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Sign Up FreeWhat this cross-section shows — a dense, amorphous silicon oxide film conformally covering the underlying amorphous carbon and nitrogen-free dielectric anti-reflective coating (DARC) stack. This inorganic cap layer appears as a distinct, uniform boundary between the carbon-based hardmask beneath and the space reserved for subsequent BARC and photoresist application. It is formed through surface-limited chemical reactions that convert silicon-containing precursors into a rigid Si–O network, which…
The AA Cap Oxide Deposition step is inserted after the N-free DARC and amorphous carbon stack formation to create an inorganic capping layer that mechanically and chemically stabilizes the underlying organic films during subsequent lithography and etch processing .In the 28 nm planar STI-related AA module, this cap oxide functions as a transition layer that decouples the chemically active carbon-based hardmask from the photoresist and BARC layers th…
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