Method and apparatus for in-situ film stack processing
First Claim
1. A method for a processing film stack formed on a substrate, the film stack having at least a patterned photoresist layer having a thinner portion formed between thicker sections and disposed over an first metal layer, a first silicon layer underlying the first metal layer, a second silicon layer underlying the first silicon layer, and a second metal layer disposed between the second silicon layer and the substrate, wherein the thinner sections of the patterned photoresist layer is over the second metal layer, wherein the thickness difference between the thin and thick section is sufficient to leave the thicker section of the photoresist layer after the thinner section is removed by an ashing process, the method comprising:
- etching a portion of the first metal layer in a processing chamber exposed by the patterned photoresist layer to expose a portion of the first silicon layer; and
etching the exposed portion of the first silicon layer in the processing chamber.
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Abstract
Embodiments of a cluster tool, processing chamber and method for processing a film stack are provided. In one embodiment, a method for in-situ etching of silicon and metal layers of a film stack is provided that includes the steps of etching an upper metal layer of the film stack in a processing chamber to expose a portion of an underlying silicon layer, and etching a trench in the silicon layer without removing the substrate from the processing chamber. The invention is particularly useful for thin film transistor fabrication for flat panel displays.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method for a processing film stack formed on a substrate, the film stack having at least a patterned photoresist layer having a thinner portion formed between thicker sections and disposed over an first metal layer, a first silicon layer underlying the first metal layer, a second silicon layer underlying the first silicon layer, and a second metal layer disposed between the second silicon layer and the substrate, wherein the thinner sections of the patterned photoresist layer is over the second metal layer, wherein the thickness difference between the thin and thick section is sufficient to leave the thicker section of the photoresist layer after the thinner section is removed by an ashing process, the method comprising:
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etching a portion of the first metal layer in a processing chamber exposed by the patterned photoresist layer to expose a portion of the first silicon layer; and etching the exposed portion of the first silicon layer in the processing chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 31)
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27. A method in-situ etching of silicon and metal layers of a film stack, comprising:
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etching an upper metal layer of the film stack in a processing chamber to expose a portion of an underlying silicon layer; and etching a trench in the silicon layer without removing the substrate from the processing chamber. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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Specification