US-12628594-B2 - Method for selective etching by local photon surface activation

Abstract

A method for manufacturing semiconductor devices is disclosed. The method includes providing, in a chamber, a substate covered by a patterned mask. The method includes applying, in the chamber, radiation locally on a portion of the substate that is not covered by the patterned mask. The method includes etching, in the chamber, the portion of the substate through a dry etching process.

Inventors

• Sergey Voronin
• Qi Wang
• Hamed Hajibabaeinajafabadi

Assignees

• TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20230519

Claims (16)

1. 1 . A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: providing, in a chamber, a substrate covered by a patterned mask; applying, in the chamber, radiation locally on a first portion of the substrate that is not covered by the patterned mask and not applying radiation on a second portion that is not covered by the patterned mask, wherein applying the radiation modifies the portion of the substrate and increases a local etch rate of the portion relative to the second, unirradiated portion of the substrate; and etching, in the chamber, the first portion of the substrate and the second, unirradiated portion of the substrate through a dry etching process, concurrently with applying the radiation locally on and increasing the local etch rate of the first portion of the substrate that is not covered by the patterned mask.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate includes silicon.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the radiation includes ultraviolet radiation with a power density greater than about 6 mW/cm 2 .
4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the dry etching process includes at least one of: a reactive ion etching (RIE) process, an ion beam assisted etching (IBAE) process, or a reactive ion beam etching (RIBE) process.
5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: providing, in the chamber, a second substrate covered by a second patterned mask; and etching, in the chamber, a portion of the second substrate through the dry etching process, without applying the radiation on the second substrate.
6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein an area of the first portion of the substrate, to which the radiation is applied, is in a range from tens of micrometers to a plurality of centimeters.
7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: (a) ceasing applying the radiation locally on the first portion of the substrate, while etching the first portion and the second portion of the substrate; and (b) resuming applying the radiation locally on the first portion of the substrate, while ceasing etching the first portion and the second portion of the substrate.
8. 8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising repeating step (a) and step (b).
9. 9 . A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: providing a substrate covered by a patterned mask; identifying a first portion and a second portion of the substrate that are exposed by the patterned mask; applying radiation only on the first portion of the substrate, wherein applying the radiation modifies the portion of the substrate and increases a local etch rate of the first portion relative to the second portion of the substrate; and etching the first portion and second portion of the substrate through a dry etching process.
10. 10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the substrate includes silicon.
11. 11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the radiation includes ultraviolet radiation with a power density greater than about 6 mW/cm 2 .
12. 12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the dry etching process includes at least one of: a reactive ion etching (RIE) process, an ion beam assisted etching (IBAE) process, or a reactive ion beam etching (RIBE) process.
13. 13 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising: applying the radiation on the first portion of the substrate, concurrently with etching the first and second portions of the substrate.
14. 14 . The method of claim 9 , wherein an area of the first portion of the substrate, to which the radiation is applied, is in a range from tens of micrometers to a plurality of centimeters.
15. 15 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising: (a) ceasing applying the radiation on the first portion of the substrate, while etching the first and second portions of the substrate; and (b) resuming applying the radiation on the first portion of the substrate, while ceasing etching the first and second portions of the substrate.
16. 16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising repeating step (a) and step (b).

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to methods of manufacturing semiconductor devices and more particularly to methods of etching silicon-based materials with improved dimension control. BACKGROUND In the manufacture of a semiconductor device, various fabrication processes are executed such as film-forming depositions, etch mask creation, patterning, material etching and removal, and doping treatments. While semiconductor devices have scaled down with their feature sizes decreased and aspect ratios increased, such scaling efforts are running into greater challenges as scaling enters single digit nanometer semiconductor device fabrication processes. Although nanoscale semiconductor fabrication processes have been successfully demonstrated and implemented, various embodiments of the present disclosure may include increasing stability to form a number of semiconductor device elements or features. SUMMARY At least one aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices. The method includes providing, in a chamber, a substate covered by a patterned mask. The method includes applying, in the chamber, radiation locally on a portion of the substate that is not covered by the patterned mask. The method includes etching, in the chamber, the portion of the substate through a dry etching process. In some embodiments, the substrate includes silicon. In some embodiments, the radiation includes ultraviolet radiation with a power density greater than about 6 mW/cm2. In some embodiments, the dry etching process includes at least one of: a reactive ion etching (RIE) process, an ion beam assisted etching (IBAE) process, or a reactive ion beam etching (RIBE) process. In some embodiments, the method further includes applying the radiation locally on the portion of the substate, concurrently with etching the portion of the substate. In some embodiments, the method further includes (a) ceasing applying the radiation locally on the portion of the substate, while etching the portion of the substate; and (b) resuming applying the radiation locally on the portion of the substate, while ceasing etching the portion of the substate. The method further includes repeating step (a) and step (b). In some embodiments, the method further includes providing, in the chamber, a second substate covered by a second patterned mask; and etching, in the chamber, a portion of the second substate through the dry etching process, without applying the radiation on the second substrate. In some embodiments, an area of the portion of the substate, to which the radiation is applied, is in a range from tens of micrometers to a number of centimeters. At least another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices. The method includes providing a substate covered by a patterned mask. The method includes identifying a first portion and a second portion of the substrate that are exposed by the patterned mask. The method includes applying radiation only on the first portion of the substate. The method includes etching the first portion and second portion of the substate through a dry etching process. In some embodiments, the substrate includes silicon. In some embodiments, the radiation includes ultraviolet radiation with a power density greater than about 6 mW/cm2. In some embodiments, the dry etching process includes at least one of: a reactive ion etching (RIE) process, an ion beam assisted etching (IBAE) process, or a reactive ion beam etching (RIBE) process. In some embodiments, the method further includes applying the radiation on the first portion of the substate, concurrently with etching the first and second portions of the substate. In some embodiments, the method further includes (a) ceasing applying the radiation on the first portion of the substate, while etching the first and second portions of the substate; and (b) resuming applying the radiation on the first portion of the substate, while ceasing etching the first and second portions of the substate. The method further includes repeating step (a) and step (b). In some embodiments, an area of the first portion of the substate, to which the radiation is applied, is in a range from tens of micrometers to a number of centimeters. Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to an apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor devices. The apparatus includes a chamber comprising a plate configured to place a substrate that includes silicon; an inlet configured to supply one or more etchant gases into the chamber, wherein the etchant gases are ionized to create plasma; and a radiation source, when activated, configured to apply radiation locally on a portion of the substate, wherein the radiation includes an ultraviolet radiation. The plasma is configured to etch the portion of the substate. In some embodiments, the radiation source is configured to remain activated, concurrently with the pl