Method for preparing a filter pattern, filter, and electronic device

Abstract

The present disclosure discloses a method for preparing a filter pattern, a filter, and an electronic device. The method includes: performing preliminary etching on a filter substrate to obtain a semi-finished filter; obtaining the forward structure parameters of the semi-finished filter; determining the target structure parameters of the target pattern; screening out an etching recipe in a preset etching recipe database that can etch the forward structure parameters into the target structure parameters; and etching the semi-finished filter using the etching recipe to obtain a filter with the target pattern. Through the solution of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the mapping relationship between the etching recipe, the forward structure parameters, and the target structure parameters can be stored in a preset etching recipe database constructed in advance, so as to automatically identify the corresponding etching recipe for different forward etching results by looking up the table, thereby improving the production efficiency of the filter.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to the field of optoelectronic display technology. More specifically, this disclosure relates to a method for preparing a filter pattern, a filter, and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] Color filters are key materials for liquid crystal displays to achieve color display. They can precisely select a small range of wavelength light waves to pass through while reflecting other unwanted wavelength bands. Their manufacturing process involves multiple steps such as lithography, coating, exposure, development, drying, and film coating.

[0003] In the existing manufacturing process of color filters, for the production of spherical patterns, specific height and spacing spherical patterns need to be fabricated in the previous process, and then the spherical patterns are further etched into specified structural parameters through a one-step etching method. This process has strict requirements for the height and spacing of the spherical patterns fabricated in the previous process. If etching deviations occur in the previous process resulting in the spherical patterns not reaching the specific height and spacing, the structural parameters of the finally fabricated spherical patterns will not meet the requirements. Currently, the solution for spherical patterns that do not meet the requirements is to re-spread photoresist and then re-fabricate the spherical patterns, which will lead to a significant extension of the manufacturing process time. Additionally, if the material of the color filter changes, correspondingly, the height and spacing of the spherical patterns fabricated in the previous process will also change, and at this time, re-adjustment will consume a large amount of time.

[0004] In view of this, there is an urgent need to provide a filter preparation solution to introduce an automated dynamic regulation mechanism during the etching process of the filter pattern, reduce rework caused by errors, and reduce the debugging time required for filter model changes, thereby improving production efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To solve at least one or more of the above-mentioned technical problems, this disclosure proposes filter preparation solutions in multiple aspects.

[0006] In a first aspect, this disclosure provides a method for preparing a filter pattern, including: preliminarily etching a pattern on a filter substrate to obtain a filter semi-finished product; acquiring the previous structural parameters of the filter semi-finished product; determining the target structural parameters of a target pattern; screening out an etching recipe in a preset etching recipe database that can etch the previous structural parameters into the target structural parameters; and etching the filter semi-finished product using the etching recipe to obtain a filter with a target pattern.

[0007] In some embodiments, the filter base material includes: a first photoresist and a second photoresist; before screening out an etching recipe that can etch the precursor structure parameters into target structure parameters in a preset etching recipe database, the method also includes: collecting etching rates of the first photoresist and the second photoresist for different etching recipes; calculating target structure parameters formed by each etching recipe for different precursor structure parameters based on the etching rates of the first photoresist and the etching rates of the second photoresist for different etching recipes; and associating the calculated target structure parameters with the corresponding precursor structure parameters and etching recipes to construct a preset etching recipe database.

[0008] In some embodiments, the etching recipe includes: etching temperature and composition of etching medium; the target pattern is spherical; the front-end structural parameters include: front-end spherical height; the target structural parameters include: target spherical height.

[0009] In some embodiments, selecting an etching recipe from a preset etching recipe database that can etch the precursor structure parameters into the target structure parameters includes: selecting alternative etching recipes from the preset etching recipe database based on the precursor structure parameters and the target structure parameters, the alternative etching recipes being able to etch the precursor structure parameters into the target structure parameters; and selecting an etching recipe that meets the conditions from the alternative etching recipes.

[0010] In some embodiments, filtering out an etching recipe that meets a condition from alternative etching recipes includes: filtering out an alternative etching recipe with a minimum required etching time from the alternative etching recipes; and in response to the number of alternative etching recipes with a minimum required etching time being equal to 1, determining the alternative etching recipe with a minimum required etching time as the etching recipe.

[0011] In some embodiments, after screening out the alternative etching recipes with the shortest required etching time, the method further includes: in response to the number of alternative etching recipes with the shortest required etching time being greater than 1, selecting the alternative etching recipe with the shortest target pattern spacing formed by etching as the etching recipe.

[0012] In some embodiments, the filter base material includes: a first photoresist and a second photoresist; before screening out an etching recipe that can etch the precursor structure parameters into target structure parameters in a preset etching recipe database, the method also includes: collecting etching rates of different etching recipes for the first photoresist and etching rates of the second photoresist; according to the etching rates of different etching recipes for the first photoresist and etching rates of the second photoresist, calculating the target structure parameters and required etching time formed by each etching recipe for different precursor structure parameters; and associating the calculated target structure parameters and required etching time with the corresponding precursor structure parameters and etching recipes to construct a preset etching recipe database.

[0013] In some embodiments, the filter base material includes: a first photoresist and a second photoresist; before screening out an etching recipe that can etch the precursor structure parameters into target structure parameters in a preset etching recipe database, the method also includes: collecting pattern spacing shrinkage rates, etching rates for the first photoresist, and etching rates for the second photoresist of different etching recipes; calculating the target structure parameters formed by each etching recipe for different precursor structure parameters according to the etching rates of the first photoresist and the etching rates of the second photoresist of different etching recipes; calculating the target pattern spacing formed by each etching recipe for different precursor structure parameters according to the pattern spacing shrinkage rates, precursor structure parameters and corresponding target structure parameters of different etching recipes; and associating the calculated target structure parameters and target pattern spacing with the corresponding precursor structure parameters and etching recipes to construct a preset etching recipe database.

[0014] In some embodiments, the filter base material includes: a first photoresist and a second photoresist; screening out the alternative etching recipe with the shortest etching time includes: calculating the etching time required for each alternative etching recipe to etch the precursor structure parameters into the target structure parameters based on the etching rate of the alternative etching recipe for the first photoresist and the etching rate of the second photoresist; and screening out the alternative etching recipe with the shortest etching time.

[0015] In some embodiments, the filter base material includes: a first photoresist and a second photoresist; selecting an alternative etching recipe with a minimum target pattern spacing formed by etching as the etching recipe includes: calculating the target pattern spacing formed after etching the precursor structure parameters into the target structure parameters based on the pattern spacing shrinkage rate of the alternative etching recipe with the minimum required etching time; and selecting the alternative etching recipe with the minimum target pattern spacing as the etching recipe.

[0016] In some embodiments, the forward structural parameters include: forward ball height; the target structural parameters include: target ball height; the calculation formula of the target ball height is as follows: ;in, It means the forward ball is high; represents the target ball height; x represents the number of the etching recipe; represents the etching rate of the first photoresist by the etching recipe labeled x; It represents the etching rate of the second photoresist by the etching recipe labeled x; in the filter with the target pattern, the first photoresist is stacked on the second photoresist and the first photoresist is spherical.

[0017] In some embodiments, the leading structural parameters include: leading ball height and leading bottom thickness; the target structural parameters include: target ball height and target bottom thickness; the calculation formula for the required etching time is as follows: ;in, Represents the pre-pattern ball height; Represents the target ball height; x represents the number of the etching recipe; Represents the etching rate of the etching recipe numbered x for the first photoresist; Represents the etching rate of the etching recipe numbered x for the second photoresist; Represents the pre-pattern bottom thickness; Represents the target bottom thickness.

[0018] In some embodiments, the pre-pattern structure parameters include: pre-pattern ball height, pre-pattern ball pitch, and pre-pattern bottom thickness; the target structure parameters include: target ball height and target bottom thickness; the target pattern pitch is the target ball pitch; the calculation formula for the target pattern pitch is as follows: ; where, Represents the target ball pitch; Represents the pre-pattern ball pitch; Represents the pre-pattern bottom thickness; Represents the target bottom thickness; Represents the target ball height; x represents the number of the etching recipe; Represents the pattern pitch shrinkage rate of the etching recipe numbered x.

[0019] In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a filter having a target pattern, the target pattern being prepared by performing the method according to any one of the first aspect.

[0020] In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides an electronic device including: a processor; and a memory storing executable program instructions, which when executed by the processor cause the device to implement the method according to any one of the first aspect.

[0021] In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by one or more processors, implement the method according to any one of the first aspect.

[0022] The unexpected technical effect of the present invention is:

[0023] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a preset etching recipe database is pre-constructed, which contains a variety of etching recipes for calling. When starting to prepare the filter pattern, only by obtaining the previous structure parameters of the filter semi-finished product and determining the target structure parameters of the target pattern to be finally etched, an etching recipe that can etch the previous structure parameters into the target structure parameters can be screened out in the preset etching recipe database in a table-lookup manner. In the above process, since the etching recipe is determined according to the previous structure parameters and the target structure parameters, regardless of whether the filter model changes, there is no need to control the previous process to produce spherical patterns with specific heights and spacings, thereby reducing the requirements for the errors of the previous process, greatly reducing the rework caused by errors, and improving the product yield. At the same time, it also reduces the debugging time required after the filter model changes, thereby improving production efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] By referring to the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will become readily understood. In the drawings, several embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in an exemplary and non-limiting manner, and the same or corresponding reference numerals represent the same or corresponding parts, wherein:

[0025] Figure 1 An exemplary flowchart of a method for preparing a filter pattern according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0026] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the process of etching a filter semi-finished product using an etching recipe according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0027] Figure 3 An exemplary flowchart of a method for constructing a preset etching recipe database according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0028] Figure 4 An exemplary flowchart of a method for constructing a preset etching recipe database according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0029] Figure 5 An exemplary flowchart of a method for preparing a filter pattern according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0030] Figure 6 An exemplary flowchart of a method for screening alternative etching recipes according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0031] Figure 7 An exemplary flowchart of a method for constructing a preset etching recipe database according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0032] Figure 8 An exemplary structural block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed implementation manners

[0033] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0034] It should be understood that the terms "including" and "comprising" used in the specification and claims of the present disclosure indicate the presence of the described features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components and / or their combinations.

[0035] It should also be understood that the terms used in the specification of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used in the specification and claims of the present disclosure, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms. It should be further understood that the term "and / or" used in the specification and claims of the present disclosure refers to any combination and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and includes these combinations.

[0036] As used in this specification and the claims, the term "if" can be interpreted as "when...", "once", "in response to determining", or "in response to detecting" depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase "if determined" or "if [the described condition or event] is detected" can be interpreted as meaning "once determined", "in response to determining", "once [the described condition or event] is detected", or "in response to detecting [the described condition or event]" depending on the context.

[0037] The following will describe in detail the specific implementation manners of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] Exemplary application scenarios

[0039] In the filter manufacturing process, pattern etching is a key step, which involves transferring a specific pattern from a photoresist to a substrate or other materials. In the color filter process, a photoresist method can be used to prepare a specific pattern, and this process involves exposure, development, and etching processes.

[0040] In the existing process of color filters, to fabricate spherical patterns, specific-height and specific-spacing spherical patterns need to be first fabricated in the front-end process, and then the spherical patterns are further etched into specified structural parameters through a one-step etching method. If etching deviation occurs in the front-end process, resulting in the spherical patterns not reaching the specific height and spacing, the structural parameters of the finally fabricated spherical patterns will not meet the requirements. At this time, it is necessary to re-spin on photoresist and then re-fabricate the spherical patterns, which will lead to a significant extension of the process time.

[0041] In addition, if the material of the color filter changes, correspondingly, the height and spacing of the spherical patterns fabricated in the front-end process will also change, and thus it is necessary to re-tune the front-end process, resulting in a significant increase in the process time.

[0042] Exemplary Application Scenarios

[0043] In view of this, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a filter preparation solution, which stores the mapping relationships among etching recipes, front-end structural parameters, and target structural parameters through a pre-constructed preset etching recipe database, so as to automatically identify the corresponding etching recipe for different front-end etching results by looking up the table, and improve the production efficiency of the filter.

[0044] Figure 1 FIG. shows an exemplary flowchart of a method 100 for fabricating a filter pattern according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As Figure 1 shown, in step S101, a filter substrate is preliminarily etched with a pattern to obtain a filter semi-finished product. In some embodiments, the filter substrate includes: a first photoresist and a second photoresist, where the first photoresist and the second photoresist are different photoresist materials, and the first photoresist is stacked on the second photoresist.

[0045] Further, in some embodiments, the filter pattern to be fabricated is spherical. To fabricate the filter pattern, it is necessary to etch the first photoresist into a spherical shape and etch the second photoresist to reduce the thickness of the second photoresist. If the filter pattern to be fabricated is spherical, step S101 may perform a preliminary etching of the filter substrate with a spherical pattern. In the obtained filter semi-finished product, the first photoresist is etched into a spherical shape, and the thickness of the second photoresist is reduced.

[0046] In step S102, the front-end structural parameters of the filter semi-finished product are obtained. Since step S101 performs the front-end process, there are differences between the structural parameters of the formed filter semi-finished product and the target structural parameters of the target pattern. To ensure that the structural parameters of the finally fabricated target pattern meet the requirements, it is necessary to detect the current structural parameters of the filter semi-finished product, that is, the front-end structural parameters. Step S102 can be understood as being used to determine the initial form of the product in the subsequent etching process.

[0047] Further, in some embodiments, the filter pattern to be prepared is spherical, and the front-end structural parameters include: front-end spherical height. Specifically, the spherical height refers to the distance from the bottom of the sphere to the top of the sphere in the stacking direction, which can also be understood as the thickness of the first photoresist.

[0048] In step S103, target structural parameters of the target pattern are determined. On the basis of determining the initial form of the product in the subsequent etching process, the final form of the product needs to be determined in order to determine the etching recipe suitable for the subsequent etching process.

[0049] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the filter pattern to be prepared is spherical, that is, the target pattern is spherical, and the target structure parameters include: target spherical height.

[0050] It should be noted that step S102 and step S103 may be performed in any execution sequence, for example, step S103 may be performed before step S102 or in parallel with step S102. In addition, step S103 may also be performed before step S101 or in parallel with step S101.

[0051] In step S104, an etching recipe that can etch the precursor structure parameters into the target structure parameters is selected from the preset etching recipe database. In some embodiments, the preset etching recipe database includes multiple etching recipes, and for each etching recipe, it is associated with a number of precursor structure parameters and target structure parameters that can be formed by the precursor structure parameters under the etching action of the etching recipe.

[0052] For ease of understanding, the etching recipe data table stored in the preset etching recipe database is exemplarily shown below:

[0053]

[0054] In the above table, etching formula A can etch the semi-finished filter with the front-end structural parameter A1 into a filter with the target structural parameter A1', etching formula A can also etch the semi-finished filter with the front-end structural parameter A2 into a filter with the target structural parameter A2', etching formula B can etch the semi-finished filter with the front-end structural parameter B1 into a filter with the target structural parameter B1', and so on.

[0055] It should be noted that the above table is only an exemplary expression of the data storage format in the preset etching recipe database. In actual application, other storage formats can also be used to store the association between the etching recipe, the precursor structure parameter, and the target structure parameter. It should also be noted that the above description of the number of etching recipes is only an example in this embodiment, and the preset etching recipe database actually used may include other numbers of etching recipes.

[0056] Further, in some embodiments, the etching recipe may include: etching temperature and the composition of the etching medium. The etching recipe data table stored in the preset etching recipe database may be exemplified as follows:

[0057]

[0058] The above table shows that at an etching temperature of 1, component a contained in the etching medium can etch a semi-finished filter with a front-end structural parameter A1 into a filter with a target structural parameter A1", and so on.

[0059] Another etching recipe data table stored in the preset etching recipe database may be exemplified as follows:

[0060]

[0061] The above table shows that at an etching temperature of 2, component a contained in the etching medium can etch a semi-finished filter with a front-end structural parameter A1 into a filter with a target structural parameter A1'", and so on.

[0062] When executing step S104, according to the preceding structural parameters acquired in step S102 and the target structural parameters determined in step S103, a matching data group is screened out in the preset etching recipe database, and the etching recipe in the data group is the etching recipe used in step S105.

[0063] In other embodiments, the preset etching recipe database includes a plurality of etching recipes, and each etching recipe is associated with an etching rate and / or etching selectivity ratio of the etching recipe for different photoresist materials in the filter base material.

[0064] For ease of understanding, the etching recipe data table stored in the preset etching recipe database is exemplarily shown below, see the following table:

[0065]

[0066] In the above table, the filter base material is composed of the first photoresist and the second photoresist, ER A1 It represents the etching rate of the first photoresist by etching formula A, ER B1 Represents the etching rate of the second photoresist by etching recipe A, ER A1 / ER B1 It represents the etching selectivity ratio of two different photoresist materials when etching formula A etches the filter base material, and so on.

[0067] Further, in some embodiments, the etching recipe may include: etching temperature and the composition of the etching medium. The etching recipe data table stored in the preset etching recipe database may be exemplified as follows:

[0068]

[0069] Similarly, in the above table, the filter base material is composed of the first photoresist and the second photoresist, ER A1 It represents the etching rate of the first photoresist by component a contained in the etching medium at etching temperature 1, ER B1 It represents the etching rate of the second photoresist by component a in the etching medium at etching temperature 1, ER A1 / ER B1 It indicates the etching selectivity ratio of two different photoresist materials at etching temperature 1 when component a contained in the etching medium etches the filter base material, and so on.

[0070] When executing step S104, the etching rate and other information stored in the preset etching recipe database can be used to calculate the target structure parameters that can be etched by each etching recipe based on the previous structure parameters obtained in step S102, and then matched according to the target structure parameters of the target pattern determined in step S103 to find the corresponding etching recipe.

[0071] In step S105, the filter semi-finished product is etched using the etching recipe to obtain a filter having a target pattern. In some embodiments, etching the filter semi-finished product using the etching recipe can be divided into two stages: Figure 2 FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a process of etching a semi-finished optical filter using an etching recipe according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, such as Figure 2 As shown, in the first stage, the etching medium in the etching recipe etches the second photoresist along the stacking direction of the photoresist material in the filter base material, and while thinning the thickness of the second photoresist, the first photoresist is also etched to remove it from the front sphere height H G1 Etched into a half-spherical height H G2 In the second stage, the etching medium in the etching formula continues to etch the second photoresist along the arrangement direction of the spheres and the stacking direction of the photoresist material, while reducing the thickness of the second photoresist and shortening the ball spacing in the first photoresist. In addition, the ball height of the first photoresist is further increased from the half-range ball height H G2 Change to target ball height H G3 After the above two stages, the thickness of the second photoresist is also increased from the bottom thickness H ML1 becomes the target bottom thickness H ML2 .

[0072] It should be noted that, in actual application, the first stage and the second stage are not strictly separated, and there is actually a certain overlap between the two stages. In the late stage of the first stage, the etching amplitude of the ball height of the first photoresist can be ignored. At this time, this embodiment is defined as entering the second stage. The main function of the second stage is to etch to shorten the ball spacing and continue to thin the thickness of the second photoresist.

[0073] Further, in some embodiments, the half - course ball height can be calculated according to the formula wherein, represents the front - course ball height; represents the half - course ball height; x represents the number of the etching recipe; represents the etching rate of the etching recipe numbered x on the first photoresist; represents the etching rate of the etching recipe numbered x on the second photoresist.

[0074] Since in the second stage, the etching amplitude of the etching medium in the etching recipe on the first photoresist can be ignored, the calculation formula for the target ball height can be formed: wherein, represents the target ball height.

[0075] It should be noted that, as an example, for the convenience of numerical calculation by a computer, the calculation formula for the target ball height can be directly defined as . As another example, an error range e1 of the target ball height can be set in the computer, so that the calculation formula for the target ball height is defined as .

[0076] The method of selecting an etching recipe by using a preset etching recipe database to complete the preparation of the filter pattern is introduced above. In some embodiments, a preset etching recipe database needs to be constructed before executing this method. The following describes Figure 3 the construction method of the preset etching recipe database.

[0077] Figure 3 FIG. shows an exemplary flowchart of a construction method 300 of a preset etching recipe database according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3 , in step S301, the etching rates of different etching recipes on the first photoresist and on the second photoresist are collected. In this embodiment, the first photoresist and the second photoresist use different photoresist materials, and the same etching recipe has different etching rates for different photoresist materials.

[0078] In step S302, the target structure parameters formed by each etching recipe for different front - course structure parameters are calculated. In this embodiment, for an etching recipe, when it acts on filter semi - products with different front - course structure parameters, filter products with different target structure parameters can be formed, which depends on the difference between the etching rates of different etching recipes on the first photoresist and on the second photoresist.

[0079] Specifically, based on the etching rates of the first photoresist and the second photoresist for different etching recipes, the target structure parameters formed by each etching recipe for different front-end structure parameters can be calculated according to the following formula: .

[0080] As an example, for the convenience of numerical calculation by a computer, the calculation formula for the target ball height can be directly defined as . As another example, an error range e1 of the target ball height can be set in the computer, so that the calculation formula for the target ball height is defined as .

[0081] For each etching recipe, the target structure parameters corresponding to different front-end structure parameters can be calculated according to the above calculation formula, and then the target structure parameters formed by different front-end structure parameters under several etching recipes can be obtained, and several data groups in the preset etching recipe database can be obtained.

[0082] In step S303, the corresponding target structure parameters, front-end structure parameters, and etching recipes are associated. In this step, the calculated target structure parameters are associated with the corresponding front-end structure parameters and etching recipes, and a preset etching recipe database can be constructed.

[0083] Furthermore, the etching recipe may include: the etching temperature and the composition of the etching medium. A data group in the preset etching recipe database can reflect that a certain front-end structure parameter is etched by the composition of a certain etching medium at a certain temperature to form a filter with a certain target structure parameter. The etching recipe data table stored in the preset etching recipe database may refer to the content of step S104 in the foregoing embodiment and will not be elaborated here.

[0084] Even further, the data group in the preset etching recipe database may further include: the required etching duration, which is used to indicate the time required for the etching recipe to etch the front-end structure parameter into the target structure parameter. Accordingly, the front-end structure parameter further includes: the front-end bottom thickness, which is used to indicate the thickness of the second photoresist in the filter semi-finished product. Accordingly, the target structure parameter further includes: the target bottom thickness, which is used to indicate the final thickness of the second photoresist in the filter finished product.

[0085] Based on this, Figure 4 FIG. shows an exemplary flowchart of a method 400 for constructing a preset etching recipe database according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. As Figure 4 shown, in step S401, the etching rates of different etching recipes for the first photoresist and the second photoresist are collected. In this embodiment, the specific content of step S401 is the same as that of step S301 in the foregoing embodiment and will not be elaborated here.

[0086] In step S402, target structural parameters and required etching time of each etching recipe for different front-end structural parameters are calculated according to the etching rate. In this embodiment, the calculation method of the target structural parameters can refer to step S302 in the above embodiment.

[0087] Further, in some embodiments, the required etching time can be calculated according to the following formula:

[0088] ;

[0089] in, It means the forward ball is high; represents the target ball height; x represents the number of the etching recipe; represents the etching rate of the first photoresist by the etching recipe labeled x; represents the etching rate of the second photoresist by the etching recipe labeled x; Indicates the thickness of the bottom of the front; Indicates the target bottom thickness.

[0090] because , so the calculation formula for the required etching time can be simplified to: As an example, in order to facilitate numerical calculations by computer, the calculation formula for the required etching time can be directly defined as As another example, an error range e1 of the target ball height can be set in the computer, so that the calculation formula of the target ball height is defined as , correspondingly, the calculation formula for the required etching time can be simplified to .

[0091] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the process of etching the semi-finished filter using the etching recipe is based on the thickness of the second photoresist, so as to control the timing of the end of the process, thereby ensuring that the semi-finished filter with the front-end bottom thickness is etched into the finished filter with the target bottom thickness. It can be understood that the front-end bottom thickness is a kind of front-end structural parameter, and the target bottom thickness is a kind of target structural parameter, but the target bottom thickness does not need to be calculated based on the front-end bottom thickness. In actual operation, the preparation of the filter with the target bottom thickness can be achieved by controlling the duration.

[0092] Furthermore, in actual operation, due to the existence of process errors, the actual value of the target bottom thickness prepared may have a certain error with the theoretical value of the target bottom thickness.

[0093] In step S403, the target structure parameters, the required etching duration, the previous structure parameters, and the etching recipe are associated to construct a preset etching recipe database. In this step, the target structure parameters need to be calculated based on the previous structure parameters and the etching recipe, and the required etching duration needs to be calculated based on the target structure parameters, the previous structure parameters, and the etching recipe. After the calculation is completed, the calculated target structure parameters and the required etching duration are associated with the corresponding previous structure parameters and the etching recipe, and a preset etching recipe database can be constructed.

[0094] Similar to step S303 in the previous embodiment, the etching recipe data table stored in the preset etching recipe database can refer to the content of step S104 in the previous embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0095] In some embodiments, there may be multiple etching recipes in the preset etching recipe database that can etch the previous structure parameters into the target structure parameters. In other words, in practical applications, there may be multiple available etching recipes. Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for preparing a filter pattern, which can select an optimal etching recipe for use when there are multiple available etching recipes.

[0096] Figure 5 An exemplary flowchart of a method 500 for preparing a filter pattern according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. As Figure 5 shown, in step S501, the filter substrate is preliminarily etched with a pattern to obtain a filter semi-finished product. In step S502, the previous structure parameters of the filter semi-finished product are obtained. In step S503, the target structure parameters of the target pattern are determined.

[0097] In this embodiment, the content of steps S501 to S503 is the same as that of steps S101 to S103 in the previous embodiment, which will not be elaborated here.

[0098] In step S504, according to the previous structure parameters and the target structure parameters, alternative etching recipes are screened out from the preset etching recipe database. Specifically, in this embodiment, step S504 can screen out several etching recipes from the preset etching recipe database that can etch the previous structure parameters into the target structure parameters. These screened-out etching recipes are called alternative etching recipes. In practical applications, any one of the etching recipes can be used to etch the filter semi-finished product, and a filter finished product with the target structure parameters can be obtained.

[0099] In step S505, an etching recipe that meets the conditions is selected from the alternative etching recipes. In this embodiment, considering factors such as process cost, an optimal etching recipe can be selected from the above-mentioned several alternative etching recipes.

[0100] In some embodiments, the optimal etching recipe can be selected based on the required etching duration. The minimum required etching duration can maximize the acceleration of the filter preparation process and increase the number of finished products produced in a single cycle.

[0101] In some cases, the only optimal etching recipe can be selected from several alternative etching recipes using the required etching duration. In other cases, there may be multiple alternative etching recipes with the minimum required etching duration. At this time, a second screening condition needs to be designed to perform a secondary screening on these alternative etching recipes. At this time, the target pattern pitch can be used as a reference basis. Further, if the target pattern is spherical, the target pattern pitch is the target sphere pitch.

[0102] In step S506, the filter semi-finished product is etched using the etching recipe to obtain a filter with a target pattern. In this embodiment, the content of step S506 is the same as that of step S105 in the previous embodiment and will not be elaborated here.

[0103] Figure 6 An exemplary flowchart of a screening method 600 for alternative etching recipes according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. It can be understood that the screening method for alternative etching recipes is a specific implementation of the foregoing step S505. Therefore, the features described above in conjunction with Figure 5 can be similarly applied herein.

[0104] As Figure 6 shown, in step S601, among the alternative etching recipes, the alternative etching recipe with the minimum required etching duration is selected. In some embodiments, the required etching duration can be pre-calculated and stored in a preset etching recipe database. The construction method of the preset etching recipe database can refer to the embodiments described above in conjunction with Figure 4 description.

[0105] In other embodiments, the required etching duration can also be calculated immediately. At this time, step S601 can specifically include: calculating the required etching duration for each alternative etching recipe to etch the front-end structure parameters into the target structure parameters according to the etching rate of the first photoresist and the etching rate of the second photoresist by the alternative etching recipe, and then selecting the alternative etching recipe with the minimum required etching duration. Further, the calculation formula for the required etching duration can refer to step S402 in the previous embodiment and will not be elaborated here.

[0106] In step S602, it is determined whether the number of the candidate etching recipes with the minimum required etching time is 1. If so, step S603 is executed. The purpose of this step is to determine whether a unique optimal etching recipe can be screened out according to the required etching time. Since the number of candidate etching recipes is limited, at least one candidate etching recipe that meets the condition can be screened out according to the condition of the minimum required etching time.

[0107] In step S603, the candidate etching recipe with the shortest required etching time is determined as the etching recipe. If a unique optimal etching recipe can be screened out according to the required etching time, the etching recipe is subsequently used to etch the semi-finished filter.

[0108] Furthermore, in some embodiments, after executing step S602, there may be a situation where the number of alternative etching recipes with the shortest etching time required is greater than 1. In this case, the judgment structure of step S602 is no, and step S604 is executed.

[0109] In step S604, the alternative etching recipe with the smallest target pattern spacing formed by etching is selected as the etching recipe. If the only optimal etching recipe cannot be screened out according to the required etching time, in other words, if the alternative etching recipe with the smallest required etching time is greater than 1, it is necessary to perform a secondary screening according to the target pattern spacing.

[0110] In some embodiments, the target pattern spacing can be calculated in real time, and step S603 can specifically include: calculating the target pattern spacing formed after etching the previous structure parameters into the target structure parameters according to the pattern spacing shrinkage rate of the alternative etching recipe with the shortest etching time, and then selecting the alternative etching recipe with the shortest target pattern spacing as the etching recipe. The pattern spacing shrinkage rate refers to the etching rate of the etching recipe for the second photoresist in the direction perpendicular to the stacking direction, and the etching in this direction can shorten the target pattern spacing, for example: the target ball spacing.

[0111] Based on this, in some embodiments, a preset etching recipe database includes multiple etching recipes. For each etching recipe, in addition to being associated with the etching rate and / or etching selectivity of the etching recipe for different photoresist materials in the filter base material, it can also be associated with the pattern spacing shrinkage rate of the etching recipe.

[0112] For ease of understanding, the etching recipe data table stored in the preset etching recipe database is exemplarily shown below:

[0113]

[0114] In the above table, the filter base material is composed of the first photoresist and the second photoresist, ER A1Denote the etching rate of etching recipe A on the first photoresist as ER B1 Denote the etching rate of etching recipe A on the second photoresist as ER A1 / ER B1 Denote the etching selectivity of etching recipe A for two different photoresist materials when etching the filter substrate as ER GAP1 Denote the pattern pitch shrinkage rate of etching recipe A for the second photoresist, and so on.

[0115] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the etching recipe may include: etching temperature and the composition of the etching medium. The etching recipe data table stored in the preset etching recipe database may be exemplified as follows:

[0116]

[0117] Similarly, in the above table, the filter substrate is composed of the first photoresist and the second photoresist, ER A1 Denote the etching rate of component a contained in the etching medium on the first photoresist at etching temperature 1 as ER B1 Denote the etching rate of component a contained in the etching medium on the second photoresist at etching temperature 1 as ER A1 / ER B1 Denote the etching selectivity of component a contained in the etching medium for two different photoresist materials when etching the filter substrate at etching temperature 1 as ER GAP1 Denote the pattern pitch shrinkage rate of component a contained in the etching medium for the second photoresist, and so on.

[0118] In addition to the immediate calculation method, in some other embodiments, the target pattern pitch can also be pre-calculated and stored in the preset etching recipe database, and when performing step S603, directly call the corresponding data group from the preset etching recipe database to determine the target pattern pitch corresponding to each alternative etching recipe. In this embodiment, the data group in the preset etching recipe database may further include: the target pattern pitch. If the target pattern is spherical, the target pattern pitch is the target sphere pitch. Correspondingly, the front-end structure parameter further includes: the front-end bottom thickness, which is used to indicate the thickness of the second photoresist in the filter semi-finished product. Correspondingly, the target structure parameter further includes: the target bottom thickness, which is used to indicate the final thickness of the second photoresist in the filter finished product.

[0119] It should be noted that in practical applications, the target pattern pitch can also be defined as one of the target structure parameters.

[0120] Next, in combination with Figure 7 Describe the construction process of the preset etching recipe database containing the target pattern pitch. Figure 7An exemplary flow chart of a method 700 for constructing a preset etching recipe database according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 7 As shown, in step S701, the pattern pitch shrinkage rate of different etching recipes, the etching rate of the first photoresist, and the etching rate of the second photoresist are collected.

[0121] In step S702, the target structural parameters formed by each etching recipe for different front-end structural parameters are calculated. In this step, the target structural parameters formed by each etching recipe for different front-end structural parameters can be calculated according to the etching rate of the first photoresist and the etching rate of the second photoresist of different etching recipes. The specific calculation formula can be referred to in the above combined with Figure 1 and / or Figure 3 The described embodiments will not be described in detail here.

[0122] In step S703, the target pattern spacing formed by each etching recipe for different front-end structural parameters is calculated. In this step, the target pattern spacing can be calculated according to the pattern spacing shrinkage rate of different etching recipes, the front-end structural parameters and the corresponding target structural parameters.

[0123] Further, if the target pattern is spherical, the target pattern spacing is the target ball spacing. Accordingly, the front-end structural parameters include: front-end ball height, front-end ball spacing and front-end bottom thickness. Accordingly, the target structural parameters include: target ball height and target bottom thickness. The calculation formula of the target ball spacing can be as follows:

[0124] ;

[0125] in, Indicates the distance between target balls; Indicates the distance between the forward balls; Indicates the thickness of the bottom of the front; Indicates the target bottom thickness; represents the target ball height; x represents the number of the etching recipe; Represents the pattern pitch shrinkage rate of the etching recipe labeled x.

[0126] It should be noted that the calculation formula for the target ball distance described above is also applicable to the instant calculation of the target ball distance.

[0127] In step S704, the target structure parameters, target pattern spacing, predecessor structure parameters and etching recipes are associated to construct a preset etching recipe database. In this step, the calculated target structure parameters and target pattern spacing can be associated with the corresponding predecessor structure parameters and etching recipes to construct a preset etching recipe database.

[0128] Further, the method described in conjunction with Figure 4 can be combined with the method Figure 7 shown to form a method for constructing a preset etching recipe database. The data groups in the preset etching recipe database constructed by this method may include: the previous structure parameters, the target structure parameters, the etching recipe, and the required etching duration. Among them, the previous structure parameters include the previous pattern pitch, and the target structure parameters include the target pattern pitch. If the target pattern is spherical, the data groups in the preset etching recipe database may include: the previous sphere height, the previous sphere pitch, the previous bottom thickness, the target sphere height, the target sphere pitch, the target bottom thickness, the etching recipe, and the required etching duration.

[0129] It should be noted that when selecting an optimal etching recipe from multiple available etching recipes, some embodiments of the present disclosure may use the minimum required etching duration as the screening condition. In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the minimum target pattern pitch may also be used as the screening condition. In still some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the minimum target pattern pitch and the minimum required etching duration may also be used as the screening conditions, and the priority of the required etching duration is higher than that of the target pattern pitch. The specific screening method can refer to the embodiments described in conjunction with Figure 5 above, and will not be elaborated here.

[0130] In the method of selecting the optimal etching recipe, the target pattern pitch and the required etching duration can both be pre-calculated and stored in the preset etching recipe database, or the target pattern pitch and the required etching duration can both be calculated instantaneously, or one of the target pattern pitch and the required etching duration is calculated instantaneously, and the other is pre-calculated and stored in the preset etching recipe database. The calculation formulas for the target pattern pitch and the required etching duration and the construction method of the preset etching recipe database have been described in detail in the previous embodiments, and will not be elaborated here.

[0131] By executing the method for preparing a filter pattern provided in any of the previous embodiments, a filter with a target pattern can be prepared. In some embodiments, the target pattern is spherical.

[0132] In summary, the present disclosure provides a method for preparing a filter pattern, which can introduce an automated dynamic regulation mechanism during the etching process of the filter pattern by using a pre-constructed preset etching recipe database. Under this dynamic regulation mechanism, it is not necessary to control the previous process to produce spherical patterns with specific heights and spacings. Only by obtaining the previous structure parameters of the filter semi-finished product and determining the target structure parameters of the target pattern to be finally etched, an etching recipe that can etch the previous structure parameters into the target structure parameters can be screened out in the preset etching recipe database in a table-lookup manner. Since the requirements for the errors in the previous process are reduced, this method can reduce rework caused by errors and improve the product yield. At the same time, it also reduces the debugging time required after the filter model is changed, thereby improving the production efficiency.

[0133] Some embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a method for preparing a filter pattern, which can screen multiple alternative etching recipes by using the etching duration and / or the target pattern spacing, so as to select an optimal etching recipe from multiple available etching recipes for use, further improving the production efficiency.

[0134] To implement the method steps described above in the present disclosure in combination with the accompanying drawings at the software and hardware levels, embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an electronic device as shown in Figure 8 Specifically, Figure 8 shows an exemplary structural block diagram of the electronic device 800 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0135] As shown in Figure 8 , the electronic device 800 of the present disclosure may include a processor 810 and a memory 820. Specifically, executable program instructions are stored on the memory 820. When the program instructions are executed by the processor 810, the electronic device implements the method steps as described above in combination with Figures 1-7 .

[0136] It can be understood that, in order to clearly show the solution of the present disclosure and avoid confusion with the prior art, Figure 8 the electronic device 800 only shows the constituent elements related to the embodiments of the present disclosure, and omits those constituent elements that may be necessary for implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure but belong to the scope of the prior art. Therefore, based on the content disclosed in the present disclosure, those of ordinary skill in the art can clearly understand that the electronic device 800 of the present disclosure may also include common constituent elements different from those shown in Figure 8 .

[0137] In an exemplary implementation scenario, the above-mentioned processor 810 may control the overall operation of the electronic device 800. For example, the processor 810 may control the operation of the electronic device 800 by executing programs stored in the memory 820. In terms of implementation, the processor 810 of the present disclosure may be implemented by a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), an intelligent processing unit (IPU), etc. provided in the electronic device 800. Further, the processor 810 of the present disclosure may also be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, the processor 810 may take the form of, for example, a microprocessor or a processor and a computer-readable medium storing computer-readable program code (such as software or firmware) executable by the (micro)processor, logic gates, switches, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic controller, and a form embedded microcontroller, etc.

[0138] In terms of the stored content, the memory 820 may be hardware for storing various data and instructions processed in the electronic device 800. For example, the memory 820 may store the processed data and the data to be processed in the electronic device 800. The memory 820 may store the data sets that have been processed or are to be processed by the processor 810. In addition, the memory 820 may store applications, drivers, etc. to be driven by the electronic device 800. For example: the memory 820 may store various programs related to model building and constraint setting to be executed by the processor 810. The memory 820 may be DRAM, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In terms of type, the memory 820 may include at least one of volatile memory or non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, phase change RAM (PRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), etc. The volatile memory may include dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), PRAM, MRAM, RRAM, ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), etc. In an embodiment, the memory 820 may include at least one of a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a high density flash (CF) card, a secure digital (SD) card, a micro secure digital (Micro-SD) card, a mini secure digital (Mini-SD) card, an extreme digital (xD) card, caches, or a memory stick.

[0139] In summary, the specific functions implemented by the memory 820 and the processor 810 of the electronic device 800 provided in the embodiments of this specification can be explained in contrast to the foregoing embodiments in this specification, and can achieve the technical effects of the foregoing embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.

[0140] Additionally or alternatively, the present disclosure may also be implemented as a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium (or computer-readable storage medium, or machine-readable storage medium) having stored thereon computer program instructions (or computer programs, or computer instruction codes), which when executed by a processor of an electronic device (or an electronic device, a server, etc.) cause the processor to perform some or all of the steps of the above-described method according to the present disclosure.

[0141] Although multiple embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Many variations, changes, and alternative approaches may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein may be employed in practicing the present disclosure. The appended claims are intended to define the scope of protection of the present disclosure and thus cover equivalents or alternatives within the scope of these claims.

Claims

1. A method for preparing a filter pattern, characterized in that, Including: Performing preliminary etching on the filter substrate to obtain a semi-finished filter; Obtaining the previous structure parameters of the semi-finished filter; Determining the target structure parameters of the target pattern; Screening out an etching recipe in a preset etching recipe database that can etch the previous structure parameters into the target structure parameters; And Etching the semi-finished filter using the etching recipe to obtain a filter with the target pattern.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Wherein the filter substrate includes: a first photoresist and a second photoresist; before screening out an etching recipe in a preset etching recipe database that can etch the previous structure parameters into the target structure parameters, the method further includes: Collecting the etching rates of different etching recipes on the first photoresist and on the second photoresist; Calculating the target structure parameters formed by each etching recipe for different previous structure parameters according to the etching rates of different etching recipes on the first photoresist and on the second photoresist; and Associating the calculated target structure parameters with the corresponding previous structure parameters and etching recipes to construct the preset etching recipe database.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein Wherein screening out an etching recipe in a preset etching recipe database that can etch the previous structure parameters into the target structure parameters includes: According to the previous structure parameters and the target structure parameters, screening out alternative etching recipes from the preset etching recipe database, and the alternative etching recipes can etch the previous structure parameters into the target structure parameters; and Screening out the etching recipes that meet the conditions from the alternative etching recipes.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein Wherein screening out the etching recipes that meet the conditions from the alternative etching recipes includes: Among the alternative etching recipes, screening out the alternative etching recipe with the minimum required etching duration; and In response to the number of alternative etching recipes with the minimum required etching duration being equal to 1, determining the alternative etching recipe with the minimum required etching duration as the etching recipe; and In response to the number of alternative etching recipes with the minimum required etching duration being greater than 1, selecting the alternative etching recipe with the smallest target pattern pitch formed by etching as the etching recipe.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein Wherein the filter substrate includes: a first photoresist and a second photoresist; Before screening out an etching recipe in a preset etching recipe database that can etch the previous structure parameters into the target structure parameters, the method further includes: Collecting the etching rates of different etching recipes on the first photoresist and on the second photoresist; Calculating the target structure parameters and the required etching duration formed by each etching recipe for different previous structure parameters according to the etching rates of different etching recipes on the first photoresist and on the second photoresist; and Associating the calculated target structure parameters and the required etching duration with the corresponding previous structure parameters and etching recipes to construct the preset etching recipe database; Or, Before screening out an etching recipe in a preset etching recipe database that can etch the previous structure parameters into the target structure parameters, the method further includes: Collecting the pattern spacing shrinkage rate of different etching recipes, the etching rate of the first photoresist, and the etching rate of the second photoresist; Calculating target structural parameters formed by each etching recipe for different front-end structural parameters according to etching rates of the first photoresist and etching rates of the second photoresist of different etching recipes; Calculating the target pattern spacing formed by each etching recipe for different front-end structural parameters according to the pattern spacing shrinkage rate, front-end structural parameters and corresponding target structural parameters of different etching recipes; and The calculated target structure parameters and target pattern spacing are associated with the corresponding preceding structure parameters and etching recipes to construct the preset etching recipe database.

6. The method according to claim 2 or 5, characterized in that The forward structural parameters include: forward ball height; the target structural parameters include: target ball height; the calculation formula of the target ball height is as follows: ； Among them, represents the height of the front ball; represents the height of the target ball; x represents the number of the etching recipe; represents the etching rate of the etching recipe numbered x for the first photoresist; represents the etching rate of the etching recipe numbered x for the second photoresist; in the filter having the target pattern, the first photoresist is stacked above the second photoresist and the first photoresist is spherical.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The forward structural parameters include: forward ball height and forward bottom thickness; the target structural parameters include: target ball height and target bottom thickness; The calculation formula for the required etching time is as follows: ； Among them, represents the height of the front ball; represents the height of the target ball; x represents the number of the etching recipe; represents the etching rate of the etching recipe numbered x for the first photoresist; represents the etching rate of the etching recipe numbered x for the second photoresist; represents the bottom thickness of the front; represents the bottom thickness of the target.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein The forward structural parameters include: forward ball height, forward ball spacing and forward bottom thickness; the target structural parameters include: target ball height and target bottom thickness; the target pattern spacing is the target ball spacing; The calculation formula of the target pattern spacing is as follows: ； Among them, represents the target ball pitch; represents the front ball pitch; represents the front bottom thickness; represents the target bottom thickness; represents the target ball height; x represents the number of the etching recipe; represents the pattern pitch shrinkage rate of the etching recipe numbered x.

9. A filter, characterized in that, It has a target pattern, and the target pattern is prepared by executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: processor; as well as A memory storing executable program instructions, which, when executed by the processor, enables the device to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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