Granted Patent B2

US 12,529,965 · App. 18/426,879 · Granted Jan 20, 2026

Inventors: Anton J. Devilliers (Clifton Park, NY); Daniel J. Fulford (Ballston Lake, NY); Mark I. Gardner (Cedar Creek, TX); H. Jim Fulford (Marianna, FL)

Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited

G03F7/70466G03F7/70025G03F7/70141G03F7/70358

Abstract

Claims (29)

1 . A method of processing a substrate, the method comprising:

forming a photomask based on a layout of a first surface of a wafer, the photomask including at least one opaque region and at least one transparent region and the first surface of the wafer being coated with a photosensitive resist;

providing the photomask at a first photomask location between the first surface of the wafer and a source of radiation at a predetermined wavelength, the at least one opaque region of the photomask covering a first region of the first surface of the wafer and the at least one transparent region of the photomask exposing a second region of the first surface of the wafer;

exposing the first surface of wafer to a first pattern of radiation at the predetermined wavelength, the first pattern of radiation including the second region of the wafer exposed by the at least one transparent region of the photomask;

displacing the photomask to a second photomask location between the first surface of the wafer and the source of radiation, the at least one transparent region of the photomask exposing a third region of the first surface of the wafer when the photomask is at the second photomask location; and

exposing the first surface of the wafer to a second pattern of radiation at the predetermined wavelength, the second pattern of radiation including the third region of the wafer exposed by the at least one transparent region of the photomask at the second photomask location.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the photomask further comprises forming the photomask based on a bow of the wafer.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the photomask further comprises forming the photomask based on a bow of the wafer at the second region or the third region.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one transparent region includes two or more non-contiguous regions of the photomask.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first photomask location and the second photomask location are based on the layout of the first surface of the wafer.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the source of radiation is a laser beam and the first pattern of radiation and the second pattern of radiation include a scan of the laser beam in discrete steps.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first pattern of radiation and the second pattern of radiation are the same.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first pattern of radiation includes a first exposure dose and a second exposure dose, the first exposure dose being greater than the second exposure dose.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first pattern of radiation or the second pattern of radiation include a repeating pattern of radiation.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second region of the first surface of the wafer and the third region of the first surface of the wafer are adjacent regions.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein, when the photomask is at the second photomask location, the at least one opaque region of the photomask covers the second region of the first surface of the wafer.

12 . A method of processing a substrate, the method comprising:

providing one or more overlapping structures at a first location between a first surface of a wafer and a source of radiation at a predetermined wavelength, the one or more overlapping structures forming an aperture, the aperture exposing a first region of the first surface of the wafer and the first surface of the wafer being coated with a photosensitive resist;

exposing the first surface of the wafer to a first pattern of radiation at the predetermined wavelength, the first pattern of radiation including the first region of the first surface of the wafer;

displacing the one or more overlapping structures to a second location between the first surface of the wafer and the source of radiation, the aperture exposing a second region of the first surface of the wafer when the one or more overlapping structures are at the second location; and

exposing the first surface of the wafer to a second pattern of radiation at the predetermined wavelength, the second pattern of radiation including the second region of the first surface of the wafer.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the source of radiation is a laser beam and the first pattern of radiation and the second pattern of radiation include a scan of the laser beam in discrete steps.

14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the first pattern of radiation and the second pattern of radiation are the same.

15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the first pattern of radiation includes a first exposure dose and a second exposure dose, the first exposure dose being greater than the second exposure dose.

16 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the first pattern of radiation or the second pattern of radiation include a repeating pattern of radiation.

17 . The method of claim 12 , wherein a size of the aperture is based on a layout of the first surface of the wafer.

18 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the first location and the second location are based on a layout of the first surface of the wafer.

19 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the first region of the first surface of the wafer is covered by the one or more overlapping structures when the one or more overlapping structures are at the second location.

20 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the first region of the wafer and the second region of the wafer are adjacent.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (9)