Lam Research Corporation

James Lam

Dean R Denison

David T Hodul

A process of preparing a moisture-resistant fluorine containing silicon oxide film includes steps of supplying reactant gases containing silicon, oxygen and fluorine into a process chamber and generating plasma in the process chamber, supporting a substrate on a substrate support in the process chamber and growing a fluorine-containing silicon oxide film on the substrate by contacting the substrate with the plasma while maintaining temperature of the film above 300.degree. C. The silicon and fluorine reactants can be supplied by separate gases such as SiH.sub.4 and SiF.sub.4 or as a single SiF.sub.4 gas and the oxygen reactant can be supplied by a pure oxygen gas. The SiH.sub.4 and SiF.sub.4 can be supplied in a gas flow ratio of SiH.sub.4 /(SiH.sub.4 +SiF.sub.4) of no greater than 0.5. The process can provide a film with a fluorine content of 2-12 atomic percent and argon can be included in the plasma to assist in gap filling. The plasma can be a high density plasma produced in an ECR, TCP.TM., or ICP reactor and the substrate can be a silicon wafer including one or more metal layers over which the fluorine-containing silicon oxide film is deposited. The substrate support can include a gas passage which supplies a temperature control gas into a space between opposed surfaces of the substrate and the substrate support for maintaining the substrate at a desired temperature.

Method for depositing fluorine doped silicon dioxide films

A method of microwave heating of a substrate in a plasma processing chamber wherein a heatup gas is supplied into the processing chamber, the heatup process gas is energized with microwave power to heat an exposed surface of the substrate, a reactant gas is supplied into the processing chamber and the reactant gas is energized into a plasma gas state to process the substrate.

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Oakland, CA, United States of America

James Lam