Etching apparatus

Abstract

An etching apparatus, for etching copper or silver, which includes a hydrogen peroxide tank, an ammonium hydroxide tank, a water tank, an etching tank, a piping system and a temperature control device, is provided. The piping system connects the hydrogen peroxide tank, the ammonium hydroxide tank, the water tank to the etching tank, and the temperature control device is disposed around the hydrogen peroxide tank, the ammonium hydroxide tank and the etching tank to maintain the temperatures of them below the room temperature and above 12 degree centigrade. An etching process is also provided. First, hydrogen peroxide and ammonium hydroxide having a temperature in a temperature-range below the room temperature and above 12 degree centigrade, is provided. Then, water, hydrogen peroxide and ammonium hydroxide are mixed to be an etchant with a temperature maintained in said temperature temperature-range. Next, the etchant is utilized for etching copper or silver.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 11 / 161,309, filed on Jul. 29, 2005, which claims the priority benefit of Taiwan patent application serial no. 94122059, filed Jun. 30, 2005 and is now pending. The entirety of each of the above-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to an etching apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to an etching apparatus and an etching process with stable etching rate. [0004] 2. Description of Related Art [0005] In semiconductor processing, an etching process is used to remove a thin film that is not covered by a photoresist layer or a mask layer by way of chemical reaction or physical phenomenon to transfer a pattern from a photomask to the thin film. Meanwhile, a complete removal of a thin film is often a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] The present invention is also directed to an etching apparatus and an etching process for avoiding the decrease of the concentration of the etchant in the etching tank, such that the etching rate of the etchant for copper or silver will be more stable.

[0011] The present invention is further directed to an etching apparatus and an etching process for avoiding the stimulative smell produced by vaporized ammonium hydroxide.

[0024] With the use of the temperature control device in the present invention for maintaining the temperatures of hydrogen peroxide and ammonium hydroxide below the room temperature and above 12 degree centigrade in the etching process, the block in the piping system can be avoided. Moreover, the vaporizing rates of hydrogen peroxide and ammonium hydroxide can be decreased to make the etching rate of the etchant for copper or silver more stable. Otherwise, the stimulative smell produced by vaporized ammonium hydroxide could be decreased.

Problems solved by technology

The suction of hydrogen peroxide and ammonium hydroxide is difficult in the blocked delivering pipes, such that the operation reliability of the conventional etching apparatus will be decreased.

Therefore, the etching rate of the etchant for copper film and silver film is unstable.

Images