Lam Research Corporation

Novellus Systems Incorporated

Kevin M McLaughlin

Bart Jan Van Schravendijk

Bhadri N Varadarajan

Ananda K Banerji

Casey Holder

Akhil N Singhal

Eugene Smargiassi

Joseph Hung-chi Wei

Dennis Michael Hausmann

Mohamed Sabri

Krishnan Shrinivasan

Michael Rivkin

Alexander R Fox

Jason Dirk Haverkamp

Thorsten B Lill

Meihua Shen

Hui-Jung Wu

George Andrew Antonelli

Nagraj Shankar

Mark Naoshi Kawaguchi

Kapu Sirish Reddy

Gowri Kamarthy

Andrew John McKerrow

James Forest Lee

Curtis Warren Bailey

Fayaz A Shaikh

John Hoang

Stephen Lau

Jialing Yang

Nathan Musselwhite

Troy Daniel Ribaudo

Jay E Uglow

Hao Chi

Xiaolan Chen

Gereng Gunawan

Amit Pharkya

Shriram Vasant Bapat

Aaron Lynn Routzahn

Anirvan Sircar

Gerald Joseph Brady

Pratik Sankhe

Nicholas Dominic Altieri

Localized stresses can be modulated in a film deposited on a bowed semiconductor substrate by selectively and locally curing the film by ultraviolet (UV) radiation. A bowed semiconductor substrate can be asymmetrically bowed. A UV-curable film is deposited on the front side or the backside of the bowed semiconductor substrate. A mask is provided between the UV-curable film and a UV source, where openings in the mask are patterned to selectively define exposed regions and non-exposed regions of the UV-curable film. Exposed regions of the UV-curable film modulate localized stresses to mitigate bowing in the bowed semiconductor substrate.

UV cure for local stress modulation

Methods and apparatuses are provided herein for oxidizing an annular edge region of a substrate. A method may include providing the substrate to a substrate holder in a semiconductor processing chamber, the semiconductor processing chamber having a showerbead positioned above the substrate holder, and simultaneously flowing, while the substrate is supported by the substrate holder, (a) an oxidizing gas around a periphery of the substrate and (b) an inert gas that does not include oxygen through the showerhead and onto the substrate, thereby creating an annular gas region over an annular edge region of the substrate and an interior gas region over on an interior region of the substrate; the simultaneous flowing is not during a deposition of a material onto the substrate, and the annular gas region has an oxidization rate higher than the interior gas region.

Modulation of oxidation profile for substrate processing

Methods for forming patterned multi-layer stacks including a metal-containing layer are provided herein. Methods involve using silicon-containing non-metal materials in a multi-layer stack including one sacrificial layer to be later removed and replaced with metal while maintaining etch contrast to pattern the multi-layer stack and selectively remove the sacrificial layer prior to depositing metal. Methods involve using silicon oxycarbide in lieu of silicon nitride, and a sacrificial non-metal material in lieu of a metal-containing layer, to fabricate the multi-layer stack, pattern the multi-layer stack, selectively remove the sacrificial non-metal material to leave spaces in the stack, and deposit metal-containing material into the spaces. Sacrificial non-metal materials include silicon nitride and doped polysilicon, such as boron-doped silicon.

Film stack simplification for high aspect ratio patterning and vertical scaling

Methods and apparatuses suitable for encapsulation layers for memory devices at temperatures less than about 300&#xb0; C. are provided herein. Methods involve introducing a reactive species by pulsing plasma while exposing a substrate to deposition reactants, and post-treating deposited encapsulation films to densify and reduce hydrogen content. Post-treatment methods include periodic exposure to inert plasma without reactants and exposure to ultraviolet radiation at a substrate temperature less than about 300&#xb0; C.

Methods of encapsulation

Methods and apparatuses suitable for depositing low hydrogen content, hermetic, thin encapsulation layers at temperatures less than about 300&#xb0; C. are provided herein. Methods involve pulsing plasma while exposing a substrate to deposition reactants, and post-treating deposited encapsulation films to densify and reduce hydrogen content. Post-treatment methods include periodic exposure to inert plasma without reactants and exposure to ultraviolet radiation at a substrate temperature less than about 300&#xb0; C.

Apparatuses and methods for cleaning a semiconductor processing chamber is provided. The semiconductor processing chamber may include a UV radiation source, a substrate holder, and a UV transmissive window. The UV transmissive window may include one or multiple panes. One or more panes of the UV transmissive window may be non-reactive with fluorine containing chemistries. In multi-pane windows a purge gas flow path may be formed in the gap between windows. A purge gas may be flowed through the purge gas flow path to prevent process gases used in the chamber interior from reaching one or more panes of the UV transmissive window.

Clean resistant windows for ultraviolet thermal processing

The present invention provides improved methods of preparing a low-k dielectric material on a substrate. The methods involve multiple operation ultraviolet curing processes in which UV intensity, wafer substrate temperature, UV spectral distribution, and other conditions may be independently modulated in each operation. Operations may be pulsed or even be concurrently applied to the same wafer. In certain embodiments, a film containing a structure former and a porogen is exposed to UV radiation in a first operation to facilitate removal of the porogen and create a porous dielectric film. In a second operation, the film is exposed to UV radiation to increase cross-linking within the porous film.

Multi-station sequential curing of dielectric films

Silicon oxide layer is deposited on a semiconductor substrate by PECVD at a temperature of less than about 200&#xb0; C. and is treated with helium plasma to reduce stress of the deposited layer to an absolute value of less than about 80 MPa. Plasma treatment reduces hydrogen content in the silicon oxide layer, and leads to low stress films that can also have high density and low roughness. In some embodiments, the film is deposited on a semiconductor substrate that contains one or more temperature-sensitive layers, such as layers of organic material or spin-on dielectric that cannot withstand temperatures of greater than 250&#xb0; C. In some embodiments the silicon oxide film is deposited to a thickness of between about 100-200 &#x212b;, and is used as a hardmask layer during etching of other layers on a semiconductor substrate.

Low temperature formation of high quality silicon oxide films in semiconductor device manufacturing

A method for the ultraviolet (UV) treatment of carbon-containing low-k dielectric and associated apparatus enables process induced damage repair. The methods of the invention are particularly applicable in the context of damascene processing to recover lost low-k property of a dielectric damaged during processing, either pre-metallization, post-planarization, or both. UV treatments can include an exposure of the subject low-k dielectric to a constrained UV spectral profile and/or chemical silylating agent, or both.

Carbon containing low-k dielectric constant recovery using UV treatment

Growing community of inventors

Sherwood, OR, United States of America

Kevin M McLaughlin