Tokyo Electron Limited

International Business Machines Corporation

Pao-Hwa Chou

Kazuhide Hasebe

Mitsuaki Iwashita

Shigeru Nakajima

Reiji Niino

Masanobu Matsunaga

Chaeho Kim

Mitsuhiro Okada

Jun Sato

Keisuke Suzuki

Richard Anthony Conti

Jun Ogawa

David L O'Meara

Anthony Dip

Aelan Mosden

Nobutake Nodera

Toshiyuki Ikeuchi

Masato Yonezawa

Kentaro Kadonaga

Kazuya Yamamoto

Yasushi Akasaka

Masayuki Hasegawa

Noriaki Fukiage

Kohei Fukushima

Yamato Tonegawa

Toshiki Takahashi

Kota Umezawa

Tetsuya Shibata

Yoshihiro Kato

Jun Satoh

Hao-Hsiang Chang

Te Ching Chang

Kentaro Sera

Kentarou Sera

Byounghoon Lee

Jaehyuk Jang

Koto Umezawa

A film-forming method includes forming a tungsten film or a tungsten oxide film on an object to be processed, forming a seed layer on the tungsten film or the tungsten oxide film, and forming a silicon oxide film on the seed layer, wherein the seed layer formed on the tungsten film or the tungsten oxide film is formed by heating the object to be processed and supplying an aminosilane-based gas to a surface of the tungsten film or the tungsten oxide film.

Film-forming method for forming silicon oxide film on tungsten film or tungsten oxide film

A film-forming method includes forming a tungsten film or a tungsten oxide film on an object to be processed, heating the object on which the tungsten film or the tungsten oxide film is formed, forming a seed layer on the tungsten film or the tungsten oxide film by supplying an aminosilane-based gas to a surface of the tungsten film or the tungsten oxide film, and forming a silicon oxide film on the seed layer by simultaneously supplying a silicon material gas including silicon and a gas including an oxidizing agent for oxidizing silicon.

A film deposition method of depositing a thin film by alternately supplying at least a first source gas and a second source gas to a substrate is disclosed. The film deposition method includes steps of evacuating a process chamber where the substrate is accommodated, without supplying any gas to the process chamber; supplying an inert gas to the process chamber until a pressure within the process chamber becomes a predetermined pressure; supplying the first source gas to the process chamber filled with the inert gas at the predetermined pressure without evacuating the process chamber; stopping supplying the first source gas to the process chamber and evacuating the process chamber; supplying the second source gas to the process chamber; and stopping supplying the second source gas to the process chamber and evacuating the process chamber.

Film deposition method and apparatus

A semiconducting device with a multilayer sidewall spacer and method of forming are described. In one embodiment, the method includes providing a substrate containing a patterned structure on a surface of the substrate and depositing a first spacer layer over the patterned structure at a first substrate temperature, where the first spacer layer contains a first material. The method further includes depositing a second spacer layer over the patterned substrate at a second substrate temperature that is different from the first substrate temperature, where the first and second materials contain the same chemical elements, and the depositing steps are performed in any order. The first and second spacer layers are then etched to form the multilayer sidewall spacer on the patterned structure.

Multilayer sidewall spacer for seam protection of a patterned structure

A semiconducting device with a dual sidewall spacer and method of forming are provided. The method includes: depositing a first spacer layer over a patterned structure, the first spacer layer having a seam propagating through a thickness of the first spacer layer near an interface region of a surface of the substrate and a sidewall of the patterned structure, etching the first spacer layer to form a residual spacer at the interface region, where the residual spacer coats less than the entirety of the sidewall of the patterned structure, depositing a second spacer layer on the residual spacer and on the sidewall of the patterned structure not coated by the residual spacer, the second spacer layer being seam-free on the seam of the residual spacer, and etching the second spacer layer to form a second spacer coating the residual spacer and coating the sidewall of the patterned structure not coated by the residual spacer.

Dual sidewall spacer for seam protection of a patterned structure

A disclosed film deposition method comprises alternately repeating an adsorption step and a reaction step with an interval period therebetween. The adsorption step includes opening a first on-off valve of a source gas supplying system for a predetermined time period thereby to supply a source gas to a process chamber, closing the first valve after the predetermined time period elapses, and confining the source gas within the process tube, thereby allowing the source gas to be adsorbed on an object to be processed, while a third on-off valve of a vacuum evacuation system is closed. The reaction step includes opening a second on-off valve of a reaction gas supplying system thereby to supply a reaction gas to the process chamber, thereby allowing the source gas and the reaction gas to react with each other thereby to produce a thin film on the object to be processed.

Film deposition method

A control unit heats a reaction pipe to a load temperature by controlling a temperature-raising heater, and then makes semiconductor wafers received in the reaction pipe. Next, the control unit heats the reaction pipe in which the semiconductor wafers are received to a film formation temperature by controlling the temperature-raising heater, and then forms thin films on the semiconductor wafers by supplying a film forming gas into the reaction pipe from a process gas introducing pipe. Also, the control unit sets the load temperature to a temperature higher than the film formation temperature.

Thin film forming method, thin film forming apparatus, and program

A method for forming an SiCN film on target substrates placed in a process field inside a process container repeats a unit cycle a plurality of times to laminate thin films respectively formed, thereby forming the SiCN film with a predetermined thickness. The unit cycle includes performing and suspending supply of a silicon source gas, a nitriding gas, and a carbon hydride gas respectively from first, second, and third gas distribution nozzles to the process field. The unit cycle does not turn any one of the gases into plasma but heats the process field to a set temperature of 300 to 700&#xb0; C. with the supply of the carbon hydride gas performed for a time period in total longer than that of the supply of the silicon source gas, so as to provide the SiCN film with a carbon concentration of 15.2% to 28.5%.

SiCN film formation method and apparatus

A method for using a vertical film formation apparatus includes performing a coating process inside the process container without product target objects present therein to cover an inner surface of the process container with a coating film, and then performing a film formation process inside the process container accommodating the holder with the product target objects placed thereon to form a predetermined film on the product target objects. The coating process alternately supplies the first and second process gases into the process container without turning either of the first and second process gases into plasma. The film formation process alternately supplies the first and second process gases into the process container while turning at least one of the first and second process gases into plasma.

Vertical film formation apparatus and method for using same

There is provided a micro pattern forming method including forming a thin film on a substrate; forming a film serving as a mask when processing the thin film; processing the film serving as a mask into a pattern including lines having a preset pitch; trimming the pattern including the lines; and forming an oxide film on the pattern including the lines and on the thin film by alternately supplying a source gas and an activated oxygen species. Here, the process of trimming the pattern and the process of forming an oxide film are consecutively performed in a film forming apparatus configured to form the oxide film.

Micro pattern forming method

A film formation apparatus for a semiconductor process includes a process gas supply system configured to supply process gases. The process gas supply system includes a gas mixture tank configured to mix first and third process gases to form a mixture gas, a mixture gas supply line configured to supply the mixture gas from the gas mixture tank to a process field, a second process gas supply circuit having a second process gas supply line configured to supply a second process gas to the process field without passing through the gas mixture tank, and first and second switching valves disposed on the mixture gas supply line and the second process gas supply line, respectively. A control section controls the first and second switching valves to be opened and closed so as to alternately and pulse-wise supply the mixture gas and the second process gas to the process field.

Film formation method and apparatus for semiconductor process

A film formation method includes setting a target object at a temperature of 150 to 550&#xb0; C., the target object being placed inside the process container configured to hold a vacuum state therein, and then, repeating a cycle alternately including a first supply step and a second supply step a plurality of times to form a silicon nitride film on the target object. The first supply step is a step of supplying monochlorosilane gas as an Si source into the process container while setting the process container at a pressure of 66.65 to 666.5 Pa therein. The second supply step is a step of supplying a nitrogen-containing gas as a nitriding gas into the process container.

Film formation method and apparatus

Disclosed is a method for using a film formation apparatus to form a silicon nitride film by CVD on target substrates while suppressing particle generation. The apparatus includes a process container and an exciting mechanism attached on the process container. The method includes conducting a pre-coating process by performing pre-cycles and conducting a film formation process by performing main cycles. Each of the pre-cycles and main cycles alternately includes a step of supplying a silicon source gas and a step of supplying a nitriding gas with steps of exhausting gas from inside the process container interposed therebetween. The pre-coating process includes no period of exciting the nitriding gas by the exciting mechanism. The film formation process repeats a first cycle set that excites the nitriding gas by the exciting mechanism and a second cycle that does not excite the nitriding gas by the exciting mechanism.

Disclosed is a patterning method including: forming a first film on a substrate; forming a multi-layered film including a resist film on the first film; forming a patterned resist film having a preset pattern by patterning the resist film by photolithography; forming a silicon oxide film different from the first film on the patterned resist film and the first film by alternately supplying a first gas containing organic silicon and a second gas containing an activated oxygen species to the substrate; etching the silicon oxide film to thereby form a sidewall spacer on a sidewall of the patterned resist film; removing the patterned resist film; and processing the first film by using the sidewall spacer as a mask.

Patterning method

A film formation method is used for forming a silicon nitride film on a target substrate by repeating a plasma cycle and a non-plasma cycle a plurality of times, in a process field configured to be selectively supplied with a first process gas containing a silane family gas and a second process gas containing a nitriding gas and communicating with an exciting mechanism for exciting the second process gas to be supplied. The method includes obtaining a relation formula or relation table that represents relationship of a cycle mixture manner of the plasma cycle and the non-plasma cycle relative to a film quality factor of the silicon nitride film; determining a specific manner of the cycle mixture manner based on a target value of the film quality factor with reference to the relation formula or relation table; and arranging the film formation process in accordance with the specific manner.

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Nirasaki, Japan

Pao-Hwa Chou