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GB2046463A - Process for the production of structured positive photo-lacquer layers on a substrate - Google Patents

Process for the production of structured positive photo-lacquer layers on a substrate Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2046463A
GB2046463A GB8009923A GB8009923A GB2046463A GB 2046463 A GB2046463 A GB 2046463A GB 8009923 A GB8009923 A GB 8009923A GB 8009923 A GB8009923 A GB 8009923A GB 2046463 A GB2046463 A GB 2046463A
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United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
layer
photo
lacquer
substrate
additional
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB8009923A
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Siemens Corp
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Siemens Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Siemens Corp filed Critical Siemens Corp
Publication of GB2046463A publication Critical patent/GB2046463A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G03PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03FPHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/004Photosensitive materials
    • G03F7/09Photosensitive materials characterised by structural details, e.g. supports, auxiliary layers
    • G03F7/092Photosensitive materials characterised by structural details, e.g. supports, auxiliary layers characterised by backside coating or layers, by lubricating-slip layers or means, by oxygen barrier layers or by stripping-release layers or means

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Architecture (AREA)
  • Structural Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Exposure And Positioning Against Photoresist Photosensitive Materials (AREA)
  • Laminated Bodies (AREA)
  • Exposure Of Semiconductors, Excluding Electron Or Ion Beam Exposure (AREA)

Abstract

A process for the production of structured layers of a positive photo- lacquer on a substrate, without disturbing interference effects, wherein, in order to reduce the effect of differing intensity input coupling during the exposure of the photo-lacquer, prior to the exposure step, the photo-lacquer layer is provided with at least one additional, light transmissive layer, the thickness ds and refractive index ns of this layer being so matched to the wavelength lambda s, of the light employed for exposure in the additional layer, that light waves reflected by the surface of the substrate are, so far as possible, prevented from being reflected back in the incident direction into the photo-lacquer layer (i.e. the virtual extinction of the reflected waves). The invention is particularly suitable for producing structured photo-lacquer layers on semiconductor substrates for use in IC-manufacture.

Description

SPECIFICATION Process for the production of structured positive photo-lacquer layers on a substrate This invention relates to a process for the production of structured positive photo-lacquer layers on substrates, particularly for use in the production of integrated semi-conductor circuits in a semiconductor wafer.
In semiconductor technology, such processes are used to produce masks for photo-lacquer layers. A process of this kind is described, for example, in our U.K. Patent Specification No. 1,548,017. In this process, structures are produced in positive photo-lacquer layers on a reflective semiconductor substrate, in particular is provided with a substrate whose surface has a stepped profile, by applying a positive photo-lacquer layer to the substrate surface, exposing zones of the layer and developing the layer by removing the exposed zones.
In order to adhere to narrow tolerances as regards the lateral dimensions that the light intensity in the exposed zones should be as equal as possible, i.e. fluctuations in the intensity either within an exposed zone, or between one exposed zone and another, are undesirable. When a positive photo-lacquer is used, a higher intensity leads to the formation of photo-lacquer structures of reduced dimensions after development, and thus to variations in the electrical parameters or even to the breakdown of semiconductor components produced using the structures layer as a mask.
The intensity of the light which is "input coupled" into the photo-lacquer layer during exposure can, however, fluctuate locally, even when the intensity of the light which strikes the zones which are to be exposed is the same over all these zones. The cause of this differing input coupling lies in interference effects which are particularly marked when monochromatic light is used for exposure. The origin of the intensity fluctuations which produce the interference effects may be traced to variations in the thickness of the photo-lacquer layer (even slight variations in thickness of 50 nm can lead to intensity fluctuations by a factor of up to 2).
In the process described in U.K. Patent Specification No. 1,548,017, previously referred to, non-uniform structure widths resulting from differences in thickness of the photo-lacquer layer are avoided by prior to the actual exposure step, subjecting the entire surface of the layer to a uniform preliminary exposure and development using monochromatic light of an intensity which is at least half an order of magnitude smaller than the mean intensity of the light used during the main exposure step. The duration of the preliminary exposure is made sufficiently short as to ensure that, at those points at which the lacquer thickness amounts to a whole-number multiple of half the wavelength of the monochromatic light used, the removal rate is smaller than at those points at which the lacquer thickness amounts to an odd-numbered multiple of a quarter of this wavelength.The preliminary development time is so selected that, at those points at which the lacquer thickness is an odd-numbered multiple of one quarter of the wavelength, the lacquer thickness is reduced by an odd-numbered multiple of a quarter of the wavelength. Thereafter the main exposure step to produce the structures is carried out using light of a wavelength with which only intensity minima occur at the lacquer layer surface.
The effect of varying intensity input coupling into the photo-lacquer layer can also be reduced by using for exposure light of a wide wavelength or by using light of a plurality of wavelengths (see R.M. Finnila, S.C. Su and A.J. Braunstein, Soc. Photoopt. Instrum., Eng. J., Vol. 55, page 68(1974)).
It is also known that the effect of differing intensity input coupling in the photo-lacquer layer is less marked, the less reflective is the semiconductor substrate, the thicker is the photo-lacquer layer, and the better the photo-lacquer layer absorbs light (see D. Widmann, H. Binder: "Line-width Variations in Photoresist Patterns on Profiled Surfaces", IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. ED-22, No. 7, pp 467-471 (1975)).
It is an object of the present invention to provide a process for the production of structured positive photolacquer layers on substrates by the use of which variations in the lateral dimensions of the structures formed caused by differing intensity input coupling into the photo-lacquer layer are reduced in a simple way.
According to the invention, there is provided a process for the production of a structured layer of a positive photo-lacquer layer on a substrate, comprising the steps of exposing selected zones of said layer to monochromatic light, and subsequently developing the exposed layer, wherein, in order to reduce the effect of differing intensity light input-coupling during exposure, at least one additional light-transmissive layer is provided on or under said photo-lacquer layer, the or each said additional layer having a thickness ds and a refractive index n, so selected in dependence on the wavelength A5 of the light used for exposure in said additional layer, that further reflection in the incident direction into said photo-active layer of light waves reflected from the suubstrate surface is substantially reduced.
The thickness ds and the refractive index n, of the additional layer or layers may satisfy the following conditions: 1X ds (m = nS~n, + 1 2 where m is a positive whole number, X3 is the wavelength of the light used for exposure in the additional layer, and nL is the refractive index of the photo-lacquer.
Alternatively, one or more additional layers may be used having a thickness of d, =m~ls do= 2 where m is a positive whole number and the refraction index n, is approximately equal to 1.7 nL.
The additional layer or layers may be applied to the free surface of the photo-lacquer layer arranged on the substrate. However it is alternatively possible first to apply the additional layer or layers having a suitable thickness and refractive index directly to the substrate surface, and then to apply the photo-lacquer layer.
Instead of a single layer of a material having a constant refractive index, the additional layer may consist of a plurality of thin films having differing refractive indices, the thicknesses of the individual films and their refractive indices being so combined that they have the same effect as an individual layer as previously described.
The invention will now be further described with reference to the drawing, in which :- Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a conventional positive photo-lacquer layer on a substrate during exposure in which an additional layer is not used; and Figure 2 is a similar view to that of Figure 1 of a photo-lacquer layer and an additional layer on a substrate during the exposure step of a process according to the invention.
Referring to Figure 1, in a conventional process for the production of a structured photo-lacquer layer on a substrate, an unexposed positive photo-lacquer layer 5 arranged on a reflective substrate 4, is exposed through a suitable mask to monochromatic light and the exposed photo-lacquer layer subsequently developed, the exposed zones thereof being dissolved away.
As shown in Figure 1, an incoming light wave 1 is partially reflected at the surface of the substrate 4 to form a reflected wave 2 and this is similarly partially reflected at the surface of the photo-lacquer layer 5 to form a further reflected wave 3. Depending upon the phase relationship between the waves 1 and 3, light will be input-coupled into the photo-lacquer layer Sat different intensities. The maximum input-coupling occurs in the case of phase-equality between the waves 1 and 3. This occurs when the thickness dL of the layer 5 satisfies the equation: dL = (m-) where m is a positive whole number, and BL is the wavelength of the light used for exposure in the photo-lacquer 5.BL is given by Av/nL, where Xv is the wavelength of the exposure light in vacuum and nL is the refractive index of the photo-lacquer.
For the reflected waves 2 and 3, the amplitudes of the electric field vectors of the waves will be assumed to be E2 and E3 respectively.
In accordance with the Fresnel equation: E3 = nL - 1 E2 nL +1 As an example, in the case of the photo-lacquer AZ 1350 manufactured by the Shipley Company for a wavelength Av = 436 nm., nL = 1.68. Accordingly for this photo-lacquer at this wavelength, E3/E2 = 0.254.
Referring now to Figure 2, in accordance with the invention, an additional light-transmissive layer 6, having a thickness ds and a refractive index nS, is applied to the free surface of the photo-lacquer layer 5. An incident light wave 1 is reflected at the surface of the substrate 5 as a reflected light wave 2. At the interface between the layers 5 and 6, a part of this wave 2 is reflected back into layer 5 as a reflected wave 3' whilst the remainder passes through the interface as a light wave 2' in the layer 6. A part of this wave 2' escapes from the surface of the layer 6, whilst the remainder is reflected into the layer 6 as a reflected wave 2". At the interface between the layers 6 and 5, a part of this wave 2" is reflected back into the layer 6, whilst the remainder passes through the interface into the layer 5 as a wave 3".
The calculations of the electric field vector ratios for the waves 3' and 3" can be carried out using the Fresnel equations as follows assuming that n, (the refractive index of the material of the layer 6 is approximately equal to nL + 1/2): E3 ~ nL~ns~ nL - 1 E2 nLf ns 3nL + 1 E2 = 1#E3 = 2nL + 2 E2 E2 3nL + 1 E2" E2 n, + 1 nL + 3 Er E2,, E2 (nL - - (n#-l)(2n#+2) E2 E2 E2 (nL + 3) (3nL + 1) As an example, when nL = 1.68 (as is the case for the photo-lacquer AZ1350 referred to above), n, may lie between 1.25 and 1.4.
E3.- ~ E2- ~ 2nL + 2 E2-- E2 3nL + 1 E3" = E3,,E ~ (2nL + 2)2(nL - 1) E2 E2.,E2 (3nL l)2(nL+3) When ds = (m 1 Xs - 2b6 ,where mis a positive whole number, the waves E3 and E3, are opposed in phase.
Then E3 E3.,-E3 ~ (2nL+2)(nL-1) ~ (nL - 1) E2 = E2 (3nL + 1)(nL + 3) (3nL + 1) When nL = 1.68 (i.e. for AZ1350 H) : E3 ~ E3" - E3=01144#01125=00019 E2 E2 In comparison with the situation where no additional light-transmissive layer 6 is arranged above the photo-lacquer layer 5, the wave 3 (i.e. the sum of the waves 3' and 3") is virtually entirely extinguished.
The additional light-transmissive layer 6, which has a thickness in the range of room 30 to 100 nm, and which is applied either to the surface of the photo-lacquer layer 5, or between the photo-lacquer layer 5 and the semiconductor substrate 4, may be of an organic or inorganic material preferably consisting of one or more fluorides and may be applied by centrifugal coating, by dip coating or by gas phase deposition, e.g.
using a plasma from a reactive gas, such as CF4, CCIF3, SiF4, C2F6, Cl2 or BCl3, or by a vacuum coating process. The additional layer or layers must either be removed prior to or after development of the lacquer, depending on whether the additional layer is above or below the lacquer layer, by solution in a solvent which does not attach the lacquer, or must be soluble in the developer used.
In contrast to the process disclosed in U.K. Patent No. 1,548,017, the process of the invention is characterised by its simplicity and by the reproducibility of the results obtained by its use.

Claims (15)

1. A process for the production of a structured layer of a positive photo-lacquer layer on a substrate, comprising the steps of exposing selected zones of said layer to monochromatic light, and subsequently developing the exposed layer, wherein, in order to reduce the effect of differing intensity light input-coupling during exposure, at least one additional light-transmissive layer is provided on or under said photo-lacquer layer, the or each said additional layer having a thickness ds and a refractive index n, so selected in dependence on the wavelength #s of the light used for exposure in said additional layer, that further reflection in the incident direction into said photo-active layer of light waves reflected from the substrate surface is substantially reduced.
2. A process as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said substrate is a semiconductor wafer and said structured layer is to be used as a mask in the manufacture of an integrated circuit in said wafer.
3. A process as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the thickness ds and the refractive index n, of the additionall layer or layers satisfy the equations: ds = (m - 1/2) ~ As/2 and n, = (nL + 1)/2, where m is a positive whole number, and nL is the refractive index of said photo-lacquer.
4. A process as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the thickness ds and the refractive index n, of the additional layer or layers satisfy the equations: ds = m . 2 and no =1.7 nL, where m is a positive whole number, and ;7L is the refractive index of said photo-lacquer.
5. A process as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the additional layer or layers is or are applied on the surface photo-lacquer layer, which is itself directly applied to the substrate.
6. A process as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the additional layer or layers is or are directly applied to the surface of the substrate, and the photo-lacquer layer is applied on said additional layer or layers.
7. A process as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the or each additional layer consists of an organic or inorganic material having a smaller refractive index than that of the photo-lacquer, which material can either be removed prior to the development of the exposed photo-lacquer layer by means of a solvent to which the photo-lacquer layer is resistant, or alternatively is soluble in the developer used to develop the photo-lacquer layer.
8. A process as claimed in Claim 7, wherein said material consists of one or more fluorides.
9. A process as claimed in Claim 8 wherein said fluoride or fluorides is or are selected from alkali metal fluorides and magnesium fluoride.
10. A process as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the or each said additional layer is applied by centrifugal coating, by dipping, by gas phase deposition, or by vacuum coating.
11. A process as claimed in Claim 10 as dependent on any of Claims 1 to 8, wherein the or each said additional layer consists of the reaction product or products of a reactive gas plasma.
12. A process as claimed in Claim 11, wherein said plasma is produced from one or more of the gases CF4, CCI F3, SiF4, C2F5, Cl2 and BCI3.
13. A process as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the thickness of the additional layer or layers is in the range of from 30 to 100 nm.
14. A process for the production of a structured layer of a positive photo-lacquer on a substrate, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2 of the drawing.
15. A structured layer of a positive photo-lacquer on a substrate produced by a process as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 14.
GB8009923A 1979-03-23 1980-03-24 Process for the production of structured positive photo-lacquer layers on a substrate Withdrawn GB2046463A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE19792911503 DE2911503A1 (en) 1979-03-23 1979-03-23 METHOD FOR PRODUCING STRUCTURES FROM POSITIVE PHOTO PAINT LAYERS WITHOUT INTERFERING INTERFERENCE EFFECTS

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JP (1) JPS55129342A (en)
DE (1) DE2911503A1 (en)
FR (1) FR2452118A1 (en)
GB (1) GB2046463A (en)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2129217A (en) * 1982-11-01 1984-05-10 Western Electric Co Photolithography
JPS6038821A (en) * 1983-08-12 1985-02-28 Hitachi Ltd Etching method
EP0522990A1 (en) * 1991-06-28 1993-01-13 International Business Machines Corporation Top antireflective coating films
WO2023177535A3 (en) * 2022-03-16 2023-11-02 Amcor Flexibles North America, Inc. Film structures having improved optical properties

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE19852852A1 (en) * 1998-11-11 2000-05-18 Inst Halbleiterphysik Gmbh Lithographic process used in emitter structuring of bipolar transistors comprises forming photo-lacquer layer on antireflection layer on substrate and etching

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1622302A1 (en) * 1968-02-01 1970-10-29 Telefunken Patent Process for the photographic transfer of structures onto semiconductor bodies
US3884698A (en) * 1972-08-23 1975-05-20 Hewlett Packard Co Method for achieving uniform exposure in a photosensitive material on a semiconductor wafer
US3982943A (en) * 1974-03-05 1976-09-28 Ibm Corporation Lift-off method of fabricating thin films and a structure utilizable as a lift-off mask

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2129217A (en) * 1982-11-01 1984-05-10 Western Electric Co Photolithography
JPS6038821A (en) * 1983-08-12 1985-02-28 Hitachi Ltd Etching method
JPH0455323B2 (en) * 1983-08-12 1992-09-03 Hitachi Ltd
EP0522990A1 (en) * 1991-06-28 1993-01-13 International Business Machines Corporation Top antireflective coating films
US5744537A (en) * 1991-06-28 1998-04-28 International Business Machines Corporation Antireflective coating films
WO2023177535A3 (en) * 2022-03-16 2023-11-02 Amcor Flexibles North America, Inc. Film structures having improved optical properties

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Publication number Publication date
DE2911503A1 (en) 1980-09-25
JPS55129342A (en) 1980-10-07
FR2452118A1 (en) 1980-10-17

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