Method for forming a hard mask

Abstract

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to methods for forming hard masks. The embodiments described herein, for example, enable the formation of carbon-containing hard masks with reduced film stress. In one embodiment, a method for processing a substrate is provided. The method includes placing a substrate in a processing space of a processing chamber and depositing a diamond-like carbon (DLC) layer on the substrate. After depositing the DLC layer, the film stress is reduced by performing a plasma treatment. In this case, the plasma treatment includes applying a radio frequency (RF) bias power of about 100 W to about 10,000 W.

Claims

1. A method for processing a substrate, Placing the substrate within the processing space of the processing chamber, Depositing a diamond-like carbon (DLC) layer on the substrate, and The process includes reducing the film stress of the DLC layer by performing a plasma treatment after depositing the DLC layer, wherein the plasma treatment is performed In the aforementioned processing space, a non-reactive gas containing argon is flowed at a flow rate of approximately 500 sccm to approximately 5000 sccm per 300 mm size substrate, and Plasma is generated from the non-reactive gas in the processing space by applying a high-frequency (RF) bias power of approximately 100W to approximately 10,000W, and the DLC layer is processed. Methods that include...

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the high-frequency (RF) bias power is approximately 100W to approximately 400W.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the nonreactive gas further comprises helium, N2, or a combination thereof.

4. The aforementioned nonreactive gas is N 2 The method according to claim 1, further comprising helium, neon, krypton, xenon, radon, or a combination thereof.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the DLC layer is 5 kÅ to 15 kÅ.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the deposition of the DLC layer and the plasma treatment are performed in the same processing chamber.

7. During the plasma treatment, the substrate is maintained at a temperature of approximately -40°C to approximately 40°C, or During the plasma treatment, the treatment space is maintained at a pressure of approximately 1 mTorr to approximately 500 mTorr, or The method according to claim 1, which is a combination of those.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein during the plasma treatment, the temperature of the substrate is maintained between approximately -10°C and approximately 10°C, and the pressure is between approximately 5 mTorr and approximately 100 mTorr.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the RF bias power is approximately 200W to approximately 5000W.

10. sp of the DLC layer after the plasma treatment. 3 The method according to claim 1, wherein the content is approximately 60% or more when determined by Raman spectroscopy.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the film stress of the DLC layer is reduced by about 10% to about 50% when determined by polarization analysis.

12. A method for processing a substrate, Placing the substrate within the processing space of the processing chamber, Depositing a diamond-like carbon (DLC) layer on the substrate, and The process includes reducing the film stress of the DLC layer by performing a plasma treatment after depositing the DLC layer, wherein the plasma treatment is performed In the aforementioned processing space, a non-reactive gas containing argon is flowed at a flow rate of approximately 500 sccm to approximately 5000 sccm per 300 mm size substrate, and A method comprising generating plasma from the non-reactive gas in the processing space by applying a high-frequency (RF) bias power of approximately 100 W to approximately 1000 W to process the DLC layer.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the nonreactive gas further comprises helium, N2, or a combination thereof.

14. The aforementioned nonreactive gas is N 2 The method according to claim 12, further comprising helium, neon, krypton, xenon, radon, or a combination thereof.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the thickness of the DLC layer is 5 kÅ to 15 kÅ.

16. The aforementioned plasma treatment is Maintain the substrate at a temperature of approximately -40°C to approximately 40°C. Maintain the processing space at a pressure of approximately 1 mTorr to approximately 500 mTorr. Maintaining the RF bias power between approximately 100W and approximately 400W, or The method according to claim 12, further comprising combinations thereof.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the temperature of the substrate is maintained between approximately -10°C and approximately 10°C, and the pressure in the processing space is maintained between approximately 5 mTorr and approximately 100 mTorr.

18. A method for processing a substrate, Placing the substrate within the processing space of the processing chamber, Depositing a diamond-like carbon (DLC) layer on the substrate, and The process includes reducing the film stress of the DLC layer by performing a plasma treatment after depositing the DLC layer, wherein the plasma treatment is performed In the aforementioned processing space, a non-reactive gas containing argon and one or more of N2 and helium is flowed at a flow rate of approximately 500 sccm to approximately 5000 sccm over a 300 mm size substrate. By applying a high-frequency (RF) bias power of approximately 100W to approximately 10,000W, plasma is generated from the non-reactive gas in the processing space to process the DLC layer, and A method comprising maintaining the substrate at a temperature of approximately -40°C to approximately 40°C during the plasma treatment.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the processing space is maintained at a pressure of about 1 mTorr to about 500 mTorr.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein during the plasma treatment, the temperature of the substrate is maintained between approximately -10°C and approximately 10°C, and the pressure in the processing space is maintained between approximately 5 mTorr and approximately 100 mTorr.

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