Applied Materials, Inc.

Crossbar, Inc.

Yunyu Wang

Nitin K Ingle

Anchuan Wang

Jingchun Zhang

Young Seen Lee

Sundar Narayanan

Natividad Vasquez

Seung H Park

Zhen Gu

A two-terminal resistive switching device (TTRSD) such as a non-volatile two-terminal memory device or a volatile two-terminal selector device can be formed according to a manufacturing process. The process can include forming an etch stop layer that is made of aluminum and can include forming a buffer layer below the etch stop layer and/or between the etch stop layer and a top electrode of the TTRSD.

Using aluminum as etch stop layer

A method of etching exposed silicon oxide on patterned heterogeneous structures is described and includes a gas phase etch created from a remote plasma etch. The remote plasma excites a fluorine-containing precursor. Plasma effluents from the remote plasma are flowed into a substrate processing region where the plasma effluents combine with water vapor. Reactants thereby produced etch the patterned heterogeneous structures to remove two separate regions of differing silicon oxide at different etch rates. The methods may be used to remove low density silicon oxide while removing less high density silicon oxide.

Differential silicon oxide etch

A method of etching exposed silicon-and-carbon-containing material on patterned heterogeneous structures is described and includes a remote plasma etch formed from a fluorine-containing precursor and an oxygen-containing precursor. Plasma effluents from the remote plasma are flowed into a substrate processing region where the plasma effluents react with the exposed regions of silicon-and-carbon-containing material. The plasmas effluents react with the patterned heterogeneous structures to selectively remove silicon-and-carbon-containing material from the exposed silicon-and-carbon-containing material regions while very slowly removing other exposed materials. The silicon-and-carbon-containing material selectivity results partly from the presence of an ion suppression element positioned between the remote plasma and the substrate processing region. The ion suppression element reduces or substantially eliminates the number of ionically-charged species that reach the substrate. The methods may be used to selectively remove silicon-and-carbon-containing material at more than twenty times the rate of silicon oxide.

Dry-etch for silicon-and-carbon-containing films

A method of suppressing the etch rate for exposed silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material on patterned heterogeneous structures is described and includes a two stage remote plasma etch. The etch selectivity of silicon relative to silicon nitride and other silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material is increased using the method. The first stage of the remote plasma etch reacts plasma effluents with the patterned heterogeneous structures to form protective solid by-product on the silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material. The plasma effluents of the first stage are formed from a remote plasma of a combination of precursors, including nitrogen trifluoride and hydrogen (H). The second stage of the remote plasma etch also reacts plasma effluents with the patterned heterogeneous structures to selectively remove material which lacks the protective solid by-product. The plasma effluents of the second stage are formed from a remote plasma of a fluorine-containing precursor.

Selective suppression of dry-etch rate of materials containing both silicon and nitrogen

A method of suppressing the etch rate for exposed silicon-and-oxygen-containing material on patterned heterogeneous structures is described and includes a two stage remote plasma etch. Examples of materials whose selectivity is increased using this technique include silicon nitride and silicon. The first stage of the remote plasma etch reacts plasma effluents with the patterned heterogeneous structures to form protective solid by-product on the silicon-and-oxygen-containing material. The plasma effluents of the first stage are formed from a remote plasma of a combination of precursors, including a nitrogen-containing precursor and a hydrogen-containing precursor. The second stage of the remote plasma etch also reacts plasma effluents with the patterned heterogeneous structures to selectively remove material which lacks the protective solid by-product. The plasma effluents of the second stage are formed from a remote plasma of a fluorine-containing precursor.

Selective suppression of dry-etch rate of materials containing both silicon and oxygen

A method of etching exposed silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material on patterned heterogeneous structures is described and includes a remote plasma etch formed from a fluorine-containing precursor and an oxygen-containing precursor. Plasma effluents from the remote plasma are flowed into a substrate processing region where the plasma effluents react with the exposed regions of silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material. The plasmas effluents react with the patterned heterogeneous structures to selectively remove silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material from the exposed silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material regions while very slowly removing other exposed materials. The silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material selectivity results partly from the presence of an ion suppression element positioned between the remote plasma and the substrate processing region. The ion suppression element reduces or substantially eliminates the number of ionically-charged species that reach the substrate. The methods may be used to selectively remove silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material at more than twenty times the rate of silicon oxide.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Yunyu Wang