Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc.

Globalfoundries Inc.

Other

Applied Materials, Inc.

Tsung-Liang Chen

Shurong Liang

Hsin-Neng Tai

Huey-Ming Wang

Hung-Wei Liu

Jeffrey W Anthis

Benjamin Schmiege

Alexander C Kontos

Glen Gilchrist

John J Hautala

Huang Liu

Costel Biloiu

Rohit Pal

Vikram Singh

Richard John Hertel

Christopher W Campbell

Zhiguo Sun

Piero Sferlazzo

Songkram Srivathanakul

Glen F R Gilchrist

Danni Chen

Tae Hoon Lee

Joseph C Olson

Mark Joseph Saly

Simon Ruffell

Kevin R Anglin

Puneet Khanna

A system for determining various parameters of an ion beam is disclosed. A test workpiece may be modified to incorporate a detection pattern. The detection pattern may be configured to measure the height of the ion beam, the uniformity of the ion beam, or the central angle of the ion beam. In certain embodiments, the amount of current striking the detection pattern may be measured using an optical emission spectrometer (OES) system. In other embodiments, a power supply used to bias the workpiece may be used to measure the amount of current striking the detection pattern. Alternative, the detection patterns may be incorporated into the workpiece holder.

In-situ beam profile metrology

A system and method for removing metal from a substrate in a controlled manner is disclosed. The system includes a chamber, with one or more gas inlets to allow the flow of gasses into the chamber, at least one exhaust pump, to exhaust gasses from the chamber, and a heater, capable of modifying the temperature of the chamber. In some embodiments, one or more gasses are introduced into the chamber at a first temperature. The atoms in these gasses chemically react with the metal on the surface of the substrate to form a removable compound. The gasses are then exhausted from the chamber, leaving the removable compound on the surface of the substrate. The temperature of the chamber is then elevated to a second temperature, greater than the sublimation temperature of the removable compound. This increased temperature allows the removable compound to become gaseous and be exhausted from the chamber.

System and method for controllable non-volatile metal removal

A method may include: providing a device stack, the device stack comprising sidewall portions and extending above a substrate base, the device stack further including a plurality of metal layers; depositing an interface layer conformally over the device stack using an atomic layer deposition process, the interface layer comprising a first insulator material; depositing an encapsulation layer on the interface layer, the encapsulation layer comprising a second insulator material; and depositing an interlevel dielectric disposed on the encapsulation layer, the interlevel dielectric comprising a third insulator material.

Magnetic memory device and techniques for forming

Approaches herein increase a ratio of reactive ions to a neutral species in a plasma processing apparatus. Exemplary approaches include providing a processing apparatus having a plasma source chamber including a first gas inlet, and a deposition chamber coupled to the plasma source chamber, wherein the deposition chamber includes a second gas inlet for delivering a point of use (POU) gas to an area proximate a substrate disposed within the deposition chamber. Exemplary approaches further include generating an ion beam for delivery to the substrate, and modifying a pressure within the deposition chamber in the area proximate the substrate to increase an amount of reactive ions present for impacting the substrate when the ion beam is delivered to the substrate.

Techniques for controlling ion/neutral ratio of a plasma source

An apparatus to treat a substrate. The apparatus may include a reactive gas source having a reactive gas outlet disposed in a process chamber, the reactive gas outlet to direct a first reactive gas to the substrate; a plasma chamber coupled to the process chamber and including an extraction plate having an extraction aperture extending along a first direction, disposed within the process chamber and movable along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction between a first position facing the reactive gas source and a second position facing the extraction aperture; and a gas flow restrictor disposed between the reactive gas outlet and the extraction aperture, the gas flow restrictor defining a differential pumping channel between at least the plasma chamber and substrate stage.

Apparatus and techniques to treat substrates using directional plasma and reactive gas

A method may include generating a plasma in a plasma chamber and directing the ions comprising at least one of a condensing species and inert gas species from the plasma to a cavity within a substrate at a non-zero angle of incidence with respect to a perpendicular to a plane of the substrate. The method may further include; depositing a fill material within the cavity using the condensing species, the depositing taking place concurrently with the directing the ions, wherein the fill material accumulates on a lower surface of the cavity at a first rate, and wherein the fill material accumulates on an upper portion of a sidewall of the cavity at a second rate less than the first rate.

Apparatus and techniques for filling a cavity using angled ion beam

Approaches herein provide precise areal surface reaction with directional ion beam activation. Exemplary approaches include selectively forming a material within a trench of a semiconductor device using a plurality of successive deposition and activation cycles. Each of the plurality of deposition and activation cycles includes forming a precursor conformally along a set of surfaces of the trench, reacting the precursor with a capping compound to form a capping layer along the set of surfaces of the trench, and performing an ion implant to the semiconductor device to activate just a portion of the capping layer. In one approach, the ion implant activates just a portion of the capping layer along a bottom surface of the trench. In another approach, the ion implant activates just a portion of the capping layer along an upper section of a sidewall of the trench.

Ion beam activated directional deposition

A method for flowable oxide deposition is provided. An oxygen source gas is increased as a function of time or film depth to change the flowable oxide properties such that the deposited film is optimized for gap fill near a substrate surface where high aspect ratio shapes are present. The oxygen gas flow rate increases as the film depth increases, such that the deposited film is optimized for planarization quality at the upper regions of the deposited film.

Method of forming a dielectric film

Methods of facilitating gate height uniformity by controlling recessing of dielectric material and semiconductor devices formed from the methods are provided. The methods include, for instance, forming a transistor of the semiconductor device with an n-type transistor and a p-type transistor, the n-type transistor and the p-type transistor including plurality of sacrificial gate structures and protective masks at upper surfaces of the plurality of sacrificial gate structures; providing a dielectric material over and between the plurality of sacrificial gate structures; partially densifying the dielectric material to form a partially densified dielectric material; further densifying the partially densified dielectric material to create a modified dielectric material; and creating substantially planar surface on the modified dielectric material, to control dielectric material recess and gate height.

Gate height uniformity in semiconductor devices

An intermediate semiconductor structure in fabrication includes a substrate. A plurality of gate structures is disposed over the substrate, with at least two of the gate structures separated by a sacrificial material between adjacent gate structures. A portion of the sacrificial material is removed to form openings within the sacrificial material, which are filled with a filler material having a high aspect ratio oxide. The excess filler material is removed. A portion of the gate structures is removed to form gate openings within the gate structures. The gate openings are filled with gate cap material and the excess gate cap material is removed to create a substantially planar surface overlaying the gate structures and the sacrificial material to control sacrificial oxide recess and gate height.

Reduction of oxide recesses for gate height control

Growing community of inventors

Danvers, MA, United States of America

Tsung-Liang Chen