CN115903398A - Photolithographic pattern forming method, device, electronic device and readable storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

The disclosure provides a method and a device for forming a photoetching pattern, electronic equipment and a readable storage medium, and relates to the technical field of integrated circuits. The method for forming the photoetching pattern comprises the following steps: configuring a plurality of corresponding groups of photoetching finishing operations based on the graphic characteristics of a target graphic to be drawn on a layer to be photoetched; and executing the multiple groups of photoetching trimming operations to obtain corresponding multiple groups of photoetching patterns so as to form the target pattern by the multiple groups of photoetching patterns, wherein at least two groups of the multiple groups of photoetching patterns are photoetched on the surface of the layer to be photoetched. Through the technical scheme, the complex target graph can be split into the plurality of simpler sub-graphs, the simple sub-graphs are favorable for reducing the limit requirements on a process window, and the quality of parameters such as the photoetching profile, the line width roughness and the edge roughness is further ensured, so that the probability of generating defects in the photoetching process is reduced.

Description

Photolithographic pattern forming method, device, electronic device and readable storage medium

Background technique

A semiconductor refers to a device whose conductivity is between that of a conductor and an insulator at room temperature. With the development of semiconductor technology and the increase in the miniaturization of semiconductor volume, the size of semiconductor devices is gradually shrinking.

The reduction of the target size of the semiconductor also causes the design of the target image to become more and more complex. In order to meet the lithography requirements of the target image, it is necessary to increase the process window of the design and process, and the increase of the process window will lead to The profile, line width roughness, and edge roughness of photolithographic molding have more and more obvious effects on graphic quality.

It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background section is only for enhancing the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Contents of the invention

The purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a photolithographic pattern forming method, a forming device, a photolithographic pattern, an electronic device and a readable storage medium, which are beneficial to reduce the probability of defects generated in the photolithographic process.

Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, or in part, be learned by practice of the present disclosure.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for forming photolithographic patterns, including: configuring multiple groups of corresponding photolithographic trimming operations based on the graphic features of the target pattern to be drawn on the photolithographic layer; performing the multiple groups of photolithographic The trimming operation is to obtain corresponding multiple sets of photolithographic patterns, so as to form the target pattern from the multiple sets of photolithographic patterns, wherein at least two groups of the multiple sets of photolithographic patterns are photolithographically etched on the layer to be photoetched on the surface.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the graphic features include at least one of a distribution feature of the target graphic, a direction of lines constituting the target graphic, and a graphic type in the target graphic.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the performing the plurality of sets of photolithography trimming operations includes: in each group of the photolithography trimming operations, performing a trimming operation on the lithography initial pattern obtained based on the photolithography operation Obtain the corresponding photolithography pattern.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the multiple sets of photolithographic patterns include a first photolithographic pattern, and the corresponding photolithographic pattern is obtained by performing a trimming operation on the photolithographic initial pattern obtained based on the photolithographic operation The method includes: coating a first photoresist on the surface of the layer to be photoresisted, and performing a photolithography operation on the first photoresist based on the first direction submap in the target pattern until it reaches the layer to be photoresisted. The surface of the etched layer is obtained to obtain a first photolithographic initial pattern; the trimming operation is performed on the first photolithographic initial pattern to obtain a first photolithographic pattern.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the multiple groups of photolithography patterns further include a second photolithography pattern, and the corresponding photolithography The pattern further includes: coating a second photoresist on the first photoresist pattern; performing a photolithography operation on the second photoresist based on the second direction submap in the target pattern until reaching the target pattern. the surface of the photoresist layer to obtain a second photolithographic initial pattern; performing the trimming operation on the second photolithographic initial pattern to obtain a second photolithographic pattern.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, before coating the second photoresist on the first photoresist pattern, it further includes: forming a sacrificial material layer on the first photoresist pattern, wherein the The sacrificial material layer includes at least one of a spin-on-carbon layer, a silicon oxide layer, a metal oxide layer, an organic dielectric layer and an advanced pattern film layer.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, both the first photoresist and the second photoresist are positive resists; or the first photoresist and the second photoresist are both is a negative resist; or one of the first photoresist and the second photoresist is the positive resist, and the other is the negative resist.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, one of the first photoresist and the second photoresist is the positive resist, and the other is the negative resist, and in the Before the surface of the photoresist layer is coated with the first photoresist, it also includes: performing a simulation operation on the process of the photolithography operation, and determining that the first photoresist uses a positive resist based on the simulation results, so The second photoresist adopts negative resist, or the first photoresist adopts negative resist, and the second photoresist adopts positive resist.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the multiple groups of photolithographic patterns further include third photolithographic patterns, and the third photolithographic patterns are photolithographically etched on the surface of the layer to be photolithographic, or the The photoetching bottom surface of the third photoetching pattern is higher than the surface of the layer to be photoetched.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, performing the trimming operation on the lithography initial pattern obtained based on the lithography operation to obtain the corresponding lithography pattern includes: performing the trimming operation on the lithography initial pattern , to obtain a photolithographic trimming pattern; performing a hardening treatment on the photolithographic trimming pattern to obtain the corresponding photolithographic pattern.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, performing the trimming operation on the lithographic initial pattern to obtain the lithographic trimmed pattern includes: measuring the lithographic critical dimension on the lithographic initial pattern, The pattern pre-complement amount of the photolithographic initial pattern is determined based on the measurement result; and the photolithographic initial pattern is trimmed based on the pattern pre-complement amount to obtain the photolithographic trimmed pattern.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the trimming the initial photolithography pattern based on the pattern pre-complement amount, and obtaining the photolithography trimmed pattern includes: based on the pattern pre-complement amount and trimming duration Performing a gas trimming operation on the initial photolithographic pattern, and performing plasma activation on the introduced trimming gas to generate plasma, the plasma is used to oxidize the photoresist in the pre-compensated amount of the pattern in the initial photolithographic pattern to Volatile gas can be used to trim the initial pattern of photolithography, wherein the trimming duration is configured based on a trimming formula, the trimming formula is t=C/k, t is the trimming duration, and C is the pre-compensation of the graphic amount, k is the trimming factor.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, it further includes: collecting the process window of the lithography trimming operation, and feeding the process window back to the design end or the process end of the lithography pattern, so that the design The end adjusts the design parameters of the lithography pattern based on the process window, or the process end adjusts the process parameters of the lithography pattern based on the process window.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a photolithographic pattern is provided, the photolithographic pattern includes multiple groups, and at least two groups of the multiple groups of photolithographic patterns are photolithographically etched on the surface of the layer to be photoetched, wherein, Multiple groups of photolithographic patterns are respectively generated by photolithography operations on multiple groups of photoresists, and the multiple groups of photoresists are all positive, or the multiple groups of photoresists are all negative, or the multiple groups of photoresists are all negative. Multiple sets of photoresists include the positive resist and the negative resist.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a photolithographic pattern forming apparatus, including: a configuration module configured to configure multiple groups of corresponding photolithographic trimming operations based on the graphic features of the target pattern to be drawn on the photolithographic layer; A photolithographic trimming module, configured to perform the multiple sets of photolithographic trimming operations to obtain corresponding multiple sets of photolithographic patterns, so as to form the target pattern from the multiple sets of photolithographic patterns, wherein the multiple sets of photolithographic patterns At least two groups of photoresist are etched on the surface of the layer to be photoresisted.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic device, including: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to perform any of the above-mentioned items by executing the executable instructions The photolithography pattern forming method.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable medium on which a computer program is stored, and when the program is executed by a processor, the photolithography pattern forming method as described in the above-mentioned embodiments is implemented.

The lithography pattern formation scheme provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, for the target pattern to be lithography on the layer to be lithography, by automatically analyzing the pattern features of the target pattern, based on the analysis results, the target pattern is split into A plurality of sub-patterns, each sub-pattern corresponds to a group of photolithographic trimming operations, and then by performing multiple groups of photolithographic trimming operations respectively, the target pattern is photoetched on the layer to be photoresisted, and through the configuration of multiple groups of photolithographic trimming operations, it can Divide complex target graphics into multiple simpler sub-graphics, and simple sub-graphics are beneficial to reduce the limit requirements on the process window, thereby ensuring the accuracy of parameters such as lithographic profile, line width roughness, and edge roughness. Quality, to reduce the probability of defects in the photolithography process.

Further, applying the photolithographic pattern formation solution in the mass production process of semiconductor devices is also beneficial to reduce the probability of rework of products due to substandard dimensions.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present disclosure.

Description of drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. Apparently, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings according to these drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a lithography target pattern provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of a photolithography pattern forming method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a lithography target pattern provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a lithographic target pattern provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a photolithography pattern forming method provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows a top view of the middle process of a photolithographic pattern formation solution provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a top view of the middle process of a photolithography pattern formation solution provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows a top view of the middle process of a photolithography pattern formation solution provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a top view of the middle process of a photolithography pattern forming solution provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 shows a side view of the middle process of a photolithographic patterning solution provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 11 shows a side view of the middle process of a photolithographic patterning solution provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of a photolithography pattern forming method provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 shows a flow chart of a photolithographic pattern forming method provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 14 shows a side view of the middle process of a photolithography pattern forming solution provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 15 shows a side view of the middle process of a photolithographic pattern forming solution provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 16 shows a side view of the middle process of a photolithographic patterning solution provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a schematic block diagram of a photolithography pattern forming device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a computer system suitable for implementing the electronic device of the embodiment of the present disclosure provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed ways

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example embodiments may, however, be embodied in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the concept of example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

Furthermore, the drawings are merely schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and thus repeated descriptions thereof will be omitted. Some of the block diagrams shown in the drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically separate entities. These functional entities may be implemented in software, or in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different network and/or processor means and/or microcontroller means.

The flow charts shown in the drawings are just exemplary illustrations, not necessarily including all contents and steps, and not necessarily executing in the order described. For example, some steps can be decomposed, and some steps can be combined or partly combined, so the actual execution sequence may be changed according to the actual situation. The terms "a", "an" and "above" etc. are used to indicate the presence of one or more elements/components/etc. The terms "comprising", "including" and "having" are used in an open inclusive sense and mean that there may be additional elements/components/etc. besides the listed elements/components/etc.

In related technologies, in the semiconductor industry, as the device size shrinks, increasing the window of design and process is the future development direction. With the gradual reduction of the size of semiconductor devices, the process window of the design and process needs to be increased accordingly. In the current semiconductor imaging process, in order to make the key dimension of the pattern (minimum feature size) meet the design requirements, the lithography process needs to ensure sufficient process window and precise process conditions to achieve the target size of the design. If the target size is not reached, the photoresist (photoresist, a photosensitive material) needs to be removed and the process should be re-processed.

As the target size gradually shrinks, the impact of photoresist molding profile, line width roughness, edge roughness, etc. on graphic quality becomes more and more obvious (inter-graphic short circuit, graphic breakage), and it is also easy to cause defects in subsequent processes, and Due to the reduction of the target size, the image is designed more and more complex, refer to Figure 1, and the complex pattern setting will cause the current photolithography machine and photoresist limit to be unable to be directly prepared, so in order to prepare smaller size and complex structure For images, certain improvements in the manufacturing process are required to meet the complex graphics preparation requirements.

Referring to FIG. 2, the photolithographic pattern forming method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes:

Step S202 , based on the pattern features of the target pattern to be drawn on the layer to be photoresisted, configure multiple groups of corresponding photolithography trimming operations.

Wherein, the layer to be photoresisted includes but not limited to an oxide layer, a nitride layer, a metal layer, and a hard mask layer.

In addition, the target graph is split into multiple sub-graphs based on graph features, each sub-graph corresponds to a group of photolithography trimming operations, and the multiple groups of photolithography trimming operations are specifically greater than or equal to 2 groups.

Step S204, performing multiple sets of photolithographic trimming operations to obtain corresponding multiple sets of photolithographic patterns, so as to form a target pattern from multiple sets of photolithographic patterns, wherein at least two groups of the multiple sets of photolithographic patterns are photolithographically etched on the layer to be photoetched on the surface.

Wherein, the photolithography trimming operation includes photolithography operation and trimming operation.

The trimming operation includes but not limited to trimming the width of the graphic and trimming the height of the graphic.

In addition, at least two groups of photolithographic patterns are etched on the surface of the layer to be photoresisted, which means that at least two groups of sub-patterns are drawn on the layer to be photoresisted.

In this embodiment, for the target pattern to be photoetched on the layer to be photoresisted, the graphic features of the target pattern are automatically analyzed to split the target pattern into a plurality of sub-patterns based on the analysis results, and each sub-pattern corresponds to Based on a group of lithography trimming operations, and then by performing multiple sets of lithography trimming operations respectively, the target pattern is lithographically etched on the layer to be photoresisted. Through the configuration of multiple sets of lithography trimming operations, the complex target pattern can be split into Multiple simpler sub-patterns, and simple sub-patterns are conducive to reducing the limit requirements on the process window, thereby ensuring the quality of parameters such as lithographic profile, line width roughness, and edge roughness, so as to reduce the production of lithographic processes. probability of defect.

Further, applying the photolithographic pattern formation solution in the mass production process of semiconductor devices is also beneficial to reduce the probability of rework of products due to substandard dimensions.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the graphic features include at least one of a distribution feature of the target graphic, a direction of lines constituting the target graphic, and a graphic type in the target graphic.

As the first type of target pattern, the distribution feature of the target pattern can be the concentration of the distribution of the pattern on the layer to be photoresisted. The target pattern shown in FIG. The pattern is more concentrated than the three sub-patterns in 304, so the photolithography process of the target pattern can be configured as two groups of photolithography trimming operations.

Specifically, based on the distribution characteristics of the target graphics to be drawn in the lithography layer, corresponding multiple groups of lithography trimming operations are configured, which can be realized by cluster analysis. By performing clustering operations on the target graphics, multiple groups of sub-graphics are obtained , the graphs in each group of sub-graphs are relatively close to each other, and the relative distances between multiple groups of sub-graphs are relatively long.

As the second type of target graphics, as shown in Figure 1, the direction of the lines constituting the target graphics refers to the extension direction of different lines in the graphics, wherein, those skilled in the art can understand that the horizontal direction and the vertical direction are respectively Referring to the direction, divide 90° into multiple angle areas, such as [0,30], (30, 60), [60,90], and the lines with the angle between the horizontal direction and the same angle area can be viewed lines in the same direction.

In addition, the curve with a small volatility can also be approximated to a straight line to identify the direction of the line.

Specifically, according to the difference of each pixel of the target graphic, binarize the grayscale image of the target graphic, set the non-line area pixels to 0, set the pixel value of the line area to 255, and then column by column Continuing to sum the pixels, if the column sum is greater than 0, it indicates that the line is detected. By scanning column by column, the line trajectory of the target image is obtained to further detect the direction of the line based on the line trajectory, and configure the corresponding multiple groups based on the detection result. Lithographic trimming operations.

As the third type of target graphics, the graphic types in the target graphics include but are not limited to rectangles, parallelograms, triangles, trapezoids, circles, ellipses, etc., as shown in Figure 4, the target photolithographic graphics include two A pattern type based on which phototrimming operations are configured for use.

Specifically, the graphic category in the target graphic can be intelligently identified, so that the target graphic can be automatically split into multiple sub-graphics based on the recognition result, and a corresponding photolithography trimming operation can be configured for each sub-graphic.

In addition, those skilled in the art can understand that for any target pattern, any pattern feature can be preset as a specific configuration condition, so as to configure the corresponding photolithography trimming operation based on the split result, or for the above-mentioned different Different priorities are set for graphic features, and the target graphic is recognized based on the corresponding priority, so that the graphic is split based on the recognition result.

In this embodiment, by configuring different types of graphic features, the target graphic to be lithography is split based on at least one type of graphic feature, and the corresponding lithography trimming operation is further configured, by ensuring that the target image split The reliability and rationality of the method can further ensure the process reliability of each group of photolithographic trimming operations to reduce process defects.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, performing multiple sets of lithography trimming operations includes: in each set of lithography trimming operations, performing trimming operations on lithography initial patterns obtained based on lithography operations to obtain corresponding lithography patterns .

In this embodiment, by performing photolithography operation on the photoresist first, to obtain a larger photolithographic initial pattern, and further modifying the photolithographic pattern, a smaller photolithographic pattern is obtained, which meets the requirements of the pattern line. For the preparation of target patterns with smaller width, especially for the working conditions where the design rules cannot meet the design size requirements, or the lithography machine and photoresist limit cannot directly process the target pattern, or the process window is extremely small, the light can be generated by exposure first. Engraving the initial graphics, and then shrinking the graphics through trimming operations, can obtain fidelity effects, reduce defects caused by exposure, and increase the design window.

As shown in FIG. 5 , in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, multiple sets of photolithographic patterns include the first photolithographic pattern, and the corresponding photolithographic pattern is obtained by trimming the initial photolithographic pattern obtained based on the photolithographic operation. include:

Step S502, coating the first photoresist on the surface of the layer to be photoresisted, and performing a photolithography operation on the first photoresist based on the first direction submap in the target pattern until it reaches the surface of the layer to be photoresisted, to obtain the first photoresist A lithographic initial pattern.

Wherein, the first photolithography initial pattern 602 obtained after coating the first photoresist is shown in FIG. 6 .

Step S504, performing a trimming operation on the first photolithographic initial pattern to obtain a first photolithographic pattern.

The trimmed first photolithography pattern 702 is shown in FIG. 7 .

As shown in FIG. 5, in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the multiple groups of lithographic patterns further include a second lithographic pattern, and the corresponding lithographic pattern is obtained by performing a trimming operation on the lithographic initial pattern obtained based on the lithographic operation. Graphics also include:

Step S506, coating a second photoresist on the first photoresist pattern.

Step S508, performing a photolithography operation on the second photoresist based on the second direction submap in the target pattern until it reaches the surface of the layer to be photoresisted, so as to obtain a second photolithographic initial pattern.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of the combination of the first photolithography pattern 702 and the second photolithography initial pattern 802 .

Step S510, performing a trimming operation on the second photolithographic initial pattern to obtain a second photolithographic pattern.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of the combination of the first photolithographic pattern 702 and the second photolithographic pattern 902 .

Further, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, an anti-reflection coating 1004 is coated on the hard mask 1002, and the anti-reflection coating 1004 can be BARC (Bottom Anti-Reflection Coating, bottom anti-reflection coating) or DBARC ( Developable Bottom Anti-Reflection Coating, bottom anti-reflection coating that can be developed).

As shown in FIG. 10 , after the second photoresist is coated on the first photolithographic pattern 1006A, a photolithography operation is performed to generate a second photolithographic initial pattern 1006B.

As shown in FIG. 11 , a trimming operation is performed on the second photolithographic initial pattern 1006B to obtain a target pattern 1006 .

In this embodiment, for the target pattern including at least the first photolithographic pattern and the second photolithographic pattern, the first photolithographic initial pattern is generated by sequentially coating the first photoresist, photolithography, and the first photolithographic initial pattern. The pattern is trimmed to obtain the first photolithographic pattern, and the second photoresist is coated on the first photolithographic pattern, the photolithography generates the second photolithographic initial pattern, and the second photolithographic initial pattern is trimmed to obtain the second photolithographic pattern. pattern, wherein, the photolithography depth of the corresponding first photolithography operation and the second photolithography operation both reach the surface of the layer to be photolithography, so that the obtained first photolithography pattern and the second photolithography pattern can meet the requirements of the target pattern Target size requirements, and then obtain high-quality target lithographic patterns without reaching the limit design and process conditions.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, before coating the second photoresist on the first photoresist pattern, the method further includes: forming a sacrificial material layer on the first photoresist pattern.

Wherein, the sacrificial material layer includes at least one of a spin-on carbon layer, a silicon oxide layer, a metal oxide layer, an organic dielectric layer and an advanced pattern film layer.

In this embodiment, the sacrificial material layer is used to protect the formed first photoresist pattern, the sacrificial material layer is first formed on the first photoresist pattern, and then the second photoresist is coated, and the first photoresist pattern and The second photoresist is separated, and after forming the second photoresist pattern, the sacrificial material layer is etched away to protect the first photoresist pattern. In addition, the material of the sacrificial material layer is reasonably selected so that the sacrificial material layer is both Easy to form and easy to remove.

Regarding the photoresist properties of the first photoresist and the second photoresist, in the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, both the first photoresist and the second photoresist are positive resists.

In the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, both the first photoresist and the second photoresist are negative resists.

In a third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, one of the first photoresist and the second photoresist is a positive resist, and the other is a negative resist.

Specifically, the negative gel forms an insoluble substance after being illuminated, while the positive gel is insoluble to some solvents but becomes soluble after being illuminated, because the negative gel will cross-link or change when exposed to ultraviolet rays. Hard, so that the exposed negative gel can not be dissolved in the developer, and the exposed positive gel is easier to dissolve in the developer, so by using the positive gel and the negative gel respectively as the first photoresist and the second photoresist The glue can reduce the probability that the formed first photolithographic pattern is affected by the second photolithographic pattern forming process, so as to ensure the reliability and stability of the first photolithographic pattern.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, one of the first photoresist and the second photoresist is a positive resist, and the other is a negative resist, and the first photoresist is coated on the surface of the photoresist layer. Before the first photoresist, it also includes: performing a simulation operation on the process of photolithography operation, and based on the simulation results, it is determined that the first photoresist adopts positive resist, the second photoresist adopts negative resist, or the first photoresist The glue is a negative glue, and the second photoresist is a positive glue.

Preferably, the first photoresist is a negative resist, and the second photoresist is a positive resist.

Specifically, based on the process simulation operation, if the positive photoresist is used for the first time to prepare the initial photolithography pattern, the corresponding light-transmitting area of the mask is a non-pattern area, and the positive developing operation is adopted, then the negative photoresist is used for the second time. The photoresist negative glue is used to prepare the photolithographic initial pattern, and the corresponding light-transmitting area of the mask is the pattern area, and the negative developing operation is used. If the negative photoresist negative glue is used for the first time to prepare the photolithographic initial pattern, the corresponding photoresist The light-transmitting area of the mask is a pattern area, and a negative developing operation is adopted, and the positive photoresist is used for the second time to prepare the initial pattern of photolithography, and the corresponding light-transmitting area of the mask is a non-graphic area, and a positive developing operation is adopted, To ensure the reliability of the actual lithography operation.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the multiple sets of photolithographic patterns further include a third photolithographic pattern, the third photolithographic pattern is photolithographically etched on the surface of the layer to be photolithographic, or the photolithographic pattern of the third photolithographic pattern is The bottom surface is higher than the surface of the layer to be photoresisted.

In this embodiment, the third photolithographic pattern can be directly formed on the surface of the layer to be photolithographic, that is, the photolithographic operation is performed in the area of the non-first photolithographic pattern and the non-second photolithographic pattern, or it can be Carry out the drawing of the 3rd photoresist pattern on the upper surface of a photoresist pattern and/or the second photoresist pattern, in addition, can also increase new photoresist layer on the layer to be photoresisted, with new photoresist layer Draw the third photolithography pattern.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, performing a trimming operation on a photolithographic initial pattern obtained based on a photolithographic operation to obtain a corresponding photolithographic pattern includes: performing a trimming operation on a photolithographic initial pattern to obtain a photolithographic trimmed pattern.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 12 , a trimming operation is performed on the initial photolithographic pattern to obtain a specific implementation of the photolithographic trimmed pattern, including:

Step S1202, determining an initial target value of the critical dimension of the photolithography pattern based on the target critical dimension of the target pattern, the allowable error and the line edge roughness.

Wherein, the target key size refers to the final key specification size of the target figure.

The initial target value is the size of the initial pattern in lithography.

Step S1204, performing a photolithographic exposure operation based on the initial target value to obtain a photolithographic initial pattern.

In step S1206, the lithography critical dimension is measured for the lithography initial pattern, and the pattern pre-complement amount of the lithography initial pattern is determined based on the measurement result.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S1206, the lithography critical dimension is measured for the lithography initial pattern, and a specific implementation manner of determining the pattern pre-complement amount of the lithography initial pattern based on the measurement result ,include:

C为图形预补量，V为实际量测尺寸，A为目标关键尺寸。Measure the key dimensions of the initial pattern of lithography to obtain the actual measured size, and determine the pre-complement amount of the graphic based on the actual measured size and the pre-complement calculation formula, where the pre-complement calculation formula is

C is the graphic pre-fill amount, V is the actual measured size, and A is the target key size.

Step S1208, trimming the initial photolithographic pattern based on the pre-complement amount of the pattern to obtain a photolithographic trimmed pattern.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, in step S1208, the lithography initial pattern is trimmed based on the amount of pattern pre-complementation to obtain a specific implementation of the lithography trimming pattern, including:

Based on the pattern pre-complement amount and trimming time, the gas trimming operation is performed on the lithographic initial pattern, and the introduced trimming gas is activated by plasma to generate plasma. The plasma is used to oxidize the photoresist of the pattern pre-compensation amount in the lithographic initial pattern Volatile gas to modify the initial pattern of lithography.

Wherein, the trimming gas is generated by the configuration of inert gas and process gas.

In addition, an integrated trimming device may be used to introduce trimming gas to the surface of the exposed pattern, and the integrated trimming device is a lithography device integrated with a trimming gas introduction function.

Specifically, the trimming duration is configured based on the trimming formula;

The execution time of the gas trimming operation is controlled based on the trimming duration, so as to oxidize the photoresist in the pattern pre-compensation amount in the initial pattern of lithography into a volatile gas,

Among them, the trimming formula is t=C/k, t is the trimming time, C is the graphic pre-compensation amount, and k is the trimming coefficient.

The trimming coefficient k is determined based on the parameters of the photoresist material of the lithographic image, the electrical parameters of the trimming gas, and the trimming test results for different trimming gases.

In this embodiment, by calculating the initial target value of the photoresist pattern, after the photoresist is coated, the photolithography operation is performed on the photoresist based on the initial target value to obtain the initial photolithographic pattern, and further adopt the method that can be processed by plasma The volume activates the photoresist trimming gas exposed on the surface of the photoresist to trim the lithographic initial pattern, specifically, by detecting the pattern pre-fill amount of the lithographic initial pattern, the flow rate and the number of seconds are controlled based on the pattern pre-fill amount. The resist layer is trimmed to complete the trimming process, which ensures the trimming accuracy of the trimming operation.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the photolithography pattern forming method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure further includes:

Adjust the trimming time based on the height process parameters of the target pattern to obtain the process adjustment time, so as to trim the height of the lithography pattern based on the process adjustment time length; if the height of the trimmed lithography pattern is detected to be inconsistent, the detection result will be fed back to the next lithography The trimming process executes the gas trimming operation cyclically until the heights of the trimmed exposed images are the same.

In this embodiment, by obtaining the height process parameters of the target pattern, the height consistency of the obtained target pattern is ensured, which is beneficial to ensure the height consistency in the subsequent etching process.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, performing a trimming operation on the lithography initial pattern obtained based on the lithography operation to obtain the corresponding lithography pattern further includes: performing a hard film treatment on the lithography trimmed pattern to obtain the corresponding lithography pattern. graphics.

In this embodiment, hardening treatment is performed on the obtained photolithography trimming pattern to improve the adhesion of the photoresist to the photoresist layer, so as to ensure the smooth execution of subsequent processes.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, it further includes: collecting the process window of the lithography trimming operation, and feeding the process window back to the design end or the process end of the lithography pattern, so that the design end adjusts the lithography pattern based on the process window design parameters, or make the process end adjust the process parameters of the photolithography pattern based on the process window.

In this embodiment, the lithography process window in each group of lithography trimming operations is fed back to the design end and/or the process end, so as to carry out relevant parameters of the lithography pattern in the product design stage and/or process design stage Optimization to continuously improve semiconductor products including photolithographic patterns through reverse optimization.

As shown in FIG. 13 , according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the photolithography pattern forming method specifically includes:

Step S1302, based on the pattern features of the target pattern to be drawn on the layer to be photoresisted, configure multiple groups of corresponding photolithography trimming operations.

Step S1304, for each group of lithographic trimming operations, firstly determine the initial target value target of the critical dimension of the lithographic pattern based on the target critical dimension A, allowable error B and line edge roughness C of the target pattern.

Wherein, target≥A+B+2C(nm).

Wherein, the line edge roughness C is related to exposure energy, photoresist thickness, and photoresist material.

As shown in FIG. 14 , the line width of the formed first photolithographic initial pattern or second photolithographic initial pattern 1008A satisfies target≧A+B+2C (nm).

Step S1306, coating a photoresist, and performing a photolithography operation based on the initial target value, to obtain a photolithographic initial pattern.

In step S1308, the CD measurement is performed on the initial photolithographic pattern to obtain the line width value of the initial photolithographic pattern, and the pattern pre-complement amount is calculated based on the line width value.

(V–A)nm。Among them, the line width value is V nm, and the figure pre-complement amount calculated is

(V–A)nm.

As shown in FIG. 15 , the CD measurement is performed on the first photolithography initial pattern or the second photolithography initial pattern 1008A to obtain the line width value V .

Step S1310, configuring one or more trimming gases that can be activated by the plasma and exposed to the surface of the photoresist, and trimming the initial photoresist pattern by controlling the flow rate and the number of seconds to obtain a photoresist pattern.

As shown in Figure 16, the trimming operation is performed on the first photolithographic initial pattern or the second photolithographic initial pattern 1008A to obtain the first photolithographic pattern or the second photolithographic pattern 1008B, and the line width reaches the target critical dimension through the trimming operation a.

Wherein, the trimming gas includes but not limited to argon, helium, neon, nitrogen and some process gases such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen combined plasma gas.

According to the measured and calculated pre-compensation value, and the coherence coefficient k between the photoresist line width and the number of seconds of the trimming gas, the number of process seconds required for the trimming gas is obtained and the process is completed.

In step S1312 , the process window and the design window are optimized based on multiple groups of lithography trimming operations through continuous cooperative optimization of DTCO through process and design technology co-optimization.

In this embodiment, in order to prevent semiconductor products from being reworked, the preparation of the target pattern to be lithography is divided into multiple groups of lithography trimming operations to reduce the complexity of a single lithography of the pattern, and combine the photolithography The trimming operation can reduce the process requirements of the photolithography process, thereby reducing the cost of rework,

Further, through the continuous cooperation and optimization of Process and DTCO, it is possible to improve the design/process window at the same time, and continuously improve product design and process.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned figures are only schematic illustrations of the processing included in the method according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and are not intended to be limiting. It is easy to understand that the processes shown in the above figures do not imply or limit the chronological order of these processes. In addition, it is also easy to understand that these processes may be executed synchronously or asynchronously in multiple modules, for example.

Those skilled in the art can understand that various aspects of the present invention can be implemented as systems, methods or program products. Therefore, various aspects of the present invention can be embodied in the following forms, that is: a complete hardware implementation, a complete software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software implementations, which can be collectively referred to herein as "circuit", "module" or "system".

A photolithographic patterning apparatus 1700 according to this embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to FIG. 17 . The photolithographic pattern forming apparatus 1700 shown in FIG. 17 is only an example, and should not limit the functions and scope of use of the embodiments of the present invention.

The lithographic patterning apparatus 1700 is represented in the form of hardware modules. The components of the lithography pattern forming apparatus 1700 may include but not limited to: a configuration module 1702, configured to configure multiple groups of corresponding lithography trimming operations based on the graphic characteristics of the target pattern to be drawn on the lithography layer; a lithography trimming module 1704 , used to perform multiple sets of photolithographic trimming operations to obtain corresponding multiple sets of photolithographic patterns, so as to form target patterns from multiple sets of photolithographic patterns, wherein at least two groups of multiple sets of photolithographic patterns are photolithographically etched on the layer to be photoetched on the surface.

Referring now to FIG. 18 , it shows a schematic structural diagram of a computer system 1800 suitable for implementing an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The computer system 1800 of the electronic device shown in FIG. 18 is only an example, and should not limit the functions and application scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 18 , a computer system 1800 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 1801, which can operate according to a program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 1802 or a program loaded from a storage section 1808 into a random access memory (RAM) 1803 Instead, various appropriate actions and processes are performed. In RAM 1803, various programs and data necessary for system operation are also stored. The CPU 1801, ROM 1802, and RAM 1803 are connected to each other through a bus 1804. An input/output (I/O) interface 1809 is also connected to the bus 1804 .

The following components are connected to the I/O interface 1805: an input section 1806 including a keyboard, a mouse, etc.; an output section 1807 including a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), etc., and a speaker; a storage section 1808 including a hard disk, etc. and a communication section 1809 including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, or the like. The communication section 1809 performs communication processing via a network such as the Internet. A drive 1810 is also connected to the I/O interface 1805 as needed. A removable medium 1818, such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, etc., is mounted on the drive 1810 as necessary so that a computer program read therefrom is installed into the storage section 1808 as necessary.

As another aspect, the present application also provides a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may be included in the electronic device described in the above-mentioned embodiments; or it may exist independently without being assembled into the electronic device. middle. The above-mentioned computer-readable medium carries one or more programs, and when the above-mentioned one or more programs are executed by the electronic device, the electronic device is made to implement the photolithography pattern forming method in the above-mentioned embodiments.

For example, the electronic device can realize as shown in Figure 2: step S202, based on the graphic features of the target pattern to be drawn on the photolithographic layer, configure corresponding multiple groups of photolithography trimming operations; step S204, execute the multiple groups The photolithographic trimming operation is to obtain corresponding multiple sets of photolithographic patterns, so as to form the target pattern from the multiple sets of photolithographic patterns, wherein at least two groups of the multiple sets of photolithographic patterns are photolithographically etched on the to-be-photographed on the surface of the engraved layer.

In particular, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processes described above with reference to the flowcharts can be implemented as computer software programs. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure include a computer program product, which includes a computer program carried on a computer-readable medium, where the computer program includes program codes for executing the methods shown in the flowcharts. In such an embodiment, the computer program can be downloaded and installed from a network via the communication part, and/or installed from a removable medium. When the computer program is executed by a central processing unit (CPU), the above-mentioned functions defined in the system of the present application are performed.

It should be noted that the computer-readable medium shown in the present disclosure may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium or any combination of the above two. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to, electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable Programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage device, magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. In the present disclosure, however, a computer-readable signal medium may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying computer-readable program code therein. Such propagated data signals may take many forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer-readable signal medium may also be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, which can send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. . Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in a flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, program segment, or portion of code that includes one or more logical functions for implementing specified executable instructions. It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or they may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It should also be noted that each block in the block diagrams or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified function or operation, or can be implemented by a A combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

The units described in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by software or by hardware, and the described units may also be set in a processor. Wherein, the names of these units do not constitute a limitation of the unit itself under certain circumstances.

It should be noted that although several modules or units of the device for action execution are mentioned in the above detailed description, this division is not mandatory. Actually, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above may be embodied in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided to be embodied by a plurality of modules or units.

In addition, although steps of the methods of the present disclosure are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, there is no requirement or implication that the steps must be performed in that particular order, or that all illustrated steps must be performed to achieve the desired result. Additionally or alternatively, certain steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step for execution, and/or one step may be decomposed into multiple steps for execution, etc.

Through the description of the above implementations, those skilled in the art can easily understand that the example implementations described here can be implemented by software, or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of software products, and the software products can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be CD-ROM, U disk, mobile hard disk, etc.) or on the network , including several instructions to make a computing device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a mobile terminal, or a network device, etc.) execute the method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any modification, use or adaptation of the present disclosure, and these modifications, uses or adaptations follow the general principles of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or conventional technical means in the technical field not disclosed in the present disclosure . The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, with the true scope and spirit of the disclosure indicated by the appended claims.

Claims (17)

1. A method of forming a lithographic pattern, comprising:

configuring a plurality of corresponding groups of photoetching finishing operations based on the graphic characteristics of a target graphic to be drawn on a layer to be photoetched;

executing the multiple groups of photoetching trimming operations to obtain corresponding multiple groups of photoetching patterns so as to form the target pattern by the multiple groups of photoetching patterns,

and at least two groups of the photoetching patterns are photoetched on the surface of the layer to be photoetched.

2. The lithographic pattern forming method according to claim 1,

the graphic features include at least one of distribution features of a target graphic, line directions constituting the target graphic, and graphic types in the target graphic.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing the plurality of sets of lithographic trimming operations comprises:

and in each group of photoetching trimming operation, trimming operation is carried out on a photoetching initial pattern obtained based on photoetching operation to obtain a corresponding photoetching pattern.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of sets of lithography patterns include a first lithography pattern, and the trimming operation of the lithography initial pattern obtained based on the lithography operation to obtain the corresponding lithography pattern comprises:

coating a first photoresist on the surface of the layer to be photoetched, and carrying out photoetching operation on the first photoresist on the basis of a first direction sub-graph in the target graph until the first photoresist reaches the surface of the layer to be photoetched to obtain a first photoetching initial graph;

and carrying out the trimming operation on the first photoetching initial pattern to obtain a first photoetching pattern.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of sets of lithography patterns further include a second lithography pattern, and the trimming operation of the lithography initial pattern obtained based on the lithography operation to obtain the corresponding lithography pattern further includes:

coating a second photoresist on the first photoetching pattern;

carrying out photoetching operation on the second photoresist on the basis of a second direction subgraph in the target graph until the second photoresist reaches the surface of the layer to be photoetched to obtain a second photoetching initial graph;

and carrying out the trimming operation on the second photoetching initial pattern to obtain a second photoetching pattern.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising, before coating a second photoresist on the first resist pattern:

forming a sacrificial material layer on the first lithography pattern,

wherein the sacrificial material layer comprises at least one of a spin-on carbon layer, a silicon oxide layer, a metal oxide layer, an organic dielectric layer and an advanced patterning film layer.

7. The lithographic pattern forming method of claim 5,

the first photoresist and the second photoresist are both positive photoresists; or

The first photoresist and the second photoresist are both negative photoresist; or

One of the first photoresist and the second photoresist is the positive photoresist, and the other one is the negative photoresist.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein one of the first photoresist and the second photoresist is the positive photoresist, and the other is the negative photoresist, and before the first photoresist is coated on the surface of the layer to be subjected to photolithography, the method further comprises:

and performing simulation operation on the technological process of the photoetching operation, and determining that the first photoresist adopts positive photoresist and the second photoresist adopts negative photoresist or that the first photoresist adopts negative photoresist and the second photoresist adopts positive photoresist based on a simulation result.

9. The lithographic pattern forming method according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of sets of lithographic patterns further includes a third lithographic pattern,

and the third photoetching pattern is photoetched on the surface of the layer to be photoetched, or the photoetching bottom surface of the third photoetching pattern is higher than the surface of the layer to be photoetched.

10. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein the trimming operation of the lithography initial pattern obtained on the basis of the lithography operation to obtain the corresponding lithography pattern comprises:

carrying out the trimming operation on the photoetching initial graph to obtain a photoetching trimming graph;

and hardening the photoetching trimming graph to obtain the corresponding photoetching graph.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the trimming the initial pattern to obtain a trimmed pattern comprises:

measuring the photoetching critical dimension of the photoetching initial graph, and determining graph pre-compensation quantity of the photoetching initial graph based on the measurement result;

and trimming the photoetching initial graph based on the graph pre-compensation amount to obtain the photoetching trimmed graph.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the trimming the initial lithographic pattern based on the pattern pre-compensation amount to obtain the trimmed lithographic pattern comprises:

performing gas trimming operation on the photoetching initial pattern based on the pattern pre-compensation amount and the trimming duration, performing plasma activation on introduced trimming gas to generate plasma, wherein the plasma is used for oxidizing the photoresist with the pattern pre-compensation amount in the photoetching initial pattern into volatile gas so as to trim the photoetching initial pattern,

the trimming time length is configured based on a trimming formula, the trimming formula is t = C/k, t is the trimming time length, C is the graph pre-compensation amount, and k is a trimming coefficient.

13. The lithographic pattern forming method according to claim 1, further comprising:

collecting a process window of the photoetching trimming operation, and feeding back the process window to a design end or a process end of the photoetching pattern so as to enable the design end to adjust the design parameters of the photoetching pattern based on the process window, or enable the process end to adjust the process parameters of the photoetching pattern based on the process window.

14. A lithographic pattern, characterized in that,

the photoetching patterns comprise a plurality of groups, at least two groups of the photoetching patterns are photoetched on the surface of the layer to be photoetched,

the photoresist patterns are generated by respectively carrying out photoetching operation on multiple groups of photoresist, wherein the multiple groups of photoresist are all positive photoresist, the multiple groups of photoresist are all negative photoresist, or the multiple groups of photoresist comprise the positive photoresist and the negative photoresist.

15. A lithographic pattern forming apparatus, comprising:

the configuration module is used for configuring a plurality of corresponding groups of photoetching trimming operations based on the graphic characteristics of a target graphic to be drawn on a layer to be photoetched;

a photoetching trimming module for executing the multiple groups of photoetching trimming operations to obtain corresponding multiple groups of photoetching patterns so as to form the target pattern by the multiple groups of photoetching patterns,

and at least two groups of the photoetching patterns are photoetched on the surface of the layer to be photoetched.

16. An electronic device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor;

wherein the processor is configured to perform the lithographic pattern forming method of any one of claims 1 to 13 via execution of the executable instructions.

17. A computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, the computer program being characterized by implementing the lithographic pattern forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 when executed by a processor.

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