Application of silanes for promoting resist patterning layer adhesion in semiconductor manufacturing

The importance of adhesion science to semiconductor fabrication technology is established with emphasis on lithographic adhesion studies and advances. Phenomenological understandings of silane adhesion promoter treatments developed to solve resist adhesion problems are provided from the correlations between surface analytical studies utilizing ESCA (XPS), contact angle measurements, and on-wafer empirical adhesion test results using special image adhesion test structures. Using the early work of Plueddemann and others as model systems, several silane adhesion promoter processes have been successfully developed to provide resist image adhesion to semiconductor manufacturing technology. In addition, surface studies have led to empirical measurement indicators that predict adhesion behavior well and these parameters are used to monitor adhesion performance even in volume semiconductor manufacturing facilities.