Patterning process for Fin implantation

1. A method of forming a semiconductor structure comprising:

forming a plurality of semiconductor fins on a substrate;

forming a gate structure over a portion of each of the plurality of semiconductor fins;

forming a first organic planarization layer (OPL) over the substrate to cover the plurality of semiconductor fins and the gate structure;

recessing the first OPL to expose an upper portion of the gate structure, wherein remaining portions of the first OPL on opposite sides of the gate structure have uppermost surfaces located above top surfaces of the plurality of semiconductor fins;

forming a second OPL over the remaining portions of the first OPL and the gate structure;

forming a hard mask layer over the second OPL;

patterning a stack of the hard mask layer, the second OPL and the remaining portions of the first OPL to expose portions of a first set of the plurality of semiconductor fins that are not covered by the gate structure and to leave a second set of the plurality of semiconductor fins covered;

removing remaining portions of the hard mask layer;

removing remaining portions of the second OPL; and

implanting a first type dopant into portions of the exposed portions of the first set of the plurality of semiconductor fins on opposite sides of the gate structure to form source and drain regions in the first set of the plurality of semiconductor fins.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first set of the plurality of semiconductor fins is p-type semiconductor fins, and wherein the second set of the plurality of semiconductor fins is n-type semiconductor fins.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first type dopant is a p-type dopant comprising boron (B), indium (In), or gallium (B).

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein an upper surface of the first OPL is a planar horizontal surface.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first OPL comprises polyacrylate resin, epoxy resin, phenol resin, polyamide resin, polyimide resin, unsaturated polyester resin, polyphenylenether resin, polyphenylene sulfide resin, or benzocyclobutene (BCB).

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second OPL comprises an organic planarization material that can be selectively removed with respect to an organic planarization material of the first OPL.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the second OPL comprises a water soluble polymer.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the second OPL comprises an alcohol-based polymer.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second OPL has a planar surface that is located above a topmost surface of the gate structure.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the recessing the first OPL is performed by reactive ion etching employing a gas mixture containing C x F y .

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the recessing the first OPL produces a surface cap on each of the remaining portions of the first OPL.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the surface cap comprises C x F y .

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the surface cap has a thickness ranging from 2 nm to 20 nm.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the uppermost surfaces of the remaining portions of the first OPL locate 40 nm to 60 nm above the top surfaces of the plurality of semiconductor fins.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising removing patterned first OPL portions that are formed after the patterning the remaining portions of the first OPL from the second set of the plurality of semiconductor fins after the forming the source and drain regions in the first set of the plurality of semiconductor fins.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising forming source and drain regions in the second set of the plurality of semiconductor fins after the removing patterned first OPL portions from the second set of the plurality of semiconductor fins, wherein the forming the source and drain regions in the second set of plurality of semiconductor fins comprises:

forming a third organic planarization layer (OPL) over the substrate to cover the plurality of semiconductor fins and the gate structure;

recessing the third OPL to expose an upper portion of the gate structure, wherein remaining portions of the third OPL on opposite sides of the gate structure have uppermost surfaces located above the top surfaces of the plurality of semiconductor fins;

forming a fourth OPL over the remaining portions of the third OPL and the gate structure;

forming another hard mask layer over the fourth OPL;

patterning a stack of the another hard mask layer, the fourth OPL and the remaining portions of the third OPL to expose portions of the second set of the plurality of semiconductor fins that are not covered by the gate structure and to leave the first set of the plurality of semiconductor fins covered;

removing remaining portions of the another hard mask layer;

removing remaining portions of the fourth OPL; and

implanting a second type dopant into portions of the exposed portions of the second set of the plurality of semiconductor fins on opposite sides of the gate structure,

wherein the second type dopant has a polarity opposite to the first type dopant.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the second type dopant is an n-type dopant comprising arsenic (As) or phosphorus (P).

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hard mask layer comprises silicon oxide, silicon nitride, amorphous carbon, or a silicon-containing antireflective coating (SiARC) material.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forming the gate structure comprises:

forming a material stack comprising, from bottom to top, a gate dielectric, a gate conductor layer, and a dielectric cap layer; and

patterning the material stack to provide the gate structure.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising forming a dielectric spacer on each sidewall of the gate structure.