Sacrificial protection layer for environmentally sensitive surfaces of substrates

1. A method comprising:

a) providing a solution forming a co-polymer having a ceiling temperature;

b) dispensing the solution onto a surface of a semiconductor substrate to form a sacrificial protective layer, wherein the co-polymer is kinetically trapped to allow storage at a temperature above the ceiling temperature;

c) exposing the substrate to non-vacuum conditions for storage; and

d) exposing the sacrificial protective layer to a stimulus to de-polymerize the sacrificial protective layer.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the co-polymer comprises a poly(aldehyde) co-polymer.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ceiling temperature is lower than room temperature.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising dispensing a casting solvent on the substrate prior to dispensing the solution on the substrate.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adding a thermal catalyst to the solution prior to dispensing the solution.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the thermal catalyst comprises a thermal acid generator or a thermal base generator.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adding a photocatalyst to the solution prior to dispensing the solution.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the photocatalyst comprises a photo acid generator or a photo base generator.

9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising adding a dye to the photocatalyst.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein d) includes:

d1) dispensing a thermal catalyst onto the sacrificial protective layer; and

d2) heating the substrate to a temperature that is greater than a catalyzed co-polymer degradation temperature and less than an un-catalyzed co-polymer temperature.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising repeating d1) and d2) one or more times until the sacrificial protective layer is removed.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising d3) heating the substrate to a temperature that is greater than the un-catalyzed co-polymer temperature to remove remaining portions of the sacrificial protective layer.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the thermal catalyst comprises a thermal acid generator or a thermal base generator.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

prior to b), performing a first treatment process on the substrate in a first substrate processing tool;

performing a) and b) in the first substrate processing tool;

performing d) in a second substrate processing tool; and

performing a second treatment process on the substrate in the second substrate processing tool.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein:

the first treatment process is selected from a group consisting of deposition, etching, stripping, cleaning, chemical mechanical planarization (CMP), patterning, or modification of electrical properties of the substrate; and

the second treatment process is selected from a group consisting of deposition, etching, stripping, cleaning, chemical mechanical planarization (CMP), patterning, or modification of electrical properties of the substrate.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stimulus comprises heat.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stimulus comprises UV radiation.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stimulus comprises acidic vapor.

19. A method comprising:

a) providing a semiconductor substrate having sensitive surface; and

b) dispensing a solution comprising a polymer having a ceiling temperature onto the sensitive surface of the semiconductor substrate to form a sacrificial protective layer, wherein the polymer is kinetically trapped to allow storage at a temperature above the ceiling temperature; and

c) transporting the semiconductor substrate in non-vacuum conditions for storage.

20. A method comprising:

receiving from storage a semiconductor substrate having a sensitive surface, the sensitive surface covered by a sacrificial protective layer comprising a polymer having a ceiling temperature, wherein the polymer is kinetically trapped to allow storage at a temperature above a ceiling temperature;

transporting the semiconductor substrate in non-vacuum conditions for storage; and

exposing the sacrificial protective layer to a stimulus to de-polymerize and remove the sacrificial protective layer without damaging the sensitive surface.