Applied Materials, Inc.

Other

Turgut Sahin

Pravin K Narwankar

Laxman Murugesh

Yaxin Wang

Kent Rossman

Ming Xi

Patricia M Liu

Jianmin Qiao

Randall Scott Urdahl

Maciek Orczyk

Alfred W Mak

Romuald Nowak

Walter Zygmunt

Sameer Desai

Gregory F Redinbo

Wong-Cheng Shih

Pravin Narawankar

K V Ravi

Mei Yin Chang

Fred Conrad Redeker

Tetsuya Ishikawa

David Wingto Cheung

Avi Tepman

Shijian Li

Fritz C Redeker

Ashok K Sinha

Farhad K Moghadam

Salvador P Umotoy

Derek R Witty

Yashraj K Bhatnagar

Charles N Dornfest

Jian Ding

Craig Metzner

Cissy S Leung

Timothy S Dyer

Gary Eugene Miner

Ronald Lloyd Rose

Ravi Jallepally

Guangcai Xing

Yung-Hee Yvette Lee

Cynthia B Brooks

Melisa J Buie

Eugene Tzou

David B Noble

Huyen T Tran

Hichem M'Saad

Brad Taylor

Nathan D'Astici

Diana Chan

Ankineedu Velaga

Lie-Yea Cheng

A layer of reduced stress is formed on a substrate using an HDP-CVD system by delaying or interrupting the application of capacitively coupled RF energy. The layer is formed by introducing a process gas into the HDP system chamber and forming a plasma from the process gas by the application of RF power to an inductive coil. After a selected period, a second layer of the film is deposited by maintaining the inductively-coupled plasma and biasing the plasma toward the substrate to enhance the sputtering effect of the plasma. In a preferred embodiment, the deposited film is a silicon oxide film, and biasing is performed by application of capacitively coupled RF power from RF generators to a ceiling plate electrode and wafer support electrode.

Method for reducing the intrinsic stress of high density plasma films

Methods and apparatus for controlling the critical dimensions and monitoring the phase shift angles of photomasks. Critical dimensions measurement data before wafer processing and after wafer processing are collected by an integrated metrology tool to adjust the process recipe, to determine if the critical dimensions are in specification and to determine if additional etching is required. Phase shift angle and uniformity across substrate measurement after wafer processing are collected by an integrated metrology tool to determine if the phase shift angle and its uniformity are in specification. The real time process recipe adjustment and determination if additional etching is requires allow tightening of the process control. The phase shift angle and uniformity monitoring allows in-line screening of phase shift photomasks.

Integrated phase angle and optical critical dimension measurement metrology for feed forward and feedback process control

The present invention provides a method of depositing an amorphous fluorocarbon film using a high bias power applied to the substrate on which the material is deposited. The invention contemplates flowing a carbon precursor at rate and at a power level so that equal same molar ratios of a carbon source is available to bind the fragmented fluorine in the film thereby improving film quality while also enabling improved gap fill performance. The invention further provides for improved adhesion of the amorphous fluorocarbon film to metal surfaces by first depositing a metal or TiN adhesion layer on the metal surfaces and then stuffing the surface of the deposited adhesion layer with nitrogen. Adhesion is further improved by coating the chamber walls with silicon nitride or silicon oxynitride.

Chamber seasoning method to improve adhesion of F-containing dielectric film to metal for VLSI application

A method and apparatus for modifying the profile of narrow, high-aspect-ratio gaps on a semiconductor substrate are used to fill the gaps in a void-free manner. Differential heating characteristics of a substrate in a high-density plasma chemical vapor deposition (HDP-CVD) system helps to prevent the gaps from being pinched off before they are filled. The power distribution between coils forming the plasma varies the angular dependence of the sputter etch component of the plasma, and thus may be used to modify the gap profile, independently or in conjunction with differential heating. A heat source may be applied to the backside of a substrate during the concurrent deposition/etch process to further enhance the profile modification characteristics of differential heating.

Method and apparatus for modifying the profile of narrow, high-aspect-ratio gaps through wafer heating

The present invention describes a method of processing a substrate. According to the present invention a dielectric layer is formed on the substrate. The dielectric layer is then exposed in a first chamber to activated nitrogen atoms formed in a second chamber to form a nitrogen passivated dielectric layer. A metal nitride film is then formed on the nitrogen passivated dielectric layer.

Method and apparatus for integrating a metal nitride film in a semiconductor device

The invention is embodied in a method of cleaning a plasma reactor by creating a vacuum in the chamber while introducing an etchant gas into the chamber through the gas injection ports, and applying RF energy to a ceiling electrode in the chamber while not necessarily applying RF energy to the coil antenna, so as to strike a predominantly capacitively coupled plasma in the vacuum chamber. In another embodiment the method includes, whenever the reactor is to be operated in an inductive coupling mode, applying RF power to the reactors coil antenna while grounding the ceiling electrode, and whenever the reactor is to be operated in a capacitive coupling mode, applying RF power to the ceiling electrode, and whenever the reactor is to be cleaned, cleaning the reactor by applying RF power to the ceiling electrode and to the coil antenna while introducing an etchant gas into the vacuum chamber. In yet another embodiment the method includes performing chemical vapor deposition on a wafer by introducing a deposition precursor gas into the chamber while maintaining an inductively coupled plasma therein by applying RF power to the coil antenna while grounding the ceiling electrode, and cleaning the reactor by introducing a precursor cleaning gas into the chamber while maintaining a capacitively coupled plasma in the chamber by applying RF power to the ceiling electrode.

Method of operating high density plasma CVD reactor with combined inductive and capacitive coupling

An integrated deposition system is provided which is capable of vaporizing low vapor pressure liquid precursors and delivering this vapor into a processing region for use in the fabrication of advanced integrated circuits. The integrated deposition system is made up of a heated exhaust system, a remote plasma generator, a processing chamber and a liquid delivery system which together provide a commercially viable and production worthy system for depositing high capacity dielectric materials from low vapor pressure precursors, anneal those films while also providing commercially viable in-situ cleaning capability.

Deposition reactor having vaporizing, mixing and cleaning capabilities

An apparatus and method for exposing a substrate to plasma including a first reaction chamber adapted to generate a plasma comprising ions and radicals and a second reaction chamber coupled to the first reaction chamber and adapted to house a substrate at a sight in the second reaction chamber. The second reaction chamber is coupled to the first reaction chamber by an inlet member and radicals of the plasma flow through the inlet member into the second reaction chamber.

Apparatus for exposing a substrate to plasma radicals

A method for improving the interface between a silicon nitride film and a silicon surface is described. According to the present invention a silicon nitride film is formed on a silicon surface of a substrate. While said substrate is heated the silicon nitride film is exposed to an ambient comprising hydrogen (H ). In a prefered embodiment of the present invention the ambient comprises H and N .

Anneal for enhancing the electrical characteristic of semiconductor devices

A substrate processing system includes a housing defining a chamber for forming a film on the substrate surface of a substrate disposed within the chamber. The system includes a first plurality of nozzles that extend into the chamber for injecting a first chemical at a first distance from a periphery of the substrate surface, and a second plurality of nozzles that extend into the chamber for injecting a second chemical at a second distance from the periphery of the substrate surface. The second distance is substantially equal to or smaller than the first distance. In one embodiment, the first chemical contains a dielectric material and the second chemical contains dopant species which react with the first chemical to deposit a doped dielectric material on the substrate. Injecting the dopant species closer to the substrate surface than previously done ensures that the dopant species are distributed substantially uniformly over the substrate surface and the deposition of a stable doped dielectric layer.

Process gas distribution for forming stable fluorine-doped silicate glass and other films

The temperature controlled gas distribution plate of the present invention includes a liquid cooling passage, with inlet and outlet ports, that is formed within the gas distribution plate. In the preferred embodiment, the plate is formed with an upper passage cover and a lower base having a liquid passage channel formed within the side walls thereof. The cover and base are welded together to form a sealed liquid passage within the plate through which the liquid coolant flows.

Temperature controlled gas distribution plate

A low dielectric constant insulating film on a substrate is formed by introducing a process gas comprising a silicon source, a fluorine source, and oxygen into a chamber. The process gas is formed into a plasma to deposit at least a first portion of the insulating film over the substrate. The wafer and the first portion of the insulating film are then heated to a temperature of about 100-500&deg; C. for a period of time. The film may include several separate portions, the deposition of each of which is followed by a heating step. The film has a low dielectric constant and good gas-fill and stability due to the lack of free fluorine in the film.

Sequential in-situ heating and deposition of halogen-doped silicon oxide

CVD deposition method to improve adhesion of F-containing dielectric metal lines for VLSI application

A low dielectric constant insulating film on a substrate is formed by introducing a process gas comprising a silicon source, a fluorine source, and oxygen into a chamber. The process gas is formed into a plasma to deposit at least a first portion of the insulating film over the substrate. The wafer and the first portion of the insulating film are then heated to a temperature of about 100-500&deg; C. for a period of time. The film may include several separate portions, the deposition of each of which is followed by a heating step. The film has a low dielectric constant and good gap-fill and stability due to the lack of free fluorine in the film.

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Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Turgut Sahin