Method for manufacturing a perpendicular sidewalled metal layer on a substrate

Claim 1

A method for manufacturing a perpendicular sidewalled metal layer on a substrate, comprising: (a) forming an electrically conductive layer on a substrate; (b) forming a first photoresist layer made of an organic material on said electrically conductive layer; (c) forming an inorganic film on said photoresist layer; (d) forming a second photoresist layer which is thinner than said first photoresist layer on a first region of said inorganic film, while leaving an adjoining second region of said inorganic film uncovered by said thinner second photoresist layer; (e) selectively etching away said inorganic film in said adjoining second region by one of wet-etching and dry-etching sufficiently to thereby expose said first photoresist layer in a pattern matching that of said adjoining second region; (f) selectively dry-etching away said first photoresist layer in said pattern, using said inorganic film remaining in place in the first region as a mask, to thereby expose said conductive film in said pattern and create, from said first photoresist layer remaining in place in said first region, a second mask having sidewalls which are substantially perpendicular to said conductive film; (g) electrolytically plating a metal layer onto said conductive layer using said conductive layer as an electrode, thereby building said metal layer on said conductive layer in said pattern with said sidewalls of the second mask defining sidewalls of said metal layer, said metal layer being less thick at said sidewalls thereof than is said first photoresist layer at said sidewalls thereof wherein the height of said metal layer on said conductive layer determines the thickness of said metal layer and said metal layer is not plated onto said first photoresist layer; and (h) removing said first photoresist layer and said electrically conductive layer from said substrate in said first region.

Claim 2

A method for manufacturing a perpendicular sidewalled metal layer on a substrate, comprising: (a) forming an electrically conductive layer on a substrate; (b) forming a first photoresist layer made of an organic material on said electrically conductive layer; (c) forming an inorganic film on said photoresist layer; (d) forming a second photoresist layer which is thinner than said first photoresist layer on a first region of said inorganic film, while leaving an adjoining second region of said inorganic film uncovered by said thinner second photoresist layer; (e) selectively etching away said inorganic film in said adjoining second region by one of wet-etching and dry-etching sufficiently to thereby expose said first photoresist layer in a pattern matching that of said adjoining second region; (f) selectively dry-etching away said first photoresist layer in said pattern, using said inorganic film remaining in place in the first region as a mask, to thereby expose said conductive film in said pattern and create, from said first photoresist layer remaining in place in said first region, a second mask having sidewalls which are substantially perpendicular to said conductive film; (g) electrolytically plating a metal layer onto said conductive layer using said conductive layer as an electrode, thereby building said metal layer on said conductive layer in said pattern with said sidewalls of the second mask defining sidewalls of said metal layer, said metal layer being less thick at said sidewalls thereof than is said first photoresist layer at said sidewalls thereof wherein the height of said metal layer on said conductive layer determines the thickness of said metal layer and said metal layer is not plated onto said first photoresist layer; and (h) removing said first photoresist layer and said electrically conductive layer from said substrate in said first region.

Claim 9

A method for making a patterned metal layer comprising the steps of: forming a conductive film on a substrate, forming a resist layer made of an organic material on said conductive film, forming an inorganic film on said resist layer, selectively removing said inorganic film by using a thin photoresist layer thereby retaining a predetermined pattern, selectively dry-etching said resist layer by using said inorganic film of said predetermined pattern as a first mask, thereby to make a second mask having perpendicular side walls, and forming a metal layer on said conductive layer using said second mask of said patterned resist layer by an electrolytic plating method in which said conductive film is used as one electrode, thereby building said metal layer on said conductive layer in said pattern with said sidewalls of the second mask defining sidewalls of said metal layer, said metal layer being less thick at said sidewalls thereof than is said resist layer at said sidewalls thereof, wherein the height of said metal layer on said conductive layer determines the thickness of said metal layer and said metal layer is not plated onto said resist layer.

Claim 10

A method for making a patterned metal layer comprising the steps of: forming a conductive film on a substrate, forming a resist layer made of an organic material on said conductive film, forming an inorganic film on said resist layer, selectively removing said inorganic film by using a thin photoresist layer thereby retaining a predetermined pattern, selectively dry-etching said resist layer by using said inorganic film of said predetermined pattern as a first mask, thereby to make a second mask having perpendicular side walls, and forming a metal layer on said conductive layer using said second mask of said patterned resist layer by an electrolytic plating method in which said conductive film is used as one electrode, thereby building said metal layer on said conductive layer in said pattern with said sidewalls of the second mask defining sidewalls of said metal layer, said metal layer being less thick at said sidewalls thereof than is said resist layer at said sidewalls thereof, wherein the height of said metal layer on said conductive layer determines the thickness of said metal layer and said metal layer is not plated onto said resist layer.