Applied Materials, Inc.

Mohan K Bhan

Anand Gupta

Sudhakar Subrahmanyam

Amrita Verma

Ling Chen

Bo Zheng

Xin Sheng Guo

Virendra V Rana

Mei Yin Chang

Virendra V S Rana

Keith K Koai

Viren V Rana

Justin Jones

Seshadri Ganguli

Avi Tepman

Ashok K Sinha

Lawrence C Lei

Ramanujapuram A Srinivas

Russell C Ellwanger

Samuel C Wilson

Timothy E Levine

Jennifer Kopp

A method of forming a contact in an integrated circuit including forming a dielectric layer over a silicon substrate, etching a contact hole through the dielectric layer, exposing the etched contact hole to a plasma formed from a preclean gas comprising nitrogen trifluoride and helium and, thereafter, depositing a titanium layer within the contact hole by a plasma CVD process, where the plasma CVD process heats the substrate to a temperature less than or equal to 650&deg; C.

Method of forming contact structures using nitrogen trifluoride preclean etch process and a titanium chemical vapor deposition step

A showerhead used for dispensing gas over a wafer in chemical vapor deposition (CVD), especially for CVD of copper in a thermal process using a precursor such as HFAC-Cu-TMVS. The patterns of holes is tailored to compensate for thermal and other effects, in particular by increasing the density of holes toward the periphery of the wafer in three or more zones. Such a variable pattern is particularly useful for liquid precursors that are atomized in a carrier gas, in which case a second perforated plate in back of the showerhead face can be eliminated, thereby reducing the flow impedance and the required pressure of the liquid-entrained gas, which tends to deposit out at higher pressures. The reduced flow impedance is particularly useful for CVD of copper.

Chemical vapor deposition of copper using profiled distribution of showerhead apertures

A method for reducing the resistivity of a copper layer on a wafer. A moisture containing seed layer of copper is formed over a layer of material on a wafer. The copper seed layer is treated by either heat or ions from a plasma to anneal out moisture thereby reducing its resistivity and improving its adhesion to the underlying layer. A moisture free copper layer is then deposited on top of the &ldquo;clean&rdquo; or treated copper seed layer.

Method for treating a deposited film for resistivity reduction

The invention provides a substrate support member and a purge guide for directing purge gas past the edge of a substrate and towards the outer perimeter of the chamber. The purge guide includes a plurality of holes disposed around the inner perimeter thereof to provide a purge gas passage and to prevent purge gas from interfering with the deposition chemistry on the surface of the substrate. A substrate support member is also provided having a vacuum chuck for securing a substrate to the upper surface thereof. The substrate support member preferably includes a shoulder on which the purge guide is supported during processing. The invention also provides a method for shielding an edge of a substrate by flowing a purge gas adjacent the edge of the substrate and then through a plurality of purge holes on a purge guide.

Chemical vapor deposition hardware and process

A method and apparatus for depositing a layer having improved film quality at an interface. The method includes the steps of introducing an inert gas into a processing chamber and forming a plasma from the inert gas by applying RF power to the chamber at a selected rate of increase. After RF power has reached full power, a process gas including a reactant gas is introduced to deposit the layer. In a preferred embodiment, the reactant gas is tetraethoxysilane. In another preferred embodiment, the process gas further includes fluorine.

Method and apparatus for improving the film quality of plasma enhanced CVD films at the interface

An improved method of reducing the level of contaminants (e.g., fluorine) absorbed in films deposited within a substrate processing chamber. A seasoning layer is deposited within the substrate processing chamber to cover contaminants that may be absorbed within walls or insulation areas of the chamber interior. The deposited seasoning layer is more stable than prior art seasoning layers and is thus less likely to release the absorbed contaminants into the substrate processing chamber during the subsequent deposition of films. In a preferred embodiment, the seasoning layer is formed from a mixed frequency PECVD process in which the low frequency RF signal is supplied at a high power level to increase ion bombardment and enhance film stability. The increased bombardment favors the formation of stable SiF bonds between silicon and fluorine atoms in the lattice structure of the film rather than unstable SiF,or other bonds. When residual fluorine atoms (e.g., fluorine atoms absorbed within the chamber walls) are incorporated into the deposited seasoning layer, fewer loosely bonded fluorine atoms are incorporated into the layer than in prior art silicon oxide seasoning layers. Fewer loosely bonded fluorine atoms in the seasoning film results in fewer contaminants being incorporated into films deposited over substrates in subsequent processing steps.

Film to tie up loose fluorine in the chamber after a clean process

Method and apparatus for improving the film quality of plasma enhanced

A method and apparatus for improving film stability of a halogen-doped silicon oxide layer. The method includes the step of introducing helium along with the process gas that includes silicon, oxygen and a halogen element. Helium is introduced at an increased rate to stabilize the deposited layer. In a preferred embodiment, the halogen-doped film is a fluorosilicate glass film and TEOS is employed as a source of silicon in the process gas. In still another preferred embodiment, SiF.sub.4 is employed as the fluorine source for the FSG film.

Method and apparatus for improving film stability of halogen-doped

A showerhead used for dispensing gas over a wafer in chemical vapor deposition (CVD), especially for CVD of metals. The patterns of holes is tailored to compensate for thermal and other effects, in particular by increasing the density of holes toward the periphery of the wafer in three or more zones. Such a variable pattern is particularly useful for liquid precursors that are atomized in a carrier gas, in which case a second perforated plate in back of the showerhead face can be eliminated, thereby reducing the flow impedance and the required pressure of the liquid-entrained gas, which tends to deposit out at higher pressures. The reduce flow impedance is particularly useful for CVD of copper.

Pattern of apertures in a showerhead for chemical vapor deposition

An improved method of reducing the level of contaminants (e.g., fluorine) absorbed in films deposited within a substrate processing chamber. A seasoning layer is deposited within the substrate processing chamber to cover contaminants that may be absorbed within walls or insulation areas of the chamber interior. The deposited seasoning layer is more stable than prior art seasoning layers and is thus less likely to release the absorbed contaminants into the substrate processing chamber during the subsequent deposition of films. In a preferred embodiment, the seasoning layer is formed from a mixed frequency PECVD process in which the low frequency RF signal is supplied at a high power level to increase ion bombardment and enhance film stability. The increased bombardment favors the formation of stable SiF bonds between silicon and fluorine atoms in the lattice structure of the film rather than unstable SiF.sub.2 or other bonds. When residual fluorine atoms (e.g., fluorine atoms absorbed within the chamber walls) are incorporated into the deposited seasoning layer, fewer loosely bonded fluorine atoms are incorporated into the layer than in prior art silicon oxide seasoning layers. Fewer loosely bonded fluorine atoms in the seasoning film results in fewer contaminants being incorporated into films deposited over substrates in subsequent processing steps.

A method and apparatus for improving film stability of a halogen-doped silicon oxide layer. The method includes the step of introducing a process gas including a first halogen source and a second halogen source, different from the first halogen source, into a deposition chamber along with silicon and oxygen sources. A plasma is then formed from the process gas to deposit a halogen-doped layer over a substrate disposed in the chamber. It is believed that the introduction of the additional halogen source enhances the etching effect of the film. The enhanced etching component of the film deposition improves the film's gap-fill capabilities and helps stabilizes the film. In a preferred embodiment, the halogen-doped film is a fluorosilicate glass film, SiF.sub.4 is employed as the first halogen source, TEOS is employed as a source of silicon and the second halogen source is either F.sub.2 or NF.sub.3.

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Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Mohan K Bhan