Appeal No. 2000-1004
Application 08/743,628
9. A process for patterning a layer formed on a substrate, said process comprising the
steps of:
depositing an antireflective layer on the layer;
depositing a capping layer on said antireflective layer to a thickness selected such that
said capping layer does not increase a reflectivity of said antireflective layer by more than about
25%, said capping layer having a nitrogen content of less than about 5% , by weight;
depositing a photoresist layer on said capping layer;
removing a first portion of said photoresist layer, a first portion of said capping layer and
a first portion of said antireflective layer according to a mask pattern in order to expose a first
portion of the layer substantially similar in shape to said first portions of said photoresist layer,
said capping layer and said antireflective layer; and
removing the first portion of the layer, leaving a remaining portion of the layer
substantially similar in shape to said remaining portion of said photoresist layer, said capping
layer and said antireflective layer.
15. The process of claim 10 wherein said photoresist layer is removed prior to removing
the first portion of the layer.
The appealed claims, as represented by claims 1, 9 and 15, are drawn to a process for
patterning a layer formed on a substrate which can use any material for an antireflective layer
(claim 9), or the antireflective layer comprises silicon, oxygen and nitrogen on the substrate
(claim 1), wherein the capping layer deposited on the antireflective layer either has a thickness
selected such that said capping layer does not increase a reflectivity of said antireflective layer
by more than about 25%, and has a nitrogen content of less than about 5% , by weight, when any
material is used for the antireflective layer (claim 9) or when the antireflective layer comprises
silicon, oxygen and nitrogen, the capping layer has a nitrogen content less than a nitrogen
content of said antireflective layer (claim 1). Appealed claim 15, dependent on claim appealed
10 which depends on claim 9, specifies that the photoresist layer is removed prior to removing
the first portion of the patterned layer formed on the substrate. According to appellants, the
process involves the deposition of “a low nitrogen content [capping] layer to reduce footing
experienced in a subsequently applied photoresist layer, without substantially adversely altering
the optical qualities of an associated antireflective layer” (specification, page 6).
The references relied on by the examiner are:
Abernathey et al. (Abernathey) 5,219,788 Jun. 15, 1993
Tsukamoto et al. (Tsukamoto) 5,600,165 Feb. 4, 1997
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