Applied Materials, Inc.

Alfred W Mak

Ming Xi

Jeong Soo Byun

Hua Chung

Moris Kori

Ashok K Sinha

Ken Kaung Lai

Mei Yin Chang

Lawrence Chung-Lai Lei

Ling Chen

Barry Lee Chin

Xinliang Lu

Semyon Sherstinsky

Karl Anthony Littau

Avgerinos V Gelatos

Cissy S Leung

Simon W Tam

Ping Jian

Kevin Lai

Manoocher Birang

Michael Xiaoxuan Yang

Shamouil Shamouilian

Steve G Ghanayem

Khiem K Nguyen

Hongbin Fang

Peter Satitpunwaycha

Frederick C Wu

Walter Benjamin Glenn

Ramanujapuran A Srinivas

Randhir P S Thakur

Dan Maydan

Bo Zheng

Lawrence C Lei

Salvador P Umotoy

Turgut Sahin

Robert L Jackson

John Vincent Schmitt

Jong Hyun Yoo

Yu D Cong

Leonel Arturo Zuniga

Ayad A Al-Shaikh

George Michael Bleyle

Thomas Wendling

Dennis Sauvage

Ahmad A Khan

John M White

Seshadri Ganguli

Avi Tepman

John F Cameron

Bryan Y Pu

David N Wang

Michael D Welch

Norman L Turner

Hongching Shan

Jian Ding

Gwo-Chuan Tzu

Jerry Yuen Wong

Dashun Steve Zhou

David C Smith

Wen Teh Chang

Jerry Yuen-Kui Wong

Cynthia B Brooks

Yung-Hee Yvette Lee

Melisa J Buie

Robert E Ryan

Kuang-Han Ke

Samuel C Wilson

Charles C Harris

James F Roberts

David Nin-Kou Wang

Sue Zhang

A method and apparatus for atomic layer deposition (ALD) is described. In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a vacuum chamber body having a contiguous internal volume comprised of a first deposition region spaced-apart from a second deposition region, the chamber body having a feature operable to minimize intermixing of gases between the first and the second deposition regions, a first gas port formed in the chamber body and positioned to pulse gas preferentially to the first deposition region to enable a first deposition process to be performed in the first deposition region, and a second gas port formed in the chamber body and positioned to pulse gas preferentially to the second deposition region to enable a second deposition process to be performed in the second deposition region is provided.

Atomic layer deposition apparatus

An apparatus for cyclical depositing of thin films on semiconductor substrates, comprising a process chamber having a gas distribution system with separate paths for process gases and an exhaust system synchronized with operation of valves dosing the process gases into a reaction region of the chamber.

Apparatus for cyclical depositing of thin films

A method and apparatus for atomic layer deposition (ALD) is described. The apparatus comprises a deposition chamber and a wafer support. The deposition chamber is divided into two or more deposition regions that are integrally connected one to another. The wafer support is movable between the two or more interconnected deposition regions within the deposition chamber.

Method and apparatus for supporting and transferring a substrate in a semiconductor wafer processing system are provided. In one aspect, an apparatus is provided for supporting a substrate comprising a cover ring comprising a base having a bore disposed therethough, the base having an upper surface and one or more raised surfaces disposed adjacent the bore, wherein the raised surface comprise one or more first substrate support members disposed adjacent an edge of the bore and a capture ring disposed on the cover ring, the capture ring comprising a semi-circular annular ring having an inner perimeter corresponding to the bore of the cover ring and one or more second substrate support members disposed on the inner perimeter and adapted to receive a substrate, wherein the capture ring is adapted to mate with the cover ring and form one contiguous raised surface on the cover ring.

Mask etch processing apparatus

In one embodiment, a method for forming a tungsten material on a substrate surface is provide which includes positioning a substrate within a deposition chamber, heating the substrate to a deposition temperature, and exposing the substrate sequentially to diborane and a tungsten precursor gas to form a tungsten nucleation layer on the substrate during an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. The method further provides exposing the substrate to a deposition gas comprising hydrogen gas and the tungsten precursor gas to form a tungsten bulk layer over the tungsten nucleation layer during a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. Examples are provided which include ALD and CVD processes that may be conducted in the same deposition chamber or in different deposition chambers.

Method for forming tungsten materials during vapor deposition processes

In one embodiment, a method for forming a tungsten-containing material on a substrate is provided which includes forming a tungsten-containing layer by sequentially exposing a substrate to a processing gas and a tungsten-containing gas during an atomic layer deposition process, wherein the processing gas comprises a boron-containing gas and a nitrogen-containing gas, and forming a tungsten bulk layer over the tungsten-containing layer by exposing the substrate to a deposition gas comprising the tungsten-containing gas and a reactive precursor gas during a chemical vapor deposition process. In one example, the tungsten-containing layer and the tungsten bulk layer are deposited within the same processing chamber.

Method for depositing tungsten-containing layers by vapor deposition techniques

In one embodiment, a method for depositing a tungsten material on a substrate within a process chamber is provided which includes exposing the substrate to a gaseous mixture containing a tungsten precursor and a reducing gas to deposit a tungsten nucleation layer on the substrate during a tungsten deposition process. The process further includes removing reaction by-products generated during the tungsten deposition process from the process chamber, exposing the substrate to the reducing gas to react with residual tungsten precursor within the process chamber during a soak process, removing reaction by-products generated during the soak process from the process chamber, and repeating the tungsten deposition process and the soak process during a cyclic deposition process. In the examples, the reducing gas may contain diborane or silane.

Pulsed deposition process for tungsten nucleation

A photomask etch chamber, which includes a substrate support member disposed inside the chamber. The substrate support member is configured to support a photomask substrate. The chamber further includes a ceiling disposed on the chamber and an endpoint detection system configured to detect a peripheral region of the photomask substrate.

Interferometer endpoint monitoring device

Embodiments of the invention provide methods for depositing tungsten materials. In one embodiment, a method for forming a composite tungsten film is provided which includes positioning a substrate within a process chamber, forming a tungsten nucleation layer on the substrate by subsequently exposing the substrate to a tungsten precursor and a reducing gas containing hydrogen during a cyclic deposition process, and forming a tungsten bulk layer during a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) process. The PE-CVD process includes exposing the substrate to a deposition gas containing the tungsten precursor while depositing the tungsten bulk layer over the tungsten nucleation layer. In some example, the tungsten nucleation layer has a thickness of less than about 100 &#x212b;, such as about 15 &#x212b;. In other examples, a carrier gas containing hydrogen is constantly flowed into the process chamber during the cyclic deposition process.

Formation of composite tungsten films

In one embodiment, a method for depositing a boride-containing barrier layer on a substrate is provided which includes exposing the substrate sequentially to a boron-containing compound and a metal precursor to form a first boride-containing layer during a first sequential chemisorption process and exposing the substrate to the boron-containing compound, the metal precursor, and a second precursor to form a second boride-containing layer on the first boride-containing layer during a second sequential chemisorption process. In one example, the metal precursor contains tungsten hexafluoride and the boron-containing compound contains diborane. In another embodiment, a contact layer is deposited over the second boride-containing layer. The contact layer may contain tungsten and be deposited by a chemical vapor deposition process. Alternatively, the contact layer may contain copper and be deposited by a physical vapor deposition process. In other examples, boride-containing layers may be formed at a temperature of less than about 500&#xb0; C.

Formation of boride barrier layers using chemisorption techniques

In one embodiment, a method for depositing a boride-containing barrier layer on a substrate is provided which includes exposing the substrate sequentially to a boron-containing compound and a tungsten precursor to form a first boride-containing layer during a first sequential chemisorption process, and exposing the substrate to the boron-containing compound, the tungsten precursor, and ammonia to form a second boride-containing layer over the first boride-containing layer during a second sequential chemisorption process. In one example, the tungsten precursor contains tungsten hexafluoride and the boron-containing compound contains diborane. In another embodiment, a contact layer is deposited over the second boride-containing layer. The contact layer may contain tungsten and be deposited by a chemical vapor deposition process. Alternatively, the contact layer may contain copper and be deposited by a physical vapor deposition process. In other examples, boride-containing layers may be formed at a temperature of less than about 500&#xb0; C.

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Union City, CA, United States of America

Alfred W Mak