Method for reducing resist poisoning during patterning of silicon nitride layers in a semiconductor device
First Claim
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1. A method, comprising:
- forming a first stress-inducing layer above a first transistor and a second transistor, wherein forming said first stress-inducing layer comprises depositing a stressed material layer and forming an etch indicator layer thereon;
performing a plasma treatment on said first stress-inducing layer for densifying a surface thereof;
forming a first resist mask above said first stress-inducing layer having said densified surface to cover said first transistor, said first resist mask exposing a portion of said first stress-inducing layer; and
removing said exposed portion of said first stress-inducing layer from above said second transistor.
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Abstract
By performing a plasma treatment for efficiently sealing the surface of a stressed dielectric layer containing silicon nitride, an enhanced performance during the patterning of contact openings may be achieved, since nitrogen-induced resist poisoning may be significantly reduced during the selective patterning of stressed layers of different types of intrinsic stress.
371 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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forming a first stress-inducing layer above a first transistor and a second transistor, wherein forming said first stress-inducing layer comprises depositing a stressed material layer and forming an etch indicator layer thereon; performing a plasma treatment on said first stress-inducing layer for densifying a surface thereof; forming a first resist mask above said first stress-inducing layer having said densified surface to cover said first transistor, said first resist mask exposing a portion of said first stress-inducing layer; and removing said exposed portion of said first stress-inducing layer from above said second transistor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method, comprising:
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forming a silicon nitride containing material layer above a device area of a semiconductor device; forming an etch indicator layer on said silicon nitride containing material layer; performing a plasma treatment in an oxidizing ambient to modify a surface of said silicon nitride containing material layer; forming a resist mask above said plasma treated silicon nitride containing material layer; and performing an etch process on the basis of said resist mask. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method, comprising:
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forming a first stress-inducing layer having a first type of intrinsic stress above a first device region and a second device region, wherein forming said first stress-inducing layer comprises forming an etch indicator layer; forming a first resist mask above said first stress-inducing layer, said first resist mask exposing said second device region and covering said first device region; selectively removing said first stress-inducing layer from above said second device region; forming a second stress-inducing layer having a second type of intrinsic stress above said first and second device regions; forming a second resist mask above said second stress-inducing layer, said second resist mask exposing said first device region and covering said second device region; and performing at least one plasma treatment at least prior to forming said second resist mask. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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Specification