What is claimed is:
1. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device, comprising the steps of:
(a) forming a first conductive film on a major surface of a semiconductor substrate, forming a first insulating film on the first conductive film, and making a trench or a through hole in the first insulating film;
(b) forming a second conductive film in the trench or the through hole and on the first insulating film, said second conductive film extending through the trench or the though hole and electrically connected to the first conductive film;
(c) covering the second conductive film with a photoresist film and applying exposure light to the photoresist film, thereby exposing to light at least that part of the photoresist film which lies outside the trench or the though hole;
(d) removing that part of the photoresist film which is exposed to light, thus leaving the other, unexposed part of the photoresist film in the trench or the through hole; and
(e) removing that part of the second conductive film which is not covered with the photoresist film, thereby leaving the other part of the second conductive film in the trench or the through hole.
2. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 1, wherein the second conductive film is removed in part in the step (e) etching method.
3. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 1, wherein the second conductive film is removed in part in the step (e) by chemical mechanical polishing method.
4. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 1, wherein the photoresist film is removed in part in the step (d) by developing the photoresist film.
5. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 1, after the step (e) has been performed, further comprising a step (f) of removing that part of the photoresist film lying in the trench or the through hole and selectively growing a third conductive film on the second conductive film exposed in the trench or the through hole, thereby burying the third conductive film in the trench or the through hole.
6. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 5, wherein the second conductive film is made of titanium nitride or tungsten.
7. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 5, wherein the third conductive film is made of tungsten or aluminum alloy.
8. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 5, after a step (f) has been performed, further comprising the step (h) of forming a fourth conductive film on the first insulating film and electrically connecting the fourth conductive film to the first conductive film via the third conductive film in the trench or the through hole.
9. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 1, further comprising the following steps (f) and (g) which are performed after the step (e);
(f) removing that part of the photoresist film which lie in the trench or the through hole, and forming a fifth conductive film in the trench or the through hole and on the first insulating film; and
(g) growing a sixth conductive film on the fifth conductive film and removing those parts of the sixth and fifth conductive films which lie outside the trench or the through hole, thereby leaving the sixth and fifth conductive films in the trench or the through hole.
10. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 9, wherein the second conductive film is made of titanium nitride or tantalum nitride.
11. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 9, wherein the fifth and sixth conductive films are made of copper.
12. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to claim 9, wherein said parts of the sixth and fifth conductive films are removed by chemical mechanical polishing method.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for making a porous inorganic membrane comprising the steps of:
mixing an inorganic material, organic polymer particles and a solvent to form a slurry, the particles being non-spherical;
distributing the slurry onto a surface;
drying the slurry to remove the solvent; and
firing the dried slurry to produce the porous inorganic membrane.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the inorganic material comprises alumina, silica, zeolite, or combinations thereof.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the organic polymer particles comprise acrylic.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the acrylic comprises from about 20% to about 60% of the volume of the non-solvent materials in the slurry.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the surface is a porous support and the slurry is distributed on the porous support to form a coating on the porous support.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the porous support comprises a ceramic porous support.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the porous inorganic membrane has a thickness of from about 1 micron to about 10 microns.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the drying of the slurry comprises drying the slurry at a temperature of from about 25\xb0 C. to about 120\xb0 C.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the drying of the slurry comprises drying the slurry in an environment of air or N2 at a humidity of from about 60% to about 90%.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the dried slurry is fired for about 20 hours to about 45 hours at a temperature of about 1100\xb0 C. to about 1400\xb0 C.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the porous inorganic membrane has a porosity of from about 30% to about 55%.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the porous inorganic membrane has a pore size distribution as measured by mercury porosimetry comprising a mono-modal distribution wherein (d90\u2212d10)d50 is less than about 2 and the pores having a size of d90 or less comprise about 90% of the total pore volume, the pores having a size of d50 or less comprise about 50% of the total pore volume and the pores having a size of d10 or less comprise about 10% of the total pore volume.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein the solvent is an aqueous solvent.
14. A method for producing a porous support with a porous inorganic coating comprising the steps of:
mixing an inorganic material, an acrylic emulsion and a solvent to form a slurry, wherein the acrylic emulsion comprises acrylic particles, the particles being non-spherical;
coating the porous support with the slurry;
drying the slurry on the porous support to remove the solvent; and
firing the dried slurry on the porous support to produce the porous support with the porous inorganic coating.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the inorganic material comprises alumina.
16. The method of claim 14 wherein the porous inorganic membrane has a thickness of from about 1 micron to about 10 microns.
17. The method of claim 14 wherein the acrylic emulsion comprises from about 20% to about 60% of the volume of the non-solvent materials in the slurry.
18. The method of claim 14 wherein the porous support is in the form of a honeycomb monolith.
19. The method of claim 14 wherein the porous support comprises a ceramic comprising cordierite, alpha-alumina, mullite, aluminum titinate, titania, zirconia, ceria or combinations thereof.
20. The method of claim 14 wherein the slurry further comprises a dispersant, a binder, an anti-cracking agent, an anti-foaming agent, or combinations thereof.
21. A porous support with a porous inorganic coating produced by the method of claim 13.
22. The porous support with a porous inorganic coating of claim 21 wherein the porous inorganic coating comprises a porosity of from about 30% to about 65% with a median pore size of from about 0.01 micron to about 1 micron.
23. The porous support with a porous inorganic coating of claim 21 wherein the porous inorganic membrane has a pore size distribution as measured by mercury porosimetry comprising a mono-modal distribution wherein (d90\u2212d10)d50 is less than about 2 and the pores having a size of d90 or less comprise about 90% of the total pore volume, the pores having a size of d50 or less comprise about 50% of the total pore volume and the pores having a size of d10 or less comprise about 10% of the total pore volume.
24. A substrate with a porous inorganic membrane disposed on the substrate, the inorganic membrane having an average thickness of from about 0.5 micron to about 30 microns, a porosity of from about 30% to about 65%, a median pore size (d50) of from about 0.01 micron to about 1 micron, and a value of (d90\u2212d10)d50 less than about 2, as measured by mercury porosimetry.
25. The substrate of claim 24 wherein the substrate is an inorganic porous support.
26. The substrate of claim 24 wherein the inorganic membrane has an average thickness of from about 0.1 micron to about 10 microns.