Joint development targets future photoresist and residue removal for low-K and copper

Joint development targets future photoresist and residue removal for low-K and copper

Keywords Mattson Technology, IMEC, Photoresists

Mattson Technology, Inc. and IMEC have announced that they will jointly develop new photoresist and residue removal processes. Technology and process development will take place on a dual chamber Aspen Strip system installed at IMEC's research facility in Leuven, Belgium.

To strengthen its technological leadership, Mattson Technology will team with IMEC to focus on the challenges of low-k and copper processing for devices with 0.13 micron and smaller design rules. The development and integration of new processing techniques that address the use of emerging dielectric materials is a significant technological obstacle in manufacturing semiconductors with geometries smaller than 0.15 micron. A significant challenge will be stripping photoresist on top of organic-based dielectric materials.

Mattson has worked with IMEC since 1998 to advance dry strip technologies for processing devices with 0.18 to 0.13 design rules. Serge Vanhaelemeersh, IMEC's manager of dry etch development, explained that the decision to use the Aspen Strip was due to the system's unique Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) source technology and IMEC's previous experience with the system. "The challenges of new low-k and copper materials demands a new, more advanced approach to cleaning", noted Vanhaelemeersh. "Our previous work with the ICP technology for resist and polymer removal development in high dose implant, poly and via strip applications for 0.18 to 0.13 micron design rules made the Aspen Strip a logical choice for this advanced strip project".

According to a recent Dataquest report, Mattson Technology is now clearly the dry strip market leader, based on system sales in 1999. Mattson's $63 million in strip revenue represents 27.8 per cent of the market, nearly 5 per cent more than the nearest supplier. Furthermore, 17 out of the world's top 20 semiconductor manufacturers have installed Aspen Strip systems.