Creation and removal of temporary silicon dioxide structures on an in-process integrated circuit with minimal effect on exposed, permanent silicon dioxide structures

摘要

A process for creating and removing temporary silicon dioxide structures on an in-process integrated circuit with minimal effect on existing permanent silicon dioxide structures that are exposed. The process comprises the steps of blanket depositing an ozone-TEOS silicon dioxide layer through chemical vapor deposition on top of the in-process integrated circuit, thus covering permanent structures formed from conventional silicon dioxides (e.g. TEOS and thermal oxides), etching the ozone-TEOS layer to create said temporary structures, and removing the temporary structures using dilute hydrofluoric acid.