Applied Materials, Inc.

Dana Tribula

Hichem M'Saad

Farhad K Moghadam

Manoj Vellaikal

Sameer Desai

Seon Mee Cho

Li-Qun Xia

Ellie Y Yieh

Daniel O Clark

Jay J Jung

Shaun W Crawford

Bang C Nguyen

Paul Edward Gee

Youssef A Loldj

Francimar Campana

Maxime Cayer

Shankar Venkataranan

Methods and apparatus for enhanced control, monitoring and recording of incoming chemical and power use, and emissions of electronic device manufacturing systems are provided. In some embodiments, integrated sub-fab system systems may monitor the energy usage of the sub-fab equipment. The tool can enter many different depths of energy savings modes such as idle (shallow energy savings where production equipment can recover to normal production with no quality or throughput impact in seconds), sleep (deeper energy savings where production equipment can recover in minutes), or hibernate (where production equipment may require hours to recover not to have impact on quality, or throughput) for the system. In some embodiments, the system may monitor and display all gas emissions in a sub-fab as well as the Semi S23 method reporting of COequivalent emission. The system may monitor effluent process gases and energy use from the process tool and sub-fab equipment.

Energy savings and global gas emissions monitoring and display

A method of formation of a damascene FSG film with good adhesion to silicon nitride in an HDP-CVD system. Silane (SiH ), silicon tetrafluoride (SiF ), oxygen (O ) and argon (Ar) are used as the reactant gases. SiH , SiF , and O react to form the FSG. Ar is introduced to promote gas dissociation. All four gases are used for depositing most of the FSG film. SiH is not used during deposition of the interfacial part of the FSG film. The interfacial part of the FSG film refers either to the topmost portion, if silicon nitride is to be deposited on top of the FSG or the bottom portion if the FSG is to be deposited on top of silicon nitride. Using SiH with the SiF tends to mitigate the destructive effects of SiF throughout most of the deposition. By removing the SiH from the deposition of the interfacial part of the FSG film less hydrogen is incorporated into the film in the interfacial region and adhesion to overlying or underlying silicon nitride is improved.

Apparatus for improving barrier layer adhesion to HDP-FSG thin films

A method is provided for depositing a barrier layer on a substrate using a gaseous mixture that includes a hydrocarbon-containing gas and a silicon-containing gas. The gaseous mixture is provided to a process chamber and is used to form a plasma for depositing the barrier layer. The barrier layer is deposited with a thickness less than 500 &angst;. Suitable hydrocarbon-containing gases include alkanes and suitable silicon-containing gases include silanes.

Barrier layer deposition using HDP-CVD

The present invention relates to the deposition of dielectric layers, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for forming dielectric layers such as borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) having improved film uniformity, higher deposition rate, superior gap fill/reflow capability, and smoother surface morphology. The method forms a dielectric layer with a process using helium carrier gas that produces substantially less downstream residue than conventional methods and apparatus, thereby reducing the need for chamber cleaning and increasing throughput of processed wafers. The present invention utilizes helium instead of nitrogen as carrier gas in a process for forming a dielectric layer such as BPSG to provide various unexpected benefits. According to one aspect, the present invention forms a dielectric film on a substrate, and prolongs a period between chamber cleanings in a system by using helium which produces substantially less downstream and upstream residue than a process using nitrogen. The method includes introducing a process gas containing silicon, oxygen, and first dopant atoms into the chamber; using helium as the carrier gas in the system; and processing more substrates between cleanings than a process using nitrogen as carrier gas. A further aspect of the invention includes annealing the dielectric films formed on the substrates at a lower temperature than required by the process using nitrogen as carrier gas.

Method and apparatus for forming a dielectric film using helium as a carrier gas

Method for improving barrier layer adhesion to HDP-FSG thin films

A method of depositing a film, such as a barrier layer, on a substrate using a gaseous mixture including a hydrocarbon-containing gas and a silicon-containing gas. Suitable hydrocarbon-containing gases include alkanes such as methane (CH ), ethane (C H ), butane (C H ), propane (C H ), etc. Suitable silicon-containing gases include silanes such as monosilane (SiH ). The method generally comprises providing a suitable gaseous mixture to the chamber, generating a plasma from the gaseous mixture, and depositing a film onto the substrate using the plasma. In a preferred embodiment, the film is deposited in a high-density plasma chemical vapor deposition (HDP-CVD) system. The gaseous mixture typically includes a silicon containing gas, such as an alkane, and a hydrocarbon containing gas, such as a silane. Embodiments of the method of the present invention can integrated stack structures having overall dielectric constant of about 4.0 or less. Such a structure may include a barrier layer having a dielectric constant of 4.5 or less.

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Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Dana Tribula