Patent ID: 7632746

Claim:
A method for-patterning of patterning a metal line, the method comprising: forming a barrier metal layer and a metal layer; etching the metal layer; etching the barrier metal layer to form a passivation layer on an etched surface of the barrier metal layer; and cleaning a resultant structure where the passivation layer is formed, wherein the etching of the barrier metal layer is performed with a temperature of a wafer chuck ranging from approximately 100° C. to approximately 350° C. wherein the barrier metal layer includes titanium (Ti)/titanium nitride (TIN); wherein the etching of the barrier metal is performed using a mixed gas of fluorine based gas, chlorine based gas and argon gas; wherein a total flow rate of the fluorine based gas and the chlorine based gas ranges from approximately 100 sccm to approximately 300 sccm and a flow rate ratio of the fluorine based gas to the chlorine based gas is approximately 1:1; wherein a flow rate of the argon gas ranges from approximately 10% to approximately 30% of the total flow rate of the fluorine based gas and the chlorine based gas.