Granted Patent B2

US 12,653,002 · App. 17/902,142 · Granted Jun 9, 2026

Inventors: Sungkun Kang (Hwaseong-si, KR); Chawon Koh (Yongin-si, KR); Hyunjae Lee (Hwaseong-si, KR); Tsunehiro Nishi (Suwon-si, KR)

Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

H10P76/40G03F7/0044H01J37/3244H10P50/283H10P76/204

Abstract

Claims (66)

1 . A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising:

forming a lower film on a substrate;

forming a metal-containing photoresist material film on the lower film;

patterning the metal-containing photoresist material film to form a photoresist pattern including openings therein such that a scum remains on the lower film, wherein the patterning includes developing the metal-containing photoresist material film using a developing solution;

performing a descum operation to remove the scum from the lower film; and

etching the lower film using the photoresist pattern,

wherein performing the descum operation includes:

providing the substrate to a processing chamber;

generating oxygen plasma; and

reacting the scum with the oxygen plasma.

2 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

generating the oxygen plasma includes using a plasma generating gas, and

the plasma generating gas includes 5 volume percent to 100 volume percent of oxygen, based on a total volume of the plasma generating gas.

3 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

generating the oxygen plasma includes using a plasma generating gas, and

a flow rate of the plasma generating gas during the descum operation is 10 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm) to 500 sccm.

4 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a pressure in the processing chamber during the descum operation is a pressure of 4 mtorr or greater and 100 mtorr or less.

5 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a temperature of the processing chamber during the descum operation is a temperature of 20° C. or greater and 80° C. or less.

6 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

reacting the scum with the oxygen plasma includes exposing the scum to the oxygen plasma, and

an exposure time of the scum to the oxygen plasma during the descum operation is 5 seconds to 30 seconds.

7 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

generating the oxygen plasma includes applying radio frequency (RF) power to a plasma generating gas, and

the RF power is 300 W to 2,000 W.

8 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

the metal-containing photoresist material film includes a metal structure including an organometallic compound, an organometallic nanoparticle, or an organometallic cluster, and

the metal structure includes:

a metal core including one or more metal atoms, and

at least one organic ligand surrounding the metal core.

9 . The method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the one or more metal atoms include at least one metal atom selected from the group consisting of tin (Sn), hafnium (Hf), zirconium (Zr), titanium (Ti), and zinc (Zn).

10 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

generating the oxygen plasma includes using a plasma generating gas, and

the plasma generating gas used during the descum operation further includes an inert gas.

11 . The method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the inert gas includes argon (Ar), helium (He), or nitrogen (N 2 ).

12 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the scum includes a footing or a stringer.

13 . The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein:

a ratio of a surface area to a volume of the footing is greater than a ratio of a surface area to a volume of the photoresist pattern, or

a ratio of a surface area to a volume of the stringer is greater than a ratio of a surface area to a volume of the photoresist pattern.

14 . A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising:

forming a lower film on a substrate;

forming a metal-containing photoresist material film on the lower film;

patterning the metal-containing photoresist material film on the lower film to form a photoresist pattern including openings therein such that a scum remains on the lower film, wherein the patterning includes developing the metal-containing photoresist material film using a developing solution;

performing a first descum operation of removing at least some of the scum from the lower film;

performing a second descum operation of removing any residual scum from the lower film; and

etching the lower film using the photoresist pattern,

wherein performing the first descum operation includes:

providing the substrate to a processing chamber;

generating oxygen plasma; and

reacting the scum with the oxygen plasma.

15 . The method as claimed in claim 14 , wherein performing the second descum operation includes performing a sputtering operation using plasma.

16 . The method as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the plasma includes oxygen.

17 . The method as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the plasma includes a halogen element.

18 . The method as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the plasma further includes a halogen element.

19 . The method as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the plasma further includes an inert gas.

20 . A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising:

forming a lower film on a substrate;

forming a metal-containing photoresist material film on the lower film;

patterning the metal-containing photoresist material film on the lower film to form a metal-containing photoresist pattern including openings therein such that a scum remains on the lower film, wherein the patterning includes developing the metal-containing photoresist material film using a developing solution;

performing a descum operation of removing the scum from the lower film; and

plating a metal on the lower film using the metal-containing photoresist pattern,

wherein:

the lower film includes a metal seed layer, and

performing the descum operation includes:

providing the substrate to a processing chamber,

generating oxygen plasma, and

reacting the scum with the oxygen plasma.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (27)