Method of suppressing the effect of shining spots present at the edge of a wafer
First Claim
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1. A method of protecting devices formed in a substrate from shining spots present in a periphery of said substrate, said method comprising:
- forming a ring of material atop said substrate to separate said periphery of said substrate from a further region of said substrate wherein said devices are formed.
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Abstract
Devices formed in a substrate are protected from shining spots present in a periphery of the substrate. A ring of material is formed on the substrate to separate the periphery of the substrate from a further region of the substrate where the devices are formed.
17 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of protecting devices formed in a substrate from shining spots present in a periphery of said substrate, said method comprising:
forming a ring of material atop said substrate to separate said periphery of said substrate from a further region of said substrate wherein said devices are formed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of forming at least one device in a substrate, said method comprising:
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depositing a layer of resist atop said substrate;
patterning said layer of resist to form a ring of resist atop said substrate, said ring of resist separating a periphery of said substrate from a further region of said substrate thereby protecting devices formed in said further region of said substrate from shining spots present in said periphery of said substrate;
depositing a further layer of resist atop said substrate and atop said ring of resist; and
patterning said further layer of resist to form at least one patterned region within said further region of said substrate. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A semiconductor device formed in a substrate, said semiconductor device being formed by a method comprising:
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depositing a layer of resist atop said substrate;
patterning said layer of resist to form a ring of resist atop said substrate, said ring of resist defining a separation region that separates a periphery of said substrate from a further region of said substrate thereby protecting devices formed in said further region of said substrate from shining spots present in said periphery of said substrate;
depositing a further layer of resist atop said substrate; and
patterning said further layer of resist to form at least one patterned region within said further region of said substrate. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of forming at least one device in a substrate, said method comprising:
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depositing a pad oxide layer atop said substrate;
depositing a pad nitride layer atop said pad oxide layer;
depositing a hard mask layer atop said nitride layer;
depositing a layer of resist atop said hard mask layer;
patterning said layer of resist to form a ring of resist, said ring of resist separating a periphery of said substrate from a further region of said substrate thereby protecting devices formed in said further region of said substrate from shining spots present in said periphery of said substrate;
depositing a further layer of resist atop said hard mask layer and atop said ring of resist;
patterning said further layer of resist to form at least one patterned region within said further region of said substrate, said ring of resist being of sufficient thickness that a region of said further layer of resist that is atop said ring of resist is not patterned;
etching said hard mask layer using said patterned further layer of resist and said ring of resist as an etch mask; and
etching at least one trench region in said substrate using said hard mask layer and said ring of resist as an etch mask, said ring of resist being of sufficient thickness that a region of said hard mask layer that is beneath said ring of resist remains after said trench region is etched.
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24. A semiconductor device formed in a substrate, said semiconductor device being formed by a method comprising:
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depositing a pad oxide layer atop said substrate;
depositing a pad nitride layer atop said pad oxide layer;
depositing a hard mask layer atop said nitride layer;
depositing a layer of resist atop said hard mask layer;
patterning said layer of resist to form a ring of resist, said ring of resist defining a separation region that separates a periphery of said substrate from a further region of said substrate thereby protecting devices formed in said further region of said substrate from shining spots present in said periphery of said substrate;
depositing a further layer of resist atop said hard mask layer and atop said ring of resist;
patterning said further layer of resist to form at least one patterned region within said further region of said substrate, said ring of resist being of sufficient thickness that a region of said further layer of resist that is atop said ring of resist is not patterned;
etching said hard mask layer using said patterned further layer of resist and said ring of resist as an etch mask; and
etching at least one trench region in said substrate using said hard mask layer and said ring of resist as an etch mask, said ring of resist being of sufficient thickness that a region of said hard mask layer that is beneath said ring of resist remains after said trench region is etched.
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25. A semiconductor device structure formed in a substrate, said semiconductor device structure comprising:
a separation region that separates at least one device region from a periphery of the substrate having shining spots formed therein.
Specification