Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100022091 | METHOD FOR PLASMA ETCHING POROUS LOW-K DIELECTRIC LAYERS - Described herein are methods and apparatuses for etching low-k dielectric layers to form various interconnect structures. In one embodiment, the method includes forming an opening in a resist layer. The method further includes etching a porous low-k dielectric layer with a process gas mixture that includes a fluorocarbon gas and a carbon dioxide (CO | 01-28-2010 |
20100043821 | METHOD OF PHOTORESIST REMOVAL IN THE PRESENCE OF A LOW-K DIELECTRIC LAYER - Described herein are methods and apparatus for removing photoresist in the presence of low-k dielectric layers. In one embodiment, the method includes exciting a first mixture of gases having a ratio of a flow rate of reducing process gas to a flow rate of an oxygen-containing process gas that is between 1:1 and 100:1 to generate a first reactive gas mixture. Next, the method includes exposing the photoresist layer that overlays the low-k dielectric layer on a substrate to the first reactive gas mixture to selectively remove the photoresist layer from the dielectric layer. Next, the method includes exposing the photoresist layer to a second reactive gas mixture to selectively remove the photoresist layer from the dielectric layer. The first and second reactive gas mixtures contain substantially no ions when the substrate is exposed to these mixtures in order to minimize damage to the low-k dielectric layer. | 02-25-2010 |
20100078825 | METHOD FOR FABRICATING INTERCONNECT STRUCTURES FOR SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES - Described herein are methods for fabricating dual-damascene interconnect structures. In one embodiment, the interconnect structures are fabricated with a dual-damascene method having trenches then vias formed. The method includes novel liner depositions after the trench and via etches. The method includes etching trenches in a dielectric layer. Next, the method includes depositing a first liner layer on the dielectric layer. Next, the method includes etching vias in the dielectric layer and an etch stop layer. Next, the method includes depositing a second liner layer on the first liner layer. The second liner layer is deposited on the exposed surfaces of the first liner layer, dielectric layer, etch stop layer, and the first metal layer. Then, a second metal layer is deposited on the second liner layer. | 04-01-2010 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110079918 | PLASMA-BASED ORGANIC MASK REMOVAL WITH SILICON FLUORIDE - Removal of organic mask material from an etched dielectric film with an etchant gas mixture including silicon fluoride (SiF | 04-07-2011 |
20110253670 | METHODS FOR ETCHING SILICON-BASED ANTIREFLECTIVE LAYERS - Methods for etching silicon-based antireflective layers are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method of etching a silicon-based antireflective layer may include providing to a process chamber a substrate having a multiple-layer resist thereon, the multiple-layer resist comprising a patterned photoresist layer defining features to be etched into the substrate disposed above a silicon-based antireflective coating; and etching the silicon-based antireflective layer through the patterned photoresist layer using a plasma formed from a process gas having a primary reactive agent comprising a chlorine-containing gas. In some embodiments, the chlorine-containing gas is chlorine (Cl | 10-20-2011 |
20130040464 | METHOD OF PATTERNING A LOW-K DIELECTRIC FILM - Methods of patterning low-k dielectric films are described. | 02-14-2013 |
20140017898 | METHOD OF PATTERNING A LOW-K DIELECTRIC FILM - Methods of patterning low-k dielectric films are described. In an example, a method of patterning a low-k dielectric film involves forming and patterning a mask layer above a low-k dielectric layer. The low-k dielectric layer is disposed above a substrate. The method also involves modifying exposed portions of the low-k dielectric layer with a plasma process. The method also involves, in the same operation, removing, with a remote plasma process, the modified portions of the low-k dielectric layer selective to the mask layer and unmodified portions of the low-k dielectric layer. | 01-16-2014 |
20140120726 | METHOD OF PATTERNING A LOW-K DIELECTRIC FILM - Methods of patterning low-k dielectric films are described. In an example, a method of patterning a low-k dielectric film involves forming and patterning a mask layer above a low-k dielectric layer, the low-k dielectric layer disposed above a substrate. The method also involves modifying exposed portions of the low-k dielectric layer with a nitrogen-free plasma process. The method also involves removing, with a remote plasma process, the modified portions of the low-k dielectric layer selective to the mask layer and unmodified portions of the low-k dielectric layer. | 05-01-2014 |
20140170856 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ETCHING PLURAL LAYERS ON A WORKPIECE INCLUDING A LOWER LAYER CONTAINING AN ADVANCED MEMORY MATERIAL - Etching of a thin film stack including a lower thin film layer containing an advanced memory material is carried out in an inductively coupled plasma reactor having a dielectric RF window without exposing the lower thin film layer, and then the etch process is completed in a toroidal source plasma reactor. | 06-19-2014 |
20140199851 | METHOD OF PATTERNING A SILICON NITRIDE DIELECTRIC FILM - Methods of patterning silicon nitride dielectric films are described. For example, a method of isotropically etching a dielectric film involves partially modifying exposed regions of a silicon nitride layer with an oxygen-based plasma process to provide a modified portion and an unmodified portion of the silicon nitride layer. The method also involves removing, selective to the unmodified portion, the modified portion of the silicon nitride layer with a second plasma process. | 07-17-2014 |
20140308758 | PATTERNING MAGNETIC MEMORY - Methods of forming material junctions for magnetic memory devices are described. The methods involve providing a material stack including a bottom magnetic tunneling junction layer, a tunneling barrier layer, and a top magnetic tunneling junction layer (from bottom to top) on a substrate. The top magnetic tunneling junction layer is patterned to form a top magnetic tunneling junction and then a dielectric spacer layer may be formed over the top magnetic tunneling junction. The dielectric spacer is etched to leave a vertical dielectric spacer to maintain electrical separation between the top magnetic tunneling junction and the bottom magnetic tunneling junction during and following subsequent etching/processing. In an alternative embodiment the spacer layer is lithographically defined. | 10-16-2014 |
20140342569 | NEAR SURFACE ETCH SELECTIVITY ENHANCEMENT - A method of selectively dry etching exposed substrate material on patterned heterogeneous structures is described. The method includes a plasma process prior to a remote plasma etch. The plasma process may use a biased plasma to treat an untreated substrate portion in a preferred direction to form a treated substrate portion. Subsequently, a remote plasma is formed using a fluorine-containing precursor to etch the treated substrate portion using the plasma effluents. By implementing biased plasma processes, the normally isotropic etch may be transformed into a directional (anisotropic) etch despite the remote nature of the plasma excitation during the etch process. | 11-20-2014 |
20150056814 | METHODS FOR FORMING FEATURES IN A MATERIAL LAYER UTILIZING A COMBINATION OF A MAIN ETCHING AND A CYCLICAL ETCHING PROCESS - Methods for etching a material layer disposed on the substrate using a combination of a main etching step and a cyclical etching process are provided. The method includes performing a main etching process in a processing chamber to an oxide layer, forming a feature with a first predetermined depth in the oxide layer, performing a treatment process on the substrate by supplying a treatment gas mixture into the processing chamber to treat the etched feature in the oxide layer, performing a chemical etching process on the substrate by supplying a chemical etching gas mixture into the processing chamber, wherein the chemical etching gas includes at least an ammonium gas and a nitrogen trifluoride, wherein the chemical etching process further etches the feature to a second predetermined depth, and performing a transition process on the etched substrate by supplying a transition gas mixture into the processing chamber. | 02-26-2015 |
20150140827 | METHODS FOR BARRIER LAYER REMOVAL - Implementations described herein generally relate to semiconductor manufacturing and more particularly to methods for etching a low-k dielectric barrier layer disposed on a substrate using a non-carbon based approach. In one implementation, a method for etching a barrier low-k layer is provided. The method comprises (a) exposing a surface of the low-k barrier layer to a treatment gas mixture to modify at least a portion of the low-k barrier layer and (b) chemically etching the modified portion of the low-k barrier layer by exposing the modified portion to a chemical etching gas mixture, wherein the chemical etching gas mixture includes at least an ammonium gas and a nitrogen trifluoride gas or at least a hydrogen gas and a nitrogen trifluoride gas. | 05-21-2015 |
20150380215 | METHOD OF PATTERNING A LOW-K DIELECTRIC FILM - Methods of patterning low-k dielectric films are described. In an example, a method of patterning a low-k dielectric film involves forming and patterning a mask layer above a low-k dielectric layer, the low-k dielectric layer disposed above a substrate. The method also involves modifying exposed portions of the low-k dielectric layer with a nitrogen-free plasma process. The method also involves removing, with a remote plasma process, the modified portions of the low-k dielectric layer selective to the mask layer and unmodified portions of the low-k dielectric layer. | 12-31-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090130856 | METHOD FOR MONITORING PROCESS DRIFT USING PLASMA CHARACTERISTICS - Methods for monitoring process drift using plasma characteristics are provided. In one embodiment, a method for monitoring process drift using plasma characteristics includes obtaining metrics of current and voltage information of a first waveform coupled to a plasma during a plasma process formed on a substrate, obtaining metrics of current and voltage information of a second waveform coupled to the plasma during the plasma process formed on the substrate, the first and second waveforms having different frequencies, determining at least one characteristic of the plasma using the metrics obtained from each different frequency waveform, and adjusting the plasma process in response to the determined at least one characteristic of the plasma. | 05-21-2009 |
20120077344 | METHOD OF PATTERNING A LOW-K DIELECTRIC FILM - Methods of patterning low-k dielectric films are described. | 03-29-2012 |
20130023123 | METHOD OF REMOVING A PHOTORESIST FROM A LOW-K DIELECTRIC FILM - Methods of removing photoresists from low-k dielectric films are described. For example, a method includes forming and patterning a photoresist layer above a low-k dielectric layer, the low-k dielectric layer disposed above a substrate. Trenches are formed in the exposed portions of the low-k dielectric layer. A plurality of process cycles is performed to remove the photoresist layer. Each process cycle includes forming a silicon source layer on surfaces of the trenches of the low-k dielectric layer, and exposing the photoresist layer to an oxygen source to form an Si—O-containing layer on the surfaces of the trenches of the low-k dielectric layer and to remove at least a portion of the photoresist layer. | 01-24-2013 |
20150064921 | LOW TEMPERATURE PLASMA ANNEAL PROCESS FOR SUBLIMATIVE ETCH PROCESSES - Methods for etching a material layer disposed on the substrate using a low temperature etching process along with a subsequent low temperature plasma annealing process are provided. In one embodiment, a method for etching a material layer disposed on a substrate includes transferring a substrate having a material layer disposed thereon into an etching processing chamber, supplying an etching gas mixture into the processing chamber, remotely generating a plasma in the etching gas mixture to etch the material layer disposed on the substrate, and plasma annealing the material layer at a substrate temperature less than 100 degrees Celsius. | 03-05-2015 |
20150079798 | METHODS FOR ETCHING AN ETCHING STOP LAYERUTILIZING A CYCLICAL ETCHING PROCESS - Methods for etching an etching stop layer disposed on the substrate using a cyclical etching process are provided. In one embodiment, a method for etching an etching stop layer includes performing a treatment process on the substrate having a silicon nitride layer disposed thereon by supplying a treatment gas mixture into the processing chamber to treat the silicon nitride layer, and performing a chemical etching process on the substrate by supplying a chemical etching gas mixture into the processing chamber, wherein the chemical etching gas mixture includes at least an ammonium gas and a nitrogen trifluoride, wherein the chemical etching process etches the treated silicon nitride layer. | 03-19-2015 |
20150200042 | RECESSING ULTRA-LOW K DIELECTRIC USING REMOTE PLASMA SOURCE - A portion of the ultra-low k dielectric layer over a substrate is modified using a downstream plasma comprising a first chemistry. The modified portion of the ultra-low k dielectric layer is etched using the downstream plasma comprising a second chemistry. The downstream plasma is generated using a remote plasma source. | 07-16-2015 |
20150214101 | METHODS FOR ETCHING A DIELECTRIC BARRIER LAYER IN A DUAL DAMASCENE STRUCTURE - Methods for eliminating early exposure of a conductive layer in a dual damascene structure and for etching a dielectric barrier layer in the dual damascene structure are provided. In one embodiment, a method for etching a dielectric barrier layer disposed on a substrate includes patterning a substrate having a dielectric bulk insulating layer disposed on a dielectric barrier layer using a hardmask layer disposed on the dielectric bulk insulating layer as an etching mask, exposing a portion of the dielectric barrier layer after removing the dielectric bulk insulating layer uncovered by the dielectric bulk insulating layer, removing the hardmask layer from the substrate, and subsequently etching the dielectric barrier layer exposed by the dielectric bulk insulating layer. | 07-30-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20150235214 | User Authentication and Authorization - Systems, methods and apparatuses for authenticating a user and/or authorizing use of a reusable payment device associated with the user. In some examples, user identifying information, such as a checking account number, driver's license number, username, or the like, may be received. Based on this received information, a reusable payment device number associated with a reusable payment device of the user may be determined. This information may then be encrypted. Further, additional authenticating information may be received. For instance, a user personal identification number (PIN) may be received. The PIN may also be encrypted. The encrypted PIN and encrypted reusable payment device number may be analyzed to determine whether they are associated with the same reusable payment device. If so, a user may be authenticated. | 08-20-2015 |
20150334098 | Service Channel Authentication Processing Hub - A computer system receives a service request over a service channel from a user device, initiates a challenge to the user device to provide authentication information based on a set of authenticators, and determines an initial level of authentication. When the initial level of authentication is not sufficient for the service channel or protected resource, the apparatus generates a challenge to the user device with at least one additional authenticator and determines an achieved level of authentication based on the further authentication information. When the achieved level of authentication reaches a target authentication level for the service channel, the apparatus continues processing the service request by the service channel. The computer may transfer the service request to another service channel with the authentication token obtained on the original service channel and further challenges the user device with additional authenticators when a higher level of authentication is necessary. | 11-19-2015 |
20150334099 | Service Channel Authentication Token - A computer system receives an authentication request from a user device and determines a determined device identification from a set of received device attributes. When the device is properly authenticated, the computer system generates an authentication token that is signed by the determined device identification and returns the authentication token to the user device. When the computer system subsequently receives a service request with an authentication token and a plurality of device attributes for a protected resource from a user device, the computer system determines a derived device identification from some or all of the received device attributes. When a signed device identification of the authentication token and the derived device identification are equal, the apparatus continues processing the service request. Otherwise, the service request is rejected. | 11-19-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100319824 | TIRE HAVING ENHANCED OZONE RESISTANCE - The present invention includes rubber compositions, rubber articles and tires formulated to prevent ozone attack. A particular embodiment of the present invention includes a tire comprising a rubber structure, the rubber structure comprising an essentially unsaturated rubber elastomer, between 0.1 and 0.45 phr (parts by weight per hundred parts by weight of the rubber elastomer) of a particular compound 2,4,6-Tris-(N-1,4-dimethylpentyl-p-phenylenediamino)-1,3,5-triazine and between 0.5 and 2 phr of a phenolic resin. | 12-23-2010 |
20110172365 | RUBBER WITH RECYCLED CONTENT - Rubber compositions, methods of making rubber compositions and articles comprising the rubber compositions that have crumb rubber particles in the rubber compositions. A cross-linked rubber composition, comprising a diene rubber and a masterbatch material comprising between 50 and 75 wt. % natural rubber and between 25 and 50 wt. % crumb rubber particles, wherein the crumb rubber particles are 40 mesh or smaller. A method for preparing a rubber composition having crumb rubber, the method comprising mixing a masterbatch, the masterbatch comprising between 50 and 75 wt. % natural rubber and between 25 and 50 wt. % crumb rubber particles and mixing the masterbatch with a diene rubber. | 07-14-2011 |