Applied Materials, Inc.

Cypress Semiconductor Corporation

Peter R Keswick

Jeffrey S Marks

Chan-Lon Yang

David Walter Groechel

Kenneth S Collins

Craig A Roderick

Gerald Z Yin

Jerry Yuen-Kui Wong

Tetsuya Ishikawa

Jay D Pinson, Ii

Masato M Toshima

John R Trow

Jerry Yuen Wong

Michael Robert Rice

Douglas Buchberger

Jon Mohn

Lawrence Chang-Lai Lei

Yuen-Kui (Jerry) Wong

Lawrence C Lei

Benjamin Schwarz

Kiyoko Ikeuchi

Lien Lee

David Wingto Cheung

Nicolas J Bright

Gerald Zheyao Yin

Sriram Viswanathan

Vinay Krishna

Chan Lon Yang

Daniel Amzen

A method is provided for forming a borderless contact to a local interconnect (LI) line on a substrate. Generally, the method includes steps of (i) depositing a nitride layer over a number of LI lines on the substrate, to substantially cover the LI lines; (ii) etching the nitride layer to form spacers adjacent to sidewalls of at least one of the number of LI lines and to expose at least a portion of a top surface of the LI line; (iii) depositing an inter-layer dielectric, such as an oxide, over the number of LI lines on the substrate and the spacers formed adjacent thereto; and (iv) performing a contact etch to etch contact openings through the inter-layer dielectric to expose the portion of the top surface of the underlying LI line. Other embodiments are also disclosed.

Method of forming borderless contacts

A method of making a semiconductor structure includes etching an anti-reflective coating layer at a pressure of 10 millitorr or less; etching a nitride layer with a first nitride etch plasma having a first F:C ratio; and etching the nitride layer with a second nitride etch plasma having a second F:C ratio. The first F:C ratio is greater than the second F:C ratio.

Gate etch process

A domed plasma reactor chamber uses an antenna driven by RF energy (LF, MF, or VHF) which is inductively coupled inside the reactor dome. The antenna generates a high density, low energy plasma inside the chamber for etching metals, dielectrics and semiconductor materials. Auxiliary RF bias energy applied to the wafer support cathode controls the cathode sheath voltage and controls the ion energy independent of density. Various magnetic and voltage processing enhancement techniques are disclosed, along with etch processes, deposition processes and combined etch/deposition processed. The disclosed invention provides processing of sensitive devices without damage and without microloading, thus providing increased yields.

Plasma reactor using inductive RF coupling, and processes

A domed plasma reactor chamber uses an antenna driven by RF energy (LF, MF, or VHF) which is inductively coupled inside the reactor dome. The antenna generates a high density, low energy plasma inside the chamber for etching metals, dielectrics and semiconductor materials. Auxiliary RF bias energy applied to the 10 wafer support cathode controls the cathode sheath voltage and controls the ion energy independent of density. Various magnetic and voltage processing enhancement techniques are disclosed, along with etch processes deposition processes and combined etch/deposition processed. The disclosed invention provides processing of sensitive devices without damage and without microloading, thus providing increased yields.

The invention is embodied in an RF plasma reactor for processing a semiconductor workpiece, including wall structures for containing a plasma therein, a workpiece support, a coil antenna capable of receiving a source RF power signal and being juxtaposed near the chamber, the workpiece support including a bias electrode capable of receiving a bias RF power signal, and first and second magnet structures adjacent the wall structure and in spaced relationship, with one pole of the first magnet structure facing an opposite pole of the second magnet structure, the magnet structures providing a plasma-confining static magnetic field adjacent said wall structure. The invention is also embodied in an RF plasma reactor for processing a semiconductor workpiece, including one or more wall structures for containing a plasma therein, a workpiece support, the workpiece support comprising a lower electrode, an upper electrode facing the lower electrode and spaced across a plasma generation region of said chamber from said lower electrode, and first and second magnet structures adjacent the wall structure and in spaced relationship with one pole of the first magnet structure facing an opposite pole of the second magnet structure, the magnet structures providing a plasma-confining static magnetic field adjacent said wall structure.

Magnetic confinement in a plasma reactor having an RF bias electrode

A plasma reactor chamber uses an antenna driven by RF energy (LF, MF, or VHF) which is inductively coupled inside the reactor dome. The antenna generates a high density, low energy plasma inside the chamber for etching oxygen-containing layers overlying non-oxygen-containing layers with high selectivity. Auxiliary RF bias energy applied to the wafer support cathode controls the cathode sheath voltage and controls the ion energy independent of density. Various magnetic and voltage processing enhancement techniques are disclosed, along with other etch processes, deposition processes and combined etch/deposition processes. The disclosed invention provides processing of sensitive devices without damage and without microloading, thus providing increased yields. Etching of an oxygen-containing layer overlying a non-oxygen-containing layer can be achieved with high selectivity.

Method for processing substrates using gaseous silicon scavenger

A general method of the invention is to provide a polymer-hardening precursor piece (such as silicon, carbon, silicon carbide or silicon nitride, but preferably silicon) within the reactor chamber during an etch process with a fluoro-carbon or fluoro-hydrocarbon gas, and to heat the polymer-hardening precursor piece above the polymerization temperature sufficiently to achieve a desired increase in oxide-to-silicon etch selectivity. Generally, this polymer-hardening precursor or silicon piece may be an integral part of the reactor chamber walls and/or ceiling or a separate, expendable and quickly removable piece, and the heating/cooling apparatus may be of any suitable type including apparatus which conductively or remotely heats the silicon piece.

Plasma reactor with heated source of a polymer-hardening precursor material

A plasma process for etching oxide and having a high selectivity to silicon including flowing into a plasma reaction chamber a fluorine-containing etching gas and maintaining a temperature of an exposed silicon surface within said chamber at a temperature of between 200&deg; C. and 300&deg; C. An example of the etching gas includes SiF and a fluorocarbon gas. The plasma may be generated by a capacitive discharge type plasma generator or by an electromagnetically coupled plasma generator, such as an inductively coupled plasma generator. The high selectivity exhibited by the etch process permits use of an electromagnetically coupled plasma generator, which in turn permits the etch process to be performed at low pressures of between 1 and 30 milliTorr, resulting the etching of vertical sidewalls in the oxide layer.

High temperature silicon surface providing high selectivity in an oxide etch process

Plasma etch processes

A plasma etch process is described for the etching of oxide with a high selectivity to nitride, including nitride formed on uneven surfaces of a substrate, e.g., on sidewalls of steps on an integrated circuit structure. The addition of one or more hydrogen-containing gases, preferably one or more hydrofluorocarbon gases, to one or more fluorine-substituted hydrocarbon etch gases and a scavenger for fluorine, in a plasma etch process for etching oxide in preference to nitride, results in a high selectivity to nitride which is preserved regardless of the topography of the nitride portions of the substrate surface. In a preferred embodiment, one or more oxygen-bearing gases are also added to reduce the overall rate of polymer deposition on the chamber surfaces and on the surfaces to be etched, which can otherwise reduce the etch rate and cause excessive polymer deposition on the chamber surfaces. The fluorine scavenger is preferably an electrically grounded silicon electrode associated with the plasma.

Oxide etch process with high selectivity to nitride suitable for use on surfaces of uneven topography

A plasma etch process for oxide having high selectivity to silicon is disclosed comprising the use of a mixture of SiF,and one or more other fluorine-containing etch gases in an etch chamber maintained within a pressure range of from about 1 milliTorr to about 200 milliTorr. Preferably, the etch chamber also contains an exposed silicon surface. The plasma may be generated by a capacitive discharge type plasma generator, if pressures of at least about 50 milliTorr are used, but preferably the plasma is generated by an electromagnetically coupled plasma generator. The high selectivity exhibited by the etch process of the invention permits use of an electromagnetically coupled plasma generator which, in turn, permits operation of the etch process at reduced pressures of preferably from about 1 milliTorr to about 30 milliTorr resulting in the etching of vertical sidewall openings in the oxide layer.

High selectivity oxide etch process for integrated circuit structures

Process used in an RF coupled plasma reactor

Plasma reactor with heated source of a polymer-hardening precursor

Growing community of inventors

Newark, CA, United States of America

Peter R Keswick