IP Library › Granted Patent US 6,916,772
Granted Patent B2
US 6,916,772 · App. 10/193,185 · Granted Jul 12, 2005

Sulfoxide pyrolid(in)one alkanolamine cleaner composition

Assignee: EKC Technology, Inc.
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 6,916,772
App. No.
10/193,185
Granted
Jul 12, 2005
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present invention relates to, inter alia, a composition for stripping photoresist from substrates comprising: about 5% to about 50% by weight of an alkyl substituted pyrrolidone, an alkyl substituted piperidone, or a mixture thereof, about 0.2% to about 20% of one or more alkanolamines, and about 50% to about 94% of a sulfoxide, sulfoxone, or mixture thereof. Advantageously, the composition can remove copper from a copper substrate at a rate of less than about 10 Å per minute when the substrate is immersed in the composition which is held at 70° C. for 30 minutes and rotated relative to the composition at about 200 revolutions per minute.

Claims (85)

1. A composition for stripping photoresist from substrates comprising:

about 5% to about 50% by weight of an alkyl substituted pyrrolidone, an alkyl substituted piperidone, or a mixture thereof;

about 0.2% to about 20% of one or more alkanolamines, and

about 50% to about 94% of a sulfoxide, sulfoxone, or mixture thereof,

wherein the composition removes copper from a copper substrate at a rate of less than about 10 Å per minute when the substrate is immersed in the composition which is held at 70° C. for 30 minutes and rotated relative to the composition at about 200 revolutions per minute; and

wherein the composition comprises no more than about 2% water.

2. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises from about 15% to about 35% of an alkyl-2-pyrolidinone, from about 0.5% to about 10% of one or more alkanolamines, and from about 60% to about 84% of a sulfoxide, sulfoxone, or mixture thereof.

3. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises from about 20% to about 30% of an alkyl-2-pyrolidinone, from about 1% to about 5% of one or more alkanolamines, from about 66% to about 76% of a sulfoxide, sulfoxone, or mixture thereof.

4. The composition of claim 1 , wherein: the substituted pyrrolidone, substituted piperidone, or mixture thereof consists essentially of N-methyl-2-pyrolidinone, N-hydroxyethyl-2-pyrrolidinone, or mixture thereof; the alkanolamine consists essentially of monoethanolamine, 2-(2-aminoethoxy)ethanol, 2-(2-aminoethylamino)ethanol, monoisopropanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, 2-(methylamino)ethanol, or a mixture thereof; and the sulfoxide, sulfoxone, or mixture thereof consists essentially of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dipropylsulfoxide, diethylsulfoxide, methylethylsulfoxide, diphenylsulfoxide, methylphenylsulfoxide, 1,1′-dihydroxyphenyl sulfoxide, or a mixture thereof, and wherein the composition removes copper from the copper substrate at a rate of less than about 5 Å per minute when the substrate is immersed in the composition which is held at 70° C. for 30 minutes and rotated relative to the composition at about 200 revolutions per minute.

5. The composition of claim 1 , wherein: the substituted pyrrolidone, substituted piperidone, or mixture thereof consists essentially of N-methyl-2-pyrolidinone; the alkanolamine consists essentially of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, 2-(methylamino)ethanol, or a mixture thereof; and the sulfoxide, sulfoxone, or mixture thereof consists essentially of dimethyl sulfoxide.

6. The composition of claim 1 , comprising about 68% to about 74% of dimethyl sulfoxide, methyl sulfoxide, or mixture thereof; about 23% to about 29% of 1-Methyl-2-pyrrolidinone; and about 1% to about 5% of 2-(Methylamino)ethanol, diethanolamine, or mixture thereof.

7. The composition of claim 1 , comprising no more than about 1% water.

8. The composition of claim 1 , further comprising at least one of a surfactant, chelating agent, or corrosion inhibitor, wherein the total concentration of surfactants, chelating agents, and corrosion inhibitors is less than about 5% by weight.

9. A method of using the composition of claim 1 comprising:

contacting the surface of a substrate with hardened photoresist thereon for a time and at a temperature sufficient to remove the photoresist; and

rinsing the substrate with water, isopropyl alcohol, or a mixture thereof.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein a surface of the substrate comprises copper or a low-K material.

11. A composition for stripping photoresist from substrates comprising:

about 15% to about 25% by weight of an alkyl substituted pyrrolidone, an alkyl substituted piperidone, or a mixture thereof;

about 30% to about 50% of one or more alkanolamines;

about 25% to about 45% of a substituted or unsubstituted sulfoxide, a substituted or unsubstituted sulfoxone, or a mixture thereof; and

less than about 1% water,

wherein the composition removes copper from a copper substrate at a rate of less than about 10 Å per minute when the substrate is immersed in the composition which is held at 70° C. for 30 minutes and rotated relative to the composition at about 200 revolutions per minute.

12. The composition of claim 11 , comprising about 15% to about 25% of a substituted piperidone; 30% to about 50% of monoethanolamine, 2-(2-aminoethoxy)ethanol, 2-(2-aminoethylamino)ethanol, monoisopropanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, 2-(methylamino)ethanol, or a mixture thereof; and about 25% to about 45% of an alkylsulfoxide.

13. The composition of claim 11 , comprising about 17% to about 23% of 1,3-dimethyl-2-piperidone, 1,5-dimethyl-2-piperidone, or a mixture thereof; about 40% to about 45% of monomethylethanolamine, diethanolamine, or a mixture thereof; about 30% to about 40% of dimethyl sulfoxide, methyl sulfoxide, or a mixture thereof.

14. The composition of claim 11 , comprising at least one of gamma-butyrolactone, diglycolamine, propylene glycol, morpholine, and mixtures thereof.

15. The composition of claim 11 , comprising at least one of a surfactant, a chelating agent, and a corrosion inhibitor, wherein the total concentration of surfactants, chelating agents, and corrosion inhibitors is less than about 5% by weight.

16. A method of using the composition of claim 11 , comprising:

contacting the surface of a substrate with hardened photoresist thereon with the composition of claim 11 for a time and at a temperature sufficient to remove the photoresist; and

rinsing the substrate with water, isopropyl alcohol, or a mixture thereof.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein a surface of the substrate comprises copper or a low-K material.

18. A composition for stripping photoresist from substrates consisting essentially of:

about 5% to about 50% by weight of an alkyl substituted pyrrolidone, an alkyl substituted piperidone, or a mixture thereof;

about 0.2% to about 60% of one or more alkanolamines:

about 20% to about 80% of alkylsulfoxide, alkylsulfone, or a mixture thereof;

less than about 0.5% water;

optionally at least one of gamma-butyrolactone, diglycolamine, propylene glycol, morpholine, and mixtures thereof; and

optionally at least one of a surfactant, a chelating agent, and a corrosion inhibitor, wherein the total concentration of surfactants, chelating agents, and corrosion inhibitors is less than about 5% by weight;

wherein the composition removes copper from a copper substrate at a rate of less than about 10 Å per minute when the substrate is immersed in the composition which is held at 70° C. for 30 minutes and rotated relative to the composition at about 200 revolutions per minute.

19. The composition of claim 18 , comprising about 10% to about 35% of 1-hydroxyethyl-2-pyrolidinone, N-methyl-2-pyrolidinone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-piperidone, 1,5-dimethyl-2-piperidone, or a mixture thereof; about 2% to about 45% of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, 2-(methylamino)ethanol, or a mixture thereof; and about 30% to about 75% of dimethyl sulfoxide, methyl sulfoxide, or a mixture thereof.

20. The composition of claim 18 , comprising about 20% to about 26% of 1-hydroxyethyl-2-pyrolidinone, N-methyl-2-pyrolidinone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-piperidone, 1,5-dimethyl-2-piperidone, or a mixture thereof; about 2% to about 45% of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, 2-(methylamino)ethanol, or a mixture thereof; and about 30% to about 75% of dimethyl sulfoxide, methyl sulfoxide, or a mixture thereof, and wherein the composition does not change the refractive index of both low-k substrate SIOC and HSQ by more than 0.02 when the substrate is immersed in the composition which is held at 70° C. for 30 minutes and rotated relative to the composition at about 200 revolutions per minute.

21. The composition of claim 18 , wherein the composition removes copper from a copper substrate at a rate of less than about 5 Å per minute when the substrate is immersed in the composition which is held at 70° C. for 30 minutes and rotated relative to the composition at about 200 revolutions per minute.

22. The composition of claim 18 , comprising at least one of gamma-butyrolactone, diglycolamine, propylene glycol, morpholine, and mixtures thereof.

23. The composition of claim 18 , comprising at least one of a surfactant, a chelating agent, and a corrosion inhibitor, wherein the total concentration of surfactants, chelating agents, and corrosion inhibitors is less than about 5% by weight.

24. The composition of claim 18 , which does not increase the copper etch rate for the composition more than about 4 Å per minute greater than the etch rate of the composition when waterless.

25. A method of stripping photoresist from a substrate comprising:

contacting the composition of claim 18 with a surface of a substrate with hardened photoresist thereon for a time and at a temperature sufficient to remove the photoresist; and

rinsing the substrate with water, isopropyl alcohol, or a mixture thereof.

26. The method of claim 25 , wherein a surface of the substrate comprises copper or a low-K material.

27. The method of claim 25 , wherein the time is between about 1 to about 60 minutes and the temperature is from about 45° C. to about 80° C.

28. A composition for stripping photoresist from substrates comprising: about 20% to about 30% of an alkyl-2-pyrolidinone, wherein the total amount of alkyl substituted pyrrolidone and alkyl substituted piperidone is 50% or less;

about 1% to about 5% of one or more alkanolamines; and

about 66% to about 76% of a sulfoxide, sulfoxone, or mixture thereof,

wherein the composition removes copper from a copper substrate at a rate of less than about 10 Å per minute when the substrate is immersed in the composition which is held at 70° C. for 30 minutes and rotated relative to the composition at about 200 revolutions per minute.

29. A method of using the composition of claim 28 , comprising:

contacting the surface of a substrate with hardened photoresist thereon with the composition of claim 28 for a time and at a temperature sufficient to remove the photoresist; and rinsing the substrate with a rinse comprising water, isopropyl alcohol, or a mixture thereof.

30. The composition for stripping photoresist of claim 28 comprising:

about 23% to about 29% of 1-Methyl-2-pyrrolidinone;

about 1% to about 5% of 2-(Methylamino)ethanol, diethanolamine, or mixture thereof; and

about 68% to about 74% of dimethyl sulfoxide, methyl sulfoxide, or mixture thereof.

31. A method of using the composition of claim 30 , comprising:

contacting the surface of a substrate with hardened photoresist thereon with the composition of claim 30 for a time and at a temperature sufficient to remove the photoresist; and rinsing the substrate with a rinse comprising water, isopropyl alcohol, or a mixture thereof.

32. The composition for stripping photoresist of claim 11 comprising:

about 15% to about 25% of an alkyl-substituted piperidone;

30% to about 50% of monoethanolamine, 2-(2-aminoethoxy)ethanol, 2-(2-aminoethylamino)ethanol, monoisopropanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, 2-(methylamino)ethanol, or a mixture thereof; and

about 25% to about 45% of an alkyl-substituted sulfoxide.

33. A method of using the composition of claim 32 , comprising:

contacting the surface of a substrate with hardened photoresist thereon with the composition of claim 32 for a time and at a temperature sufficient to remove the photoresist; and rinsing the substrate with a rinse comprising water, isopropyl alcohol, or a mixture thereof.

34. A composition for stripping photoresist from substrates comprising:

about 10% to about 30% by weight of an alkyl substituted pyrrolidone, an alkyl substituted piperidone, or a mixture thereof;

about 20% to about 50% of one or more alkanolamines;

about 20% to about 55% of an alkyl-substituted sulfoxide, an unsubstituted sulfoxide, an alkyl-substituted sulfoxone, an unsubstituted sulfoxone, or a mixture thereof;

less than about 1% water; and

further comprising at least one of gamma-butyrolactone, propylene glycol, or morpholine;

wherein the composition removes copper from a copper substrate at a rate of less than about 10 Å per minute when the substrate is immersed in the composition which is held at 70° C. for 30 minutes and rotated relative to the composition at about 200 revolutions per minute.

35. A method of using the composition of claim 34 , comprising:

contacting the surface of a substrate with hardened photoresist thereon with the composition of claim 34 for a time and at a temperature sufficient to remove the photoresist; and rinsing the substrate with a rinse comprising water, isopropyl alcohol, or a mixture thereof.

36. A composition for stripping photoresist from substrates consisting essentially of:

between about 15 parts to about 35 parts by weight of one or more substituted pyrrolidones, substituted piperidones, or mixture thereof;

between about 1 part and about 5 parts by weight of one or more alkanolamines;

between about 60 parts to about 84 parts of one or more alkylsulfoxides;

optionally up to 10 parts by weight total of surfactants, chelating agents, and corrosion inhibitors; and

less than about 4 parts by weight of water.

37. A method of using the composition of claim 36 , comprising:

contacting the surface of a substrate with hardened photoresist thereon with the composition of claim 36 for a time and at a temperature sufficient to remove the photoresist; and rinsing the substrate with a rinse comprising water, isopropyl alcohol, or a mixture thereof.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 4, 2002
From: ZHOU, DE-LING; SMALL, ROBERT J.
To: EKC TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 013371/0127 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 6030475800 · Jul 13, 2001
Related Publication 20030130149A1 · Jul 10, 2003