Abstract: A dry etching method using no organic resist mask without involving an increase in the number of necessary processes or wafer surface steps. Conventionally, a nitrogen based compound film is formed as a thin anti-reflection film on a gate electrode or aluminum (Al) metallization layer. The nitrogen based compound film thus formed can be used as an etching mask for the material layer by using etching gas capable of forming sulfur (S) in a plasma when dissociated by electric discharges. For instance, a W polycide film masked by a TiON anti-reflection film patterned into a predetermined shape can be etched by S.sub.2 F.sub.2 /H.sub.2 mixed gas. In this case, a nitrogen (N) dangling bond formed on the surface of the TiON anti-reflection film combines with sulfur supplied by S.sub.2 F.sub.2 to form a polythiazyl (SN).sub.x coating, which provides the resulting TiON anti-reflection film pattern with a sufficient etching resistance to act as an etching mask.

Abstract: A dry etching method by which the surface of a variety of materials constituting a semiconductor device may be planarized or smoothed under clean state. Small-sized recesses existing on the surface of a layer of the material to be etched are filled with deposited free sulfur yielded from sulfur halides, such as S.sub.2 F.sub.2 or S.sub.2 Cl.sub.2, into the plasma under conditions of dissociation produced by electrical discharge. After the surface of the material to be etched is planarized in this manner, etching is carried out under conditions of simultaneously removing the small-sized projections and deposited sulfur to successfully eliminate step differences or roughness on the material surface. Etching may alternatively be carried out under the condition of competition of filling of recesses with sulfur and removal of the projections. Sulfur may easily be removed on sublimation by heating the wafer after completion of etching without producing pollution by particles.

Abstract: A dry etching method whereby high anisotropy can be achieved while providing sidewall protection effects by using an appropriate alternative substance to a carbonaceous polymer. A target material layer is etched by using etching gas containing a nitrogen based compound and a sulfur based compound capable of forming free sulfur (S) in a plasma when dissociated by electric discharges while a pattern sidewall is protected by a sulfur nitride based compound occurring from the gaseous phase. The sulfur nitride based compound is composed mainly of polythiazyl (SN).sub.x, which causes no particle pollution because it will be removed from a wafer through sublimation or decomposition when the wafer is heated to temperatures above 130.degree. C. For instance, a polysilicon layer or an Al based material layer can be etched into an anisotropic shape by using S.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 /N.sub.2 mixed gas. Particularly, a silicon based compound layer can be etched while preventing chloroflurocarbon (CFC) gas effectively.

Abstract: A dry etching method whereby an SiO.sub.2 layer and an Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 layer may be etched with high selectivity for each other. As etching gas, such sulfur fluorides as S.sub.2 F.sub.2 are used which, when dissociated by electric discharges, will form SF.sub.x.sup.+ as a main etchant for the SiO.sub.2 layer or F* as a main etchant for the Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 layer and release sulfur in the plasma. When the SiO.sub.2 layer is etched on the Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 layer as an underlying layer via a resist mask, nitrogen atoms, removed from the underlying layer upon exposure thereof to the plasma, will combine with sulfur in the plasma to form on the exposed surface thereof such sulfur nitride compounds as polythiazyl (SN).sub.x, which will, in turn, serve to achieve high selectivity for the underlying layer. The SiO.sub.2 layer can also be etched via an Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 mask patterned into a predetermined shape, in which case sulfur nitride compounds formed on the Si.sub.3 N.sub.

Abstract: A dry etching method enabling layers of a variety of silicon based materials, such as polysilicon layer, single crystal silicon layer, metal silicide layer or a polycide film, and an aluminum based material, to be etched anisotropically without the necessity of employing depositive CFC-based gases. The etching gas is selected from a variety of gases composed mainly of sulfur halogenides, such as S.sub.2 F.sub.2, S.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 or S.sub.2 Br.sub.2. These sulfur halogenides yield halogen radicals as the etchant in the plasma, and a variety of ions assisting the radical reaction, while yielding free sulfur S, as a result of dissociation by electrical discharge. Free sulfur then is deposited on the sample wafer etched to display the effect of sidewall protection, while the wafer is controlled to a temperature lower than room temperature.

Abstract: A process for forming a copper wiring is composed of modifying a surface of a copper film to copper sulfide, forming the wiring pattern by etching to define a desired design of the wiring, reducing copper sulfide film to copper, and applying an insulation film to the surroundings of the wiring pattern of copper. Successively forming of the wiring is done by processing in a multichamber equipment having functions of the above.

Abstract: A dry etching method for silicon trench etching in which high anisotropy, high etchrate and low pollution may be achieved simultaneously. A single crystal silicon substrate is etched using a gas mixture of S.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 and S.sub.2 F.sub.2 while a wafer is cooled to about -70.degree. C. Etching proceeds by a mechanism in which a radical reaction by Cl* derived from S.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 and F* derived from S.sub.2 F.sub.2 is assisted by the incident energy of S.sup.+, SF.sup.+, SCl.sup.+ or Cl.sup.+ ions. The highly reactive F* radicals of a small atomic radius contribute to increasing the etchrate. Deposition of sulfur yielded from S.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 and S.sub.2 F.sub.2 provides for efficient sidewall protection to achieve high anisotropy. The conventional practice to add fluorine based gases with a view to increasing the etchrate is in need of an excess quantity of a deposition material to give rise to increased pollution by particles.

Abstract: There is provided a method for anisotropic etching of a fine resist pattern at a practically useful etching rate wherein micro-loading effects are suppressed. If a resist layer is etched using an NH.sub.3 /N.sub.2 gas mixture, while the temperature of a sample wafer is controlled to be not higher than 50.degree. C., a reaction product containing at least N, C and O is produced. The micro-loading effects are suppressed because deposition and sputtering of the reaction product occur competitively on the wafer surface. Since etching of the ion mode is accelerated by N.sub.2, the etching rate as well as anisotropy is improved. There ia also provided a method of supplying sulfur to a NH.sub.3 -containing etching reaction system and utilizing the yielded ammonium sulfide for sidewall protection for further improving anisotropy.

Abstract: A dry etching method for suppressing the micro-loading effects at the time of etching of the resist material layer through utilization of the competitive process of the deposition of the etching reaction product and removal by sputtering. For example, if a novolak based positive type photoresist is etched using an NH.sub.3 gas with the wafer temperature being maintained at 70.degree. C. or lower, reaction products at lower vapor pressure containing elements of C, O and N are produced in the etching region. In the broader etching region, the reaction products are deposited in a larger quantity than in the narrower region. The etching rate is lowered to the extent that the etchant is consumed for removing these deposited reaction products by sputtering. The result is the averaged etching rate in the wafer surface irrespective of the size of the etching region. Excess overetching becomes unnecessary as a result of suppression of the micro-loading effects.

Abstract: There is proposed a method of carrying out etch-back of a tungsten layer (Blk-W layer) formed by the blanket CVD process while suppressing the loading effect by using a small system. The etch-back process is divided into a high temperature process for removing about 90% of the film thickness of the Blk-W layer, and a low temperature process for removing the remainder. Switching between wafer temperatures at the both processes is carried out by upper and lower movement of pins included in a wafer mount electrode. If the wafer is held on the wafer mount electrode in a manner to be in contact therewith, cooling can be carried out. Further, if the wafer is held on the wafer mount electrode in the state spaced therefrom, heating by plasma radiation heat can be carried out. In the high temperature process, S.sub.2 F.sub.2 gas is used to carry out high speed etching by F*. On the other hand, in the low temperature process, S.sub.2 F.sub.2 /H.sub.2 mixed gas is used to deposit S dissociated and formed from S.sub.2 F.

Abstract: An improved method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming an insulating layer on a substrate, depositing a metal film layer on the insulating layer and depositing a photoresist layer on the metal film layer. The photoresist layer is formed with openings through which a predetermined surface of the metal film layer is exposed. The predetermined surface of the metal film layer is subjected to dry etching so that an underlying portion of the insulating layer is exposed. The remaining portion of the photoresist layer is then subjected to ashing by using an isopropyl alcohol-containing gas to expose the surface of said metal film layer.

Abstract: Proposed is a method for improving resist selectivity in dry etching of an aluminum-based material layer. A mixed gas containing a chlorine-based gas and hydrogen iodide (HI) is used as an etching gas. The chlorine-based gas furnishes Cl* as a main etchant for the Al-based material layer, while HI furnishes H*. For anisotropic etching of the Al-based material layer, decomposition products of a resist mask are used as a sidewall protection film. It has been known that deposition of the sidewall protection film is promoted when hydrogen atoms are contained in the sidewall protection film. HI is used in the present invention as a supply source for H* because the interatomic bond energy of its H--I bond is low as compared to that of H.sub.2, HCl or HBr so that HI is superior to the H* yielding efficiency under discharge dissociation conditions. In this manner, the bias power necessary for anisotropic etching may be reduced to inhibit sputtering out of the resist mask.

Abstract: A dry etching method for etching an aluminum (Al) based layer for effectively combatting the after-corrosion in accordance with three aspects. In the first aspect, while a resist mask and chlorine based gas as known per se are used, S.sub.2 F.sub.2 is used during etching of the barrier metal layer. In this manner, residual chlorine in a carbonaceous polymer as a sidewall protection material or a resist mask is replaced by fluorine, whilst sulfur yielded from S.sub.2 F.sub.2 under conditions of discharge dissociation is deposited to provide for sidewall protection effects. In the second aspect, a SiO.sub.2 mask and an S.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 etching gas are used. Since the sidewall protection material is solely sulfur yielded from S.sub.2 Cl.sub.2, it becomes possible to avoid the effects of the residual chlorine. In the third aspect, an neutral Ar beam is irradiated at a suitable stage in the etching process for increasing the resistance of the SiO.sub.

Abstract: Disclosed is a dry etching method by which a polycide film consisting of a refractory metal silicide layer and a polysilicon layer are stacked one upon the other may be etched with high anisotropy, low pollution, high selectivity and high speed without using flon gases.According to the method of the present invention, an etching gas containing a fluorine base gas mixed at least with HBr is used for etching the polycide film for realizing anisotropic processing under sidewall protection by a reaction product of mainly the resist material and Br.Overetching for uniform processing in the wafer plane is performed with the use approximately solely of the fluorine base gas or HBr for realizing a high speed and improving substrate selectivity.The overetching step is preceded by oxygen plasma treatment for oxidizing the reaction product and intensifying side wall protective effects while improving anisotropy.

Abstract: A method for anisotropic etching of a polycide film without using chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gas. If the polycide film is etched using a S.sub.2 F.sub.2 /HBr gas mixture, as the temperature of a sample wafer is controlled to be not higher than room temperature, sulfur yielded in a plasma on dissociation due to electric discharge of S.sub.2 F.sub.2 is also deposited besides SiBr.sub.x which is a reaction product of etching. The result is that, even if the amount of SiBr.sub.x is diminished during over etching, sidewall protection may be sustained due to the presence of sulfur, so that no undercuts are produced in the lower polysilicon layer. Alternatively, the SF.sub.8 /HBr gas mixture may be used up to so-called just-etching if the gas composition is switched to H.sub.2 S/HBr for overetching. In such case, a high etchrate may be achieved during just-etching, while high anisotropy may be achieved during overetching due to progress of capturing of excess Br* by H* and deposition of sulfur.

Abstract: A dry etching process utilizes a gas to form a side wall protecting layer, which gas has added at least chlorine trifluoride, or in the alternative silicon and fluorine as component.

Abstract: A dry etching method for selectively etching a silicon nitride having the generic formula Si.sub.x N.sub.y existing over a base of SiO.sub.2 utilizing, as the etchant gas, a mixture of a fluorohydrocarbon in which the atomic ratio of F/C is smaller than 3:1, the mixture containing 30-70% of CO.sub.2 on a flow rate basis. The presence of such a large amount of CO.sub.2 in the etchant in combination with the particular fluorohydrocarbons is effective for enhancing the selective ratio of etching between Si.sub.x N.sub.y and SiO.sub.2 and also for preventing formation of obstructive polymers of fluorocarbons.