Integrated Aqueous/Ozone Process far Plasma Etch Residue and Photoresist Removal

摘要

A completely aqueous process for the removal of post plasma etch and photoresist residues combines Arch Chemicals Microstrip 5002 with an ambient temperature, boundary layer ozone/DI water rinse. The integrated process, called MicrOzone, is designed to follow a downstream oxygen ash process for photoresist removal and is implemented in a Semitool Spray Solvent Tool. This process was tested on post via etch and post metal etch device structures. Microstrip 5002 effectively removes post plasma etch residue, but has no resist removal capability. The results demonstrate that the ambient temperature and boundary layer ozone/DI water rinse process offers efficient removal rates for post plasma etch and ash residues with no damage to devices for both via and metal levels. Advantages of this integrated process include improved process margin against incomplete photoresist ashing, reduced environmental impact, and both reduced costs and enhanced throughput, from the elimination of organic solvent intermediate rinse requirements and from the elimination of special disposal requirements.