• Electrical & Electronic Materials
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• v.9 no.9
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• pp.918-924
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• 1996

A downstream oxygen plasma is generated by capacitively coupled RF power and applied to photoresist stripping. Stripping rate (ashing rate) is measured in terms of RF power, chamber pressure, oxygen flow rate and temperature. Ashing reaction is thermally activated and depends on oxygen radical density. The ashing process is optimized to have the high ashing rate, good uniformity and minimal plasma damage using a statistical method.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.464-464
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• 2012

본 연구에서는 DBD (Dielectric Barrier Discharge)방식을 통해 발생된 대기압 plasma를 이용한 Photoresist (PR) Ashing에 관한 연구를 하였다. 사용된 DBD 반응기는 기존의 blank planar plate 형태의 Power가 인가되는 anode 부분과 Dielectric Barrier 사이 공간을 액상의 도전체로 채워 넣은 형태의 전극이 사용 하였으며, 인가 Power는 40 kHz AC 최대 인가 전압 15 kV를 사용 하였고(본 연구에서 인가 power는 30 KHz,전압 14 KV를 고정시킴) 플라즈마를 발생시 라디칼의 활성화를 유지하기 위해 전극 온도가 $180^{\circ}C$ 정하였다. Feeding 가스는 N2, 반응가스로는 CDA(Clean Dry Air), SF6와 CF4가스를 사용 하였으며 모든 공정은 In-line type으로 시편을 처리 하였다. CDA ratio의 경우에 질소대비 0.2%때 이송속도 30 mm/sec 1회 처리 기존 PR ashing은 최대 $320{\AA}$의 ashing 두께를 얻을 수 있었다. SF6와 CDA가스를 같이 반응하는 경우 ratio는 CDA : SF6 = 0.6% : 0.6%에서 PR ashing rate이 $841{\AA}/pass$의 값을 얻을 수 있었고, CDA가스만 첨가하는 경우보다 약2.6배 증가함을 관찰할 수 있었다. CF4 가스를 사용하는 경우 ratio는 CDA : CF4 = 0.2% : 0.2%에서 PR ashing rate이 $687{\AA}/pass$의 값을 얻을 수 있으며 CDA가스만 첨가하는 경우보다 약 2.1배 증가함을 관찰할 수 있었다. 그리고 PR ashing rate가 가스첨가종류와 비율에 따라서 변화함을 관찰하였고 최적조건을 찾기 위해 연구를 진행하였다. 추후 PR ashing rate가 향상을 하기 위해 가스혼합비율 및 stage 온도등 조건을 조절하여 공정최적조건을 얻기 위해 연구를 진행하였다.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.1500-1503
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• 2009

In this paper, we studied about atmospheric pressure remote plasma ashing of photoresist(PR), by using a modified dielectric barrier discharge(DBD). The effect of various gas combinations such as $N_2/O_2$, $N_2/O_2+SF_6$ on the changes PR ashing rate was investigated as a function of power. The maximum PR ashing rate of 1850 nm/min was achieved at $N_2$ (70 slm)/ $O_2$ (200 sccm) + $SF_6$ (3 slm). We found that as the oxygen and fluorine radical peaks were increased, the ashing rate is increased, too.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.152-155
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• 2003

Ashing of photoresist was investigated in dielectric barrier discharges in atmospheric pressure by changing applied voltage, frequency, flow rate. we analyzed the plasma by Optical Emission Spectroscopy(OES) to monitor the variation of active oxygen species. Another new peaks of oxygen radical is observed by addition of argon gas. This may explain the increase in ashing rate with argon addition. With the results of Optical Emission Spectroscopy(OES), we can find the optimized ashing conditions. MIS capacitor for monitoring charging damage by the plasma was also studied. The results suggest the dielectric barrier discharges(DBD) can be an efficient, alternative Plasma source for general surface processing.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.95-100
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• 1998

A helical inductively coupled plasma asher, which produces low energy and high density plasma, has been built and investigated for photoresist stripping process. Oxygen ion density in the order of $10^{11}/cm^3$ is measured by Langmuir probe, and higher oxygen radical density is observed by Optical Emission Spectrometer. As RF source power is increased, the plasma density and thus photoresist stripping rate are increased. Independent RF bias power to the wafer stage provides a dc bias to the wafer and an ability to add the ion assisted reaction. At 1 KW of the source power, the coupling mechanism of the RF power to the plasma is changed from the inductive mode to the capacitive one at about 1 Torr. This change causes the plasma density and ashing rate decreases abruptly. The critical pressure of the mode change becomes larger with larger RF power.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.55-60
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• 2017

The supercritical $CO_2$ (sc-$CO_2$) mixture and the sc-$CO_2$-based Photoresist(PR) stripping(SCPS) process were applied to the removal of the post etch/ash PR residue on aluminum patterned wafers and the results were observed by scanning of electron microscope(SEM). In the case of MDII wafers, the carbonized PR was able to be effectively removed without pre-stripping by oxygen plasma ashing by using sc-$CO_2$ mixture containing the optimum formulated additives at the proper pressure and temperature, and the same result was also able to be obtained in the case of HDII wafer. It was found that the efficiency of SCPS of ion implanted wafer improved as the temperature of SCPS was high, so a very large amount of MEA in the sc-$CO_2$ mixture could be reduced if the temperature could be increased at condition that a process permits, and the ion implanted photoresist(IIP) on the wafer was able to be removed completely without pre-treatment of plasma ashing by using the only 1 step SCPS process. By using SCPS process, PR polymers formed on sidewalls of metal conductive layers such as aluminum films, titanium and titanium nitride films by dry etching and ashing processes were removed effectively with the minimization of the corrosion of the metal conductive layers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2007.08a
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• pp.85-85
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• 2007

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.353-357
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• 2010

Recently, silicon etching have received much attention for display industry, nano imprint technology, silicon photonics, and MEMS application. After the etching process, removing of etch mask and residue of sidewall is very important. The investigation of the etched mask removing was carried out by using the ashing, HF dipping and acid cleaning process. Experiment shows that oxygen component of reactive gas and photoresist react with silicon and converting them into the mask fence. It is very difficult to remove by using ashing or acid cleaning process because mask fence consisted of Si and O compounds. However, dilute HF dipping is very effective process for SiOx layer removing. Finally, we found optimized condition for etched mask removing.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 1998.06a
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• pp.339-342
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• 1998

Plasma etching of photoresist needs high etch rate, good uniformity and rae, good uniformity and low damage in low cost. ICP asher is expected to satisfy these requriement for next eneration semiconductor devices. ICPsimulator has been used to design the ashing chamber to redcue the development time and cost, and its results have been verified by QMS, OES and langmuir probe measurments. Plasma characteristics are monitored in terms of RF power and chamber pressure.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.325-331
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• 2007

In this study, the inter-metal dielectric material of FSG was changed by low-k material in $0.13{\mu}m$ foundry-compatible technology (FCT) device process based on fluorinated silicate glass (FSG). Black diamond (BD) was used as a low-k material with a dielectric constant of 2.95 for optimization and yield-improvement of the low-k based device process. For yield-improvement in low-k based device process, some problems such as photoresist (PR) poisoning, damage of low-k in etch/ash/cleaning process, and chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) delamination must be solved. The PR poisoning was not observed in BD based device. The pressure in CMP process decreased to 2.8 psi to remove the CMP delamination for Cu-CMP and USG-CMP. $H_2O$ ashing process was selected instead of $O_2$ ashing process due to the lowest condition of low-k damage. NE14 cleaning after ashing process lot the removal of organic residues in vias and trenches was employed for wet process instead of dilute HF (DHF) process. The similar-state of SRAM yield was obtained in Cu/low-k process compared with the conventional $0.13{\mu}m$ FCT device by the optimization of these process conditions.