Cluster tool and method for process integration in manufacturing of a photomask

• US 20070023390A1
• Filed: 09/12/2006
• Published: 02/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Inventors: Kumar, Ajay
• Granted Patent: US 7,838,433 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 216/41
• CPC Class Codes: C23F 4/00 Processes for removing metallic material from surfaces, not provided for in group C23F1/00 or C23F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 1/32 Attenuating PSM [att-PSM], e.g. halftone PSM or PSM having semi-transparent phase shift portion,; Preparation thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 1/80 Etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67069 for drying etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67207 comprising a chamber adapted to a particular process

Abstract

A method and apparatus for process integration in manufacture of a photomask are disclosed. In one embodiment, a cluster tool suitable for process integration in manufacture of a photomask including a vacuum transfer chamber having coupled thereto at least one hard mask deposition chamber and at least one plasma chamber configured for etching chromium. In another embodiment, a method for process integration in manufacture of a photomask includes depositing a hard mask on a substrate in a first processing chamber, depositing a resist layer on the substrate, patterning the resist layer, etching the hard mask through apertures formed in the patterned resist layer in a second chamber; and etching a chromium layer through apertures formed in the hard mask in a third chamber.

Claims

1. A method for fabricating a photomask, comprising:

forming a hard mask on a chromium layer disposed on a quartz substrate in a first processing chamber in a cluster tool;

depositing a patterned photoresist layer on the hard mask layer;

etching the hard mask layer through the patterned photoresist layer in a second processing chamber in the cluster system;

in-situ removing the patterned phtoresist layer on the hard mask layer in a second processing chamber;

etching the chromium layer to form a feature using the patterned hard mask layer as an etch mask in a third processing chamber in the cluster system; and

in-situ removing the hard mask layer in the third processing chamber.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

measuring critical dimensions of the feature formed on the substrate using a metrology module residing within the cluster tool.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the feature is defined in at least one of the photoresist layer, the hard mask layer, the chromium layer or the quartz layer.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of measuring further comprises:

transferring the substrate to an optical metrology device disposed in a factory interface of the cluster tool.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forming the hard mask further comprises:

forming an attenuating layer between the hard mask layer and the chromium layer.

6. A method for fabricating a photomask, comprising:

forming a hard mask on a chromium layer disposed on a quartz substrate;

depositing a first patterned photoresist layer on the hard mask layer;

etching the hard mask layer through the patterned photoresist;

removing the patterned photoresist layer on the hard mask layer;

etching the chromium layer using the patterned hard mask layer as an etch mask;

removing the hard mask layer in the third processing chamber;

forming a second patterned photoresist layer on the etched chromium layer;

etching the remaining etched chromium layer and a portion of the quartz substrate through the second patterned photoresist layer; and

removing the second patterned photoresist layer.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of forming the hard mask further comprises:

forming an attenuating layer between the hard mask layer and the chromium layer.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of removing the second patterned photoresist layer further comprises:

in-situ removing the second patterned photoresist layer while etching the remaining etched chromium layer and a portion of the quartz substrate.

9. A method for fabricating a photomask, comprising:

forming a hardmask on a chromium layer disposed on a quartz substrate in a first chamber of a cluster tool;

patterning a resist layer disposed on the hardmask;

etching the hardmask layer through the patterned resist layer in a second chamber of the cluster tool;

etching the chromium layer to form a feature through the hard mask layer in-situ the cluster tool; and

measuring critical dimensions of the feature using a metrology tool in-situ the cluster tool.