. 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the planarization technique includes using chemical mechanical polishing. 3. The method of claim 1 , wherein filling the space includes using physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD) or electroless deposition (ELD). 4. The method of claim 1 , wherein filling the space includes using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and further comprising depositing a glue layer. 5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the glue layer includes a tungsten (W) layer. 6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising planarizing excess hard mask material. 7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the planarizing stops on and exposes the oxide pillars. 8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising stripping the oxide pillars to expose the hole pattern in the hard mask material. 9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of layers includes alternating silicon oxide and silicon nitride layers. 10. A method for processing a substrate comprising: providing the substrate including a photoresist/bottom anti-reflection coating (PR/BARC) layer, a hard mask layer, a stop layer, a carbon layer and a stack including a plurality of layers; defining a hole pattern in the PR/BARC layer using photolithography; transferring the hole pattern including a plurality of holes, as defined in the PR/BARC layer, from the PR/BARC layer into the carbon layer; and filling the plurality of holes in the hole pattern, as defined in the PR/BARC layer and the carbon layer, with oxide to create oxide pillars, wherein the oxide pillars are subsequently used to pattern a hard mask material including metal. 11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising using a planarization technique to remove the hard mask layer, a remaining portion of the PR/BARC layer and the stop layer. 12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the planarization technique includes using chemical mechanical polishing. 13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising stripping the carbon layer to expose the oxide pillars. 14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising filling space between the oxide pillars with the hard mask material. 15. The method of claim 14 , wherein filling the space includes using physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD) or electroless deposition (ELD). 16. The method of claim 14 , wherein filling the space includes using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and further comprising depositing a glue layer. 17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the glue layer includes a tungsten (W) layer. 18. The method of claim 14 , further comprising planarizing at least part of the hard mask material. 19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the planarizing stops on and exposes the oxide pillars. 20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising stripping the oxide pillars to expose the hole pattern in the hard mask material. 21. The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of layers includes alternating layers of silicon nitride and silicon oxide.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • the removal being a selective chemical etching step, e.g. selective dry etching through a mask · CPC title

  • characterised by the processes involved to create the masks · CPC title

  • H10P50/73Primary

    using masks for insulating materials · CPC title

  • Electricity · mapped topic

  • Electricity · mapped topic

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Frequently asked questions

Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.

What does patent US9514955B2 cover?
A method for processing a substrate includes providing the substrate including a photoresist/bottom anti-reflection coating (PR/BARC) layer, a hard mask layer, a stop layer, a carbon layer and a stack including a plurality of layers. The method includes defining a hole pattern including a plurality of holes in the PR/BARC layer using photolithography; transferring the hole pattern into the carb…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Lam Res Corp
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification H10P50/73. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue Dec 06 2016 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).