Patent ID: 7070911

Claim:
A method for reducing standing wave formation in a photoresist during manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising: depositing a first anti-reflective coating having an extinction coefficient above a material, wherein said first anti-reflective coating comprises silicon and nitrogen, and exposing said first anti-reflective coating to a plasma environment to null effects of nitrogen poisoning on said photoresist; depositing a second anti-reflective coating having an extinction coefficient above said first anti-reflective coating, and exposing said second anti-reflective coating to a plasma environment to null effects of nitrogen poisoning on said photoresist; subsequent to exposing said first and second anti-reflective coatings to said plasma environments, depositing an oxide film comprising SiO 2 above said first and second anti-reflective coatings to prevent footing in said photoresist, such that said first anti-reflective coating, said second anti-reflective coating, and said oxide film reduce the formation of standing waves in a photoresist during a lithography process; exposing said oxide film to a plasma environment to further enhance said prevention of footing; and subsequent to exposing said oxide film to a plasma environment, forming said photoresist above said oxide film.