Feature Dimension Control in a Manufacturing Process

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device is disclosed including determining a dimension or other physical characteristic of a pattern in a layer of material that is disposed on a workpiece, and etching the layer of material using information that is related to the dimension. A system is also disclosed for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a first etch system configured to etch a layer to define a pattern in the layer, and a second etch system configured to measure a physical characteristic of the pattern, determine an etch control parameter based on the physical characteristic, and etch the layer in accordance with the etch control parameter.

1 . A method for manufacturing a workpiece, comprising:
 determining a dimension of a pattern in a layer of material that is disposed on the workpiece; and   etching the layer of material using information that is related to the dimension.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising defining the pattern in the layer of material using an anisotropic etch process. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising defining the pattern in the layer of material using a reactive ion etch process. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein etching the layer of material comprises using an isotropic etch process. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein etching the layer of material comprises using a chemical downstream etch process. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information corresponds to an amount of time that the layer of material is etched. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information corresponds to a pressure of a gas used to etch the layer of material. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information corresponds to a temperature used to etch the layer of material. 
   
   
       9 . A method of defining a feature on a wafer, comprising:
 etching a layer using a first etch process through a mask to define a feature in the layer; and   etching the layer using a second etch process to change a dimension of the feature using an etching parameter that is determined from a physical characteristic of the feature.   
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein etching the layer using the second etch process comprises measuring the physical characteristic after the mask is removed. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the physical characteristic includes the dimension of the feature. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the feature comprises polysilicon and the dimension is a width of the polysilicon. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first etch process is an anisotropic etch process and the second etch process is an isotropic etch process. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein etching the layer using a second etch process comprises using an etching parameter that includes at least one of an amount of time that the layer is etched, a pressure of a gas used to etch the layer, and a temperature used to etch the layer. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first etch process comprises a reactive ion etch process. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the second etch process comprises a chemical downstream etch process. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the mask comprises a resist layer. 
   
   
       18 . A method of manufacturing a layer over a substrate, comprising:
 etching the layer over the substrate through a patterned resist layer that overlies the layer over the substrate by using a reactive ion etch process to define a pattern in the layer over the substrate;   removing the resist layer;   measuring a physical characteristic of the layer over the substrate;   determining an etch control parameter based on the physical characteristic; and   etching the layer over the substrate by using a chemical downstream etch process in accordance with the etch control parameter to remove a portion of the layer over the substrate.   
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein etching the layer over the substrate using the second etch process comprises using the etching parameter that includes at least one of an amount of time that the layer over the substrate is etched, a pressure of a gas used to etch the layer over the substrate, and a temperature used to etch the layer over the substrate. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein measuring the physical characteristic of the layer over the substrate comprises measuring a width of a feature formed in the layer over the substrate. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein measuring the physical characteristic of the layer over the substrate comprises measuring a width of each of a plurality of features formed at different locations in the layer over the substrate.