METHOD FOR REMOVING IMPLANTED PHOTO RESIST FROM HARD DISK DRIVE SUBSTRATES
First Claim
1. A method of removing a resist layer from a magnetically active substrate, comprising:
- providing a gas mixture comprising a reagent gas comprising fluorine, an oxidizing gas, and a reducing gas to a processing chamber;
forming an inductive plasma from the gas mixture by applying energy selected from the group consisting of RF energy, pulsed DC energy, and microwave energy to the gas mixture; and
etching the resist layer by immersing the magnetically active substrate in the plasma.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of removing resist material from a substrate having a magnetically active surface is provided. The substrate is disposed in a processing chamber and exposed to a fluorine-containing plasma formed from a gas mixture having a reagent, an oxidizing agent, and a reducing agent. A cleaning agent may also be included. The substrate may be cooled by back-side cooling or by a cooling process wherein a cooling medium is provided to the processing chamber while the plasma treatment is suspended. Substrates may be flipped over for two-sided processing, and multiple substrates may be processed concurrently.
46 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of removing a resist layer from a magnetically active substrate, comprising:
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providing a gas mixture comprising a reagent gas comprising fluorine, an oxidizing gas, and a reducing gas to a processing chamber; forming an inductive plasma from the gas mixture by applying energy selected from the group consisting of RF energy, pulsed DC energy, and microwave energy to the gas mixture; and etching the resist layer by immersing the magnetically active substrate in the plasma. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of processing a substrate having a magnetically active layer and a resist layer contacting the magnetically active layer, the method comprising:
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applying energy selected from the group consisting of RF energy, pulsed DC energy, and microwave energy to a gas mixture comprising fluorine to form a plasma; and exposing the resist layer to the plasma while maintaining the magnetic characteristics of the magnetically active layer in a substantially unchanged state. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of processing a substrate in a processing chamber, the substrate having a magnetically active layer and a resist layer disposed thereon, the method comprising:
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implanting ions into the magnetically active layer and the resist layer; performing a resist removal process on the substrate, the resist removal process comprising; immersing the substrate in a plasma at a first pressure, the plasma comprising one or more elements from the group consisting of fluorine and nitrogen; applying a bias energy between about 0 W and about 100 W to the substrate; discontinuing the plasma and purging the processing chamber; exposing the substrate to a non-reactive gas at a second pressure greater than the first pressure; purging the non-reactive gas from the processing chamber; and repeating the resist removal process until the resist layer is removed; and exposing the substrate to a cleaning agent, wherein the implanting, repeated resist removal process, and exposure to the cleaning agent are performed in the same processing chamber. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for processing a substrate having a magnetically active surface, comprising:
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a processing chamber having an interior portion; a substrate support disposed in the interior portion of the processing chamber for exposing the magnetically active surface of the substrate to a processing environment; an inductive plasma source coupled to a lid region of the processing chamber; a fluorine gas source, a nitrogen gas source, a hydrogen gas source, and an oxygen gas source coupled to the lid region of the processing chamber; and a source of RF power coupled to the inductive plasma source.
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Specification