Characterization of photoresist poisoning induced by a post etch stripping step

Stripping operations now become critical for Back End Of Line (BEOL) integration including Low-k dielectric and Copper, as they tend to impact the electrical performance of the finished integrated circuit when SiOC materials are used. Several characterization techniques were used to compare the effect of different stripping treatments in term of photo-resist poisoning. It was shown that some of these methods are efficient enough to obtain a classification between the stripping processes.