Texas Instruments Corporation

United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Rhett B Jucha

Cecil J Davis

Lee M Loewenstein

Robert T Matthews

Duane E Carter

John I Jones

Randall C Hildenbrand

Joseph D Luttmer

Rudy L York

Sue E Crank

Thomas Dyer Bonifield

Monte A Douglas

John E Spencer

Dean W Freeman

Randall E Johnson

Steve S Huang

Jeff D Achenbach

Patricia Beauregard Smith

Vic B Marriott

Joel T Tomlin

Frederick W Brown

Stanford P Kohan

Tom Tang

William J Stiltz

Joseph E Whetsel

A remote microwave plasma generator comprises the combination of two parts, a tunable microwave applicator, and a double wall, water cooled quartz/sapphire tube. The tunable waveguide applicator is a nonconducting adjustable waveguide short with a quartz/sapphire tube inserted through it. The adjustable end is one quarter of a guide wavelength from the center line of the tube, and the other side is 0.1 inches less in distance, thus permitting the applicator to be used with a triple stub tuner for optimum coupling.

Low particulate reliability enhanced remote microwave plasma discharge

A processing apparatus and method wherein a wafer is exposed to activated species generated by a first plasma which is separate from the wafer, but is in the process gas flow stream upstream of the wafer, and is also exposed to plasma bombardment generated by a second plasma which has a dark space which substantially adjoins the surface of the wafer. The in situ plasma is relatively low-power, so that the remote plasma can generate activated species, and therefore the in situ plasma power level can be adjusted to optimize the plasma bombardment. Ultraviolet light to illuminate the face of a wafer being processed is generated by a plasma which is within the vacuum chamber but is remote from the face of the wafer. It is useful to design the gas flow system such that the ultraviolet-generating plasma has its own gas feed, and the reaction products from the ultraviolet-generating plasma do not substantially flow or diffuse to the wafer face. A transparent isolator is usefully included between the ultraviolet plasma space and the processing space near the wafer face, so that the ultraviolet plasma can be operated at a vacuum level slightly different from that used near the wafer face, delete but this transparent window is not made thick enough to act as a full vacuum seal.

Processing method using both a remotely generated plasma and an in-situ

A processing apparatus and method wherein a wafer is exposed to activated species generated by a first plasma which is separate from the wafer, but is in the process gas flow stream upstream of the wafer, and is also exposed to plasma bombardment generated by a second plasma which has a dark space which substantially adjoins the surface of the wafer. The in situ plasma is relatively low-power, so that the remote plasma can generate activated species, and therefore the in situ plasma power level can be adjusted to optimize the plasma bombardment. Ultraviolet light to illuminate the face of a wafer being processed is generated by a plasma which is within the vacuum chamber but is remote from the face of the wafer and controlled independent of the in situ plasma. It is useful to design the gas flow system such that the ultraviolet-generating plasma has its own gas feed, and the reaction products from the ultraviolet-generating plasma do not substantially flow or diffuse to the wafer face. A transparent isolator is usefully included between the ultraviolet plasma space and the processing space near the wafer face, so that the ultraviolet plasma can be operated at a vacuum level slightly different from that used near the wafer face.

Wafer processing apparatus having independently controllable energy

A method for etching a tungsten film which includes introducing activated species of a halogenated hydrocarbon to the tungsten film.

Method for etching tungsten

An apparatus and a method for the etching of semiconductor materials is disclosed. The apparatus includes a process chamber which includes a plasma generator remote from and in fluid communication with the process chamber. The remote plasma generator includes an inlet tube, a discharge tube in fluid communication with the inlet tube, an excitation cavity surrounding the discharge tube, an outlet tube in fluid communication with the discharge tube and a process chamber, and an injection tube in the outlet tube.

Method for etching semiconductor materials using a remote plasma

A processing apparatus and method for anisotropically etching thin film metal (e.g. tungsten) under plasma bombardment conditions by using a feed gas mixture which includes a fluorine source (such as SF.sub.6) plus a bromine source (such as HBr), plus a very weak oxygen source (e.g. carbon monoxide). This chemistry provides anisotropic high rate fluoro-etching with good selectivity to photoresist.

Processing of etching refractory metals

A process wherein a thin film of tungsten is anisotropically etched under plasma bombardment conditions by using a feed gas mixture which includes an etchant and a carbon containing gas. This chemistry provides anisotropic high rate fluoro-etching with good selectivity to photoresist.

A process module which is compatible with a system using primarily vacuum wafer transport, but which permits processing multiple slices in parallel in a single module. This is accomplished by using notched quartz arms in the module, so that the transfer arm can place each of several wafers into one set of notches in the quartz arms. Optionally, a vertical degree of movement in the arm may be used to accomplish this, and the quartz arms may be immovable. This means that the port from the multi-wafer module into the wafer transfer system must be high enough to accommodate the necessary vertical movement of the transfer arm. After the transfer arm has placed the wafer on the quartz arms, the process module can be elevated to close around the set of wafers and made a seal. If the wafer transport arm is already configured to access wafers directly out of a multi-wafer vacuum wafer carrier, the necessary degree of freedom will necessarily already be present in the transfer arm, and at least one port of the necessary vertical dimensions will necessarily also be already present (between the loadlock and the transfer chamber). This is particularly useful in combination with relatively slow processes, such as thick field oxidation, long anneals, or long furnace heating steps used to drive in diffusions.

Processing apparatus and method

A radio frequency (RF) glow discharge plasma etch electrode design is disclosed which is capable of creating high power density plasma with uniform etch rates, while providing access for automatic loading semiconductor wafers from outside of the plasma region. The electrode assembly comprises of an electrode to which RF energy is applied surrounded by an insulator, which in turn surrounded a grounded surface all of which have cylindrical symmetry. When placed a small distance from a flat, grounded substrate, the electrode assembly creates a volume which can effectively combine a high power density plasma, while maintaining a sufficient channel for pumping a gas flow and for observing the plasma optically. The same channel is widened for automatic transport of semiconductor wafers from outside of the plasma reactor chamber. Such confined high power density plasma are important for high rate, uniform, anisotropic etching, especially for silicon dioxide.

Isolation substrate ring for plasma reactor

A process module wherein radiant heating is combined with the capability for generating a plasma in proximity to the wafer face. It is useful to clamp the slice to a susceptor which is of the same material as the wafer, or at least has essentially the same thermal coefficient of expansion. The susceptor is directly heated by a radiant heater, but the rate of temperature change is slow enough that no large thermal gradients between the susceptor and the wafer develop.

A process module having remote plasma and in situ plasma generators, a source of ultraviolet, and a radiant heater, which represent four separate energy sources. The four sources can be used singly or in any combination and can be separately controllable.

A process for the etching of titanium containing film which utilizes both in situ and remote plasmas, and a gas mixture for the plasmas which comprises a halogen gas at low pressure and moderate temperature to produce an etch which is both selective to selected materials, for example, titanium silicide etc., and anisotropic.

Method for etching titanium nitride local interconnects

A thin film etching process, wherein the rate of deposition of a robust sidewall passivant is controlled so that passivants can be continually deposited on the sidewalls of the resist pattern to change the geometry of the resist pattern during the processing step. That is, the existing pattern is modified as if a sidewall filament has been deposited on it, which can be advantageous for many purposes, without the added process complexity required by a sidewall filament process.

Selective etching of tungsten by remote and in situ plasma generation

A process for etch of polysilicon films which utilizes the combination of remote and in situ plasma in a low pressure process module and the plasma is generated from a mixture of Helium and a source of Fluorine with the process chamber within the process module being generally at ambient temperatures.

Method for etch of polysilicon film

Tungsten is rapidly and anisotropically etched under plasma bombardment conditions by using a feed gas mixture which includes a fluorine source (such as SF.sub.6) plus a bromine source (such as HBr), plus a hydrocarbon source (e.g., an alkyl, such as methane).

Growing community of inventors

Celeste, TX, United States of America

Rhett B Jucha