Method of manufacturing complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 to Korean Patent Application No. P2006-0107116 (filed on Nov. 1, 2006), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

An image sensor is a semiconductor device used to convert optical images detected by the image sensor to electric signals. Image sensors may be classified as a charge coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS).

A CCD image sensor is provided with metal oxide silicon (MOS) capacitors that are spatially positioned within close proximity to each other and charge carriers are stored in and transferred to the capacitors.

A CMOS image sensor is provided with a plurality of MOS transistors corresponding to pixels of a semiconductor device having a control circuit and a signal processing circuit as peripheral circuits. The control circuit and the signal processing unit may be integrated together to employ a switching method that detects output through the MOS transistors.

CCD and CMOS image sensors may each be provided with a plurality of color filters such as a color filter array (CFA) on the upper surface of a photodiode to receive light and generate and store photocharges. A CFA may include three color filters such as a red color filter, a green color filter and a blue color filter. The CFA may alternatively include a yellow color filter, a magenta color filter, and a cyan color filter. Moreover, the image sensor may include a photodiode for sensing light and a logic circuit for processing the sensed light into an electric signal in order to create data.

In order to increase photosensitivity, a fill factor of the ratio in which the photodiode occupies the image sensor may be increased. However, increasing the fill factor could result in the lack of space of the logic circuit, and thus, increasing the fill factor ratio may be limited within a restricted area.

Accordingly, in order to increase the photosensitivity, a light condensing technique may be implemented for changing an optical path of light entering a region other than the photodiode for condensing the light to the photodiode. For such light condensing, the image sensor may include a microlens formed on and/or over the color filters. A photoresist may be formed on the uppermost metal pad that may serve as a bonding pad, however, a chemical reaction during processing may lead to surface contamination at the uppermost metal pad. This, in turn, may result in defective semiconductor devices having inferior bondability of the wire bonding.

As illustrated in example FIG. 1 , an uppermost metal pad 100 contaminated by a plurality of contaminants 110 . When final processing for the formation of metal wiring such as the deposition of metal and patterning/etching, a protective film may be formed for protecting the semiconductor device from external shock and from permeation of natrium ions Na + and moisture. A dual layer protective film may be formed by depositing an oxide film 120 and a nitride film 130 .

Etching may be carried out to expose the metal pad using a carbon-based gas or a fluoride-based gas. If a fluoride-based gas is used, any fluoride remaining after etching can react with aluminum. Accordingly, although a metal polymer can be removed by performing a solvent cleaning after the etching, the fluoride remaining on the surfaces is not thoroughly removed. In essence, as illustrated in example FIG. 2 , an Al x F x type impurity A may be generated due to the reaction between aluminum and fluoride. Impurity “A” may in turn react with oxygen or other gases and transformed into another foreign substance. Such impurities can cause inferior bondability of the wire during bonding.

Embodiments relate to a method of manufacturing a complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor that can effectively remove byproducts that weaken bondability of the wire due to contamination of the uppermost metal pad.

Embodiments relate to a method of manufacturing a complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor including at least one of the following steps. Forming a plurality of metal pads over a semiconductor substrate. Electrically connecting the metal pads to lower conductive film patterns of multi-layer metal wires using contacts. Depositing an insulation film over the metal pads. Patterning the insulation film to expose at least a portion of the upper surface of the metal pads. Removing Al x F x impurities on the surface of the metal pads and the insulation film.

Example FIGS. 3A to 3D illustrate a method of manufacturing a complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor, in accordance with embodiments.

As illustrated in example FIG. 3A , a plurality of uppermost metal pads 320 can be electrically connected to lower conductive patterns such as multi-layer metal wirings through metal contacts 310 . Metal contacts 310 can be composed of tungsten. Oxide film 330 which can serve as a protective film can be deposited on and/or over uppermost metal pads 320 .

Metal pads 320 can be formed in a laminated structure and can be composed of at least one of Ti/Al/Ti/TiN layers, Ti/TiN/Al/Ti/TiN layers, Ti/TiN/Al/Ti—TiN layers, Ti/Al/TiN layers, and Ti/TiN/Al/TiN layers. When metal pads 320 are formed in a laminated structure of Ti/TiN/Al/Ti—TiN layers, the Ti/TiN layer can be formed using an in-situ method.

As illustrated in example FIG. 3B , a photoresist can be coated on and/or over oxide film 330 and can be patterned using exposure and etching processes to expose at least a portion of the uppermost metal pads 320 on contacts 310 . Fluoride gas can be introduced into the chamber during etching. Such fluoride ions may, and may remain on metal pads 320 after the etching, and may react with aluminum to generate a plurality of Al x F x impurities 340 .

A reaction gas containing a predetermined quantity of hydrogen gas can be used to remove Al x F x impurities 340 . At least one of H 2 gas, SiH 4 gas, and B 2 H 6 gas can be used as the reaction gas. The Gibbs free energy involved when using the respective reaction gases are listed in Table 1.

As illustrated in Table 1, the lowest energy is when B 2 H 6 used as the reaction gas. Accordingly, B 2 H 6 gas can be highly reactive with fluoride F x contained in Al x F x impurities 340 . Thereby, B 2 H 6 gas can be he most effective gas for removing Al x F x impurities 340 .

As illustrated in example FIGS. 3C and 3D , a reaction gas such as B 2 H 6 gas can be used so that Al x F x impurities 340 can be transformed into HF gas to be removed. The reaction temperature may be at a range of between 25 degrees centigrade to 450 degrees centigrade. Particularly, the B 2 H 6 gas serves to react with aluminum molecules from metal pads 320 to remove the residual fluoride from etching. Because the residual fluoride serves to deteriorate the bondability due to contamination of metal pads 320 , use of a reaction gas such as B 2 H 6 can eliminate Al x F x impurities 340 .

In accordance with embodiments, Al x F x impurities 340 which can otherwise contaminate the surface of metal pads 320 , can be eliminated by injecting a reactive gas such as B 2 H 6 after implementing an etching process.

Although embodiments have been described herein, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.