Mask formation processing

摘要

A mask for use in fabricating one or more semiconductor devices is fabricated by: providing sacrificial spacing structures disposed over a substrate structure, and including protective hard masks at upper surfaces of the spacing structures; disposing a sidewall spacer layer conformally over the sacrificial spacing structures; selectively removing the sidewall spacer layer from above the sacrificial spacing structures to expose the protective hard masks of the spacing structures, the selectively removing including leaving sidewall spacers along sidewalls of the sacrificial spacing structures; providing a protective material over the substrate structure; and removing the exposed protective hard masks from the sacrificial spacing structures, and thereafter, removing remaining sacrificial spacing structures and the protective material, leaving the sidewall spacers over the substrate structure as a mask.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
providing sacrificial spacing structures disposed over a substrate structure, the sacrificial spacing structures comprising a sacrificial material and a protective hard mask material, the protective hard mask material being disposed over the sacrificial material of the sacrificial spacing structures; disposing a sidewall spacer layer conformally over the sacrificial spacing structures; selectively removing the sidewall spacer layer from above the sacrificial spacing structures to expose the protective hard mask material thereof, the selectively removing comprising leaving, at least in part, sidewall spacers along sidewalls of the sacrificial spacing structures; providing a protective material layer over the substrate structure; and removing the exposed protective hard mask material from the sacrificial spacing structures, the protective material layer protecting the substrate structure during the removing of the exposed protective hard mask material from the sacrificial spacing structures, and thereafter, removing the sacrificial material of sacrificial spacing structures, as well as the protective material layer, leaving the sidewall spacers over the substrate structure as a mask.