SBIR Phase II: An Innovative Method for Removing Resist from Wafers

小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目旨在开发一种创新的、环保的方法来去除半导体晶圆上的抗蚀剂。在每一个光刻步骤和接下来的加工步骤（例如蚀刻或离子注入）之后，必须剥离工艺硬化的抗蚀剂并清洗晶圆片。现有的光刻胶去除方法（等离子灰化和湿式化学剥离）对于当前最先进的互连材料来说过于激进——它们往往会降解和损坏低k介电体并腐蚀铜；它们对脆弱的设备结构也有害。在这个项目中，通过在超纯水中控制微空化，在一个过程步骤中完成抗蚀剂剥离和晶圆清洗，不会损坏底层和特征。抵制剥离是一个不断增长的26.4亿美元的市场。所提出的抗蚀剂去除剂和晶圆清洗剂成功克服了当今IC制造业面临的关键技术障碍。在集成电路制造行业之外，基于微空化的层去除将在需要控制薄膜去除的所有领域得到应用，例如：， MEMS， PCB，光学，汽车（除漆）和航空航天。这将是一种对薄膜加工有用的使能技术。微空化是一种无化学物质、环保的技术。

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to develop an innovative, environment friendly method for removing resist from semiconductor wafers. After every lithography step, and the following processing step, e.g., etching or ion implantation, the process-hardened resist must be stripped away and the wafer cleaned. Existing photoresist removal methods (plasma ashing and wet chemical stripping) are proving too aggressive for current state-of-the-art interconnect materials-they tend to degrade and damage low-k dielectrics and corrode copper; they are also detrimental to the delicate device structures. In this project the resist stripping and wafer cleaning are accomplished in a single process step through controlled microcavitation in ultrapure water with no damage to the underlying layers and features.Resist stripping is a growing $2.64B market. The proposed resist remover and wafer cleaner successfully overcome a critical technological barrier facing the IC manufacturing industry today. Beyond the IC manufacturing industry, the microcavitation based layer removal will find applications in all areas requiring controlled thin film removal,e.g., MEMS, PCB, optics, automotive (paint removal), and aerospace. This will be an enabling technology useful in thin film processing. Microcavitation is a chemical free, environmentally friendly technology.