Plasma Etching Protection Layer for Semiconductor Mask Shrinkage
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in semiconductor manufacturing lies in forming reliable devices at increasingly smaller sizes, where feature sizes continue to decrease, making fabrication processes more difficult and complex, leading to issues with maintaining critical dimensions and increasing production costs.
Innovation Solution
A plasma etching and deposition process is used to form a protection layer over sidewalls of mask layers, which maintains critical dimensions by reducing etching rates and preventing undesirable shrinkage of mask and anti-reflection layers, thereby simplifying photomask design and reducing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If feature sizes continue to decrease to increase functional density, then production efficiency increases and costs decrease, but fabrication processes become more difficult and manufacturing precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A protection layer is introduced as an intermediary between the mask layer and the underlying structures during plasma etching. This protection layer mediates the etching process by controlling the removal rate and protecting critical dimensions from excessive etching, thereby maintaining manufacturing precision while enabling continued scaling for improved productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the etching process parameters by introducing a protection layer that changes the local etching rate. This parameter change allows for selective protection of critical features during plasma etching, maintaining dimensional accuracy even as feature sizes decrease to improve production efficiency
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional plasma etching is used without protection layers, then process simplicity is maintained, but critical dimensions shrink and manufacturing precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The protection layer serves as a temporary intermediary structure that is deposited over the mask layer during plasma etching. It simplifies the overall process by providing a controlled etching interface, preventing direct exposure of the mask layer to aggressive plasma conditions, thereby maintaining critical dimensions without significantly complicating the manufacturing process
3Productivity
If mask layers are exposed to plasma etching without protection, then etching process is straightforward, but mask layers shrink and reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The protection layer is deposited in advance before the plasma etching process begins. This preliminary action prepares the structure by creating a protective barrier that will prevent unwanted etching of the mask layer during the subsequent plasma process, ensuring device reliability is maintained while allowing efficient etching to proceed
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach ensures the maintenance of desired critical dimensions, improving process yield and reducing costs by preventing undesirable shrinkage of mask and anti-reflection layers, thus facilitating the formation of reliable semiconductor devices at smaller sizes.
Implementation Method 1
performing a plasma etching and deposition process to remove a first portion of the first mask layer
Implementation Method 2
performing a plasma etching and deposition process to form a protection layer over a sidewall of the second mask layer
Data Source
AI summary
A method for forming a semiconductor device structure is provided. The semiconductor device structure includes forming a film over a substrate. The semiconductor device structure includes forming a first mask layer over the film. The semiconductor device structure includes forming a second mask layer over the first mask layer. The second mask layer exposes a first portion of the first mask layer. The semiconductor device structure includes performing a plasma etching and deposition process to remove the first portion of the first mask layer and to form a protection layer over a first sidewall of the second mask layer. The first mask layer exposes a second portion of the film after the plasma etching and deposition process. The semiconductor device structure includes removing the second portion using the first mask layer and the second mask layer as an etching mask.