US20060254716A1 - Processing system and method for chemically treating a tera layer - Google Patents
Processing system and method for chemically treating a tera layer Download PDFInfo
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- US20060254716A1 US20060254716A1 US11/486,105 US48610506A US2006254716A1 US 20060254716 A1 US20060254716 A1 US 20060254716A1 US 48610506 A US48610506 A US 48610506A US 2006254716 A1 US2006254716 A1 US 2006254716A1
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- H—ELECTRICITY
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- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/027—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34
- H01L21/0271—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 comprising organic layers
- H01L21/0273—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 comprising organic layers characterised by the treatment of photoresist layers
- H01L21/0274—Photolithographic processes
- H01L21/0276—Photolithographic processes using an anti-reflective coating
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- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02104—Forming layers
- H01L21/02107—Forming insulating materials on a substrate
- H01L21/02109—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates
- H01L21/02112—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates characterised by the material of the layer
- H01L21/02123—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates characterised by the material of the layer the material containing silicon
- H01L21/02126—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates characterised by the material of the layer the material containing silicon the material containing Si, O, and at least one of H, N, C, F, or other non-metal elements, e.g. SiOC, SiOC:H or SiONC
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- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02104—Forming layers
- H01L21/02107—Forming insulating materials on a substrate
- H01L21/02109—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates
- H01L21/02112—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates characterised by the material of the layer
- H01L21/02123—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates characterised by the material of the layer the material containing silicon
- H01L21/02167—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates characterised by the material of the layer the material containing silicon the material being a silicon carbide not containing oxygen, e.g. SiC, SiC:H or silicon carbonitrides
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- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02104—Forming layers
- H01L21/02107—Forming insulating materials on a substrate
- H01L21/02225—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the process for the formation of the insulating layer
- H01L21/0226—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the process for the formation of the insulating layer formation by a deposition process
- H01L21/02263—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the process for the formation of the insulating layer formation by a deposition process deposition from the gas or vapour phase
- H01L21/02271—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the process for the formation of the insulating layer formation by a deposition process deposition from the gas or vapour phase deposition by decomposition or reaction of gaseous or vapour phase compounds, i.e. chemical vapour deposition
- H01L21/02274—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the process for the formation of the insulating layer formation by a deposition process deposition from the gas or vapour phase deposition by decomposition or reaction of gaseous or vapour phase compounds, i.e. chemical vapour deposition in the presence of a plasma [PECVD]
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- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/027—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34
- H01L21/033—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 comprising inorganic layers
- H01L21/0332—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 comprising inorganic layers characterised by their composition, e.g. multilayer masks, materials
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- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/027—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34
- H01L21/033—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 comprising inorganic layers
- H01L21/0334—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 comprising inorganic layers characterised by their size, orientation, disposition, behaviour, shape, in horizontal or vertical plane
- H01L21/0337—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34 comprising inorganic layers characterised by their size, orientation, disposition, behaviour, shape, in horizontal or vertical plane characterised by the process involved to create the mask, e.g. lift-off masks, sidewalls, or to modify the mask, e.g. pre-treatment, post-treatment
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- H—ELECTRICITY
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- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
- H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic System or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
- H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
- H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
- H01L21/314—Inorganic layers
- H01L21/3148—Silicon Carbide layers
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- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
- H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic System or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
- H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
- H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
- H01L21/314—Inorganic layers
- H01L21/316—Inorganic layers composed of oxides or glassy oxides or oxide based glass
- H01L21/31604—Deposition from a gas or vapour
- H01L21/31633—Deposition of carbon doped silicon oxide, e.g. SiOC
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a system and method for treating a Tunable Etch Rate ARC (TERA) layer, and more particularly to a system and method for chemical treatment of a TERA layer.
- TERA Tunable Etch Rate ARC
- a (dry) plasma etch process can be utilized to remove or etch material along fine lines or within vias or contacts patterned on a silicon substrate.
- the plasma etch process generally involves positioning a semiconductor substrate with an overlying patterned, protective layer, for example a photoresist layer, in a processing chamber. Once the substrate is positioned within the chamber, an ionizable, dissociative gas mixture is introduced within the chamber at a pre-specified flow rate, while a vacuum pump is throttled to achieve an ambient process pressure.
- a plasma is formed when a fraction of the gas species present are ionized by electrons heated via the transfer of radio frequency (RF) power either inductively or capacitively, or microwave power using, for example, electron cyclotron resonance (ECR). Moreover, the heated electrons serve to dissociate some species of the ambient gas species and create reactant specie(s) suitable for the exposed surface etch chemistry.
- RF radio frequency
- ECR electron cyclotron resonance
- the heated electrons serve to dissociate some species of the ambient gas species and create reactant specie(s) suitable for the exposed surface etch chemistry.
- selected surfaces of the substrate are etched by the plasma. The process is adjusted to achieve appropriate conditions, including an appropriate concentration of desirable reactant and ion populations to etch various features (e.g., trenches, vias, contacts, gates, etc.) in the selected regions of the substrate.
- etching such features generally comprises the transfer of a pattern formed within a mask layer to the underlying film within which the respective features are formed.
- the mask can, for example, comprise a light-sensitive material such as (negative or positive) photo-resist, multiple layers including such layers as photo-resist and an anti-reflective coating (ARC), or a hard mask formed from the transfer of a pattern in a first layer, such as photo-resist, to the underlying hard mask layer.
- the principles of the present invention provide a method of processing a Tunable Etch Rate ARC (TERA) layer on a substrate.
- the TERA layer processing method includes depositing the TERA layer on the substrate using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system, creating features in the TERA layer using an etching system, and reducing the size of the features in the TERA layer.
- PECVD plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition
- the system includes a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system for depositing the TERA layer on the substrate, an etching system for creating features in the TERA layer, and a processing subsystem for reducing the size of the features in the TERA layer.
- PECVD plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition
- FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of a processing system according to an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified flow diagram of a method for operating a processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention
- FIGS. 3A-3F illustrate simplified schematic views of a method for processing a substrate in accordance with an embodiment of the invention
- FIGS. 4A-4G illustrate simplified schematic views of a method for processing a substrate in accordance with another embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a PECVD system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 6 illustrates a simplified block diagram for a treatment system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a processing subsystem in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- pattern etching comprises the application of a thin layer of light-sensitive material, such as photoresist, to an upper surface of a substrate that is subsequently patterned in order to provide a mask for transferring this pattern to the underlying thin film during etching.
- the patterning of the light-sensitive material generally involves exposure by a radiation source through a reticle (and associated optics) of the light-sensitive material using, for example, a micro-lithography system, followed by the removal of the irradiated regions of the light-sensitive material (as in the case of positive photoresist), or non-irradiated regions (as in the case of negative resist) using a developing solvent.
- multi-layer and hard masks can be implemented for etching features in a thin film.
- the mask pattern in the light-sensitive layer is transferred to the hard mask layer using a separate etch step preceding the main etch step for the thin film.
- the hard mask can, for example, comprise a TERA layer that can be selected from several materials for silicon processing including silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ), and carbon, for example.
- the hard mask can be trimmed laterally using, for example, a two-step process involving a chemical treatment of the exposed surfaces of the hard mask layer in order to alter the surface chemistry of the hard mask layer, and a post treatment of the exposed surfaces of the hard mask layer in order to desorb the altered surface chemistry.
- FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of a processing system according to an embodiment of the invention.
- a processing system 1 for processing a substrate using, for example, TERA layer trimming is shown.
- Processing system 1 can comprise a multi-element manufacturing system 10 , a deposition system 20 coupled to the multi-element manufacturing system 10 , a treatment system 30 coupled to the multi-element manufacturing system 10 , and an etching system 70 coupled to the multi-element manufacturing system 10 .
- the treatment system 30 can comprise a transfer module 40 , a thermal treatment module 50 , and a chemical treatment module 60 . Also, as illustrated in FIG. 1 , the transfer module 40 can be coupled to the thermal treatment module 50 in order to transfer substrates into and out of the thermal treatment module 50 and the chemical treatment module 60 , and exchange substrates with a multi-element manufacturing system 10 .
- the multi-element manufacturing system 10 can comprise additional processing elements (not shown) including such devices as etch systems, deposition systems, coating systems, cleaning systems, polishing systems, patterning systems, metrology systems, alignment systems, lithography systems, and transfer systems. Also, the multi-element manufacturing system 10 can permit the transfer of substrates to and from the processing elements ( 20 , 30 , and 70 ) and the additional processing elements (not shown).
- processing system 1 may vary without departing from the scope of the invention. As such, processing system 1 is not limited solely to components 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 and 70 as described or the layout depicted. The invention is intended to encompass a plethora of variations too numerous to list here.
- deposition system 20 can comprise a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system, a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) system, an ionized physical vapor deposition (iPVD) system, or an atomic layer deposition (ALD) system, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- the process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas, a nitrogen containing gas, a fluorine-containing gas, or a chlorine-containing gas, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- an inert gas can also be included.
- an oxygen-containing gas can comprise O 2 , CO, NO, N 2 O, or CO 2 , or a combination of two or more thereof.
- the nitrogen-containing gas can comprise NO, N 2 O, N 2 , or NF 3 , or a combination of two or more thereof.
- the fluorine-containing gas can comprise NF 3 , SF 6 , CHF 3 , or C 4 F 8 , or a combination of two or more thereof. It will be appreciated that similar combinations to the fluorine-containing gas can be used for the chlorine-containing gas. Moreover, hybrids of gas containing both fluorine and chlorine may be employed.
- the flow rate for an oxygen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 500 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 300 sccm.
- the flow rate for an nitrogen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm.
- the flow rate for a fluorine-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm.
- the flow rate for a chlorine-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm.
- an isolation assembly 25 can be utilized to couple the deposition system 20 to the multi-element manufacturing system 10 .
- the isolation assembly 25 can comprise a thermal insulation assembly to provide thermal isolation and/or a gate valve assembly to provide vacuum isolation.
- the processing element 20 can comprise multiple modules.
- the treatment system 30 can comprise the transfer module 40 , the thermal treatment module 50 , which may be a physical heat treatment (PHT) module, and the chemical treatment module 60 , which may be a chemical oxide removal (COR) module.
- isolation assemblies 35 , 45 , 55 can be utilized to couple the different modules.
- the isolation assembly 35 can be used to couple the transfer module 40 to the multi-element manufacturing system 10 ;
- the isolation assembly 45 can be used to couple the transfer module 40 to the PHT module 50 ;
- the isolation assembly 55 can be used to couple the PHT module 50 to the COR module 60 .
- the isolation assemblies 35 , 45 , 55 can comprise a thermal insulation assembly to provide thermal isolation and/or a gate valve assembly to provide vacuum isolation. In alternate embodiments, a different number of isolation assemblies 35 , 45 , 55 can be used.
- the transfer module 40 and/or the PHT module 50 of the processing system 1 depicted in FIG. 1 can comprise at least two transfer openings to permit the passage of the substrate therethrough.
- the PHT module 50 comprises two transfer openings. The first transfer opening permits the passage of the substrate between the PHT module 50 and the transfer system 40 , and the second transfer opening permits the passage of the substrate between the PHT module 50 and the COR module 60 .
- each treatment system element can comprise at least one transfer opening to permit the passage of the substrate therethrough.
- the transfer system 40 , the PHT module 50 , and the COR module 60 can be configured as in-line elements. Alternately, the transfer system 40 , the PHT module 50 , and the COR module 60 can be configured in any number of arrangements. For example, a stacked arrangement or a side-by-side arrangement can be used.
- the etching system 70 can comprise a dry etching system and/or a wet etching system.
- the etching system 70 can comprise a plasma etching system.
- an isolation assembly 65 can be utilized to couple the etching system 70 to the multi-element manufacturing system 10 .
- the isolation assembly 65 can comprise a thermal insulation assembly to provide thermal isolation and/or a gate valve assembly to provide vacuum isolation.
- the etching system 70 can comprise multiple modules.
- a controller 90 can be coupled to the multi-element manufacturing system 10 , the deposition system 20 , the transfer module 40 , the PHT module 50 , the COR module 60 , and the etching system 70 .
- the controller 90 can be used to control the multi-element manufacturing system 10 , the deposition system 20 , the transfer module 40 , the PHT module 50 , the COR module 60 , and the etching system 70 .
- the controller 90 can also be connected to various components in any of a number of different ways without departing from the scope of the invention.
- the multi-element manufacturing system 10 can exchange substrates with one or more substrate cassettes (not shown). Additionally, for example, an isolation assembly can serve as part of a processing element.
- FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified flow diagram of a method for operating a processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In the illustrated embodiment, a procedure is shown for reducing the size of features on a TERA layer.
- Procedure 200 begins at task 210 .
- a TERA layer is deposited on a substrate.
- TERA layers can be deposited on top of many different layers of a substrate.
- a TERA layer can be deposited on an oxide layer, a dielectric layer, or a metallic layer. The deposition of the TERA layer is discussed in greater detail herein.
- a photoresist layer can be deposited on the TERA layer and a pattern may be transferred into the photoresist layer using at least one photolithography step. The pattern can be developed to form features in the photoresist layer; and an etching process can be used to create features in the TERA layer.
- a hard mask layer can be deposited on the TERA layer.
- a stabilization step can be performed before and/or after an individual processing step. Alternately, the stabilization step may be avoided altogether.
- Stabilization processes may encompass a variety of operational parameters, such as process time and chamber pressure.
- process time can vary from approximately 2 seconds to approximately 150 seconds and alternately from approximately 4 seconds to approximately 15 seconds.
- the chamber pressure can vary from approximately 2 mTorr to approximately 800 mTorr and alternately from approximately 10 mTorr to approximately 90 mTorr.
- the process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas, a nitrogen containing gas, a fluorine-containing gas, or a chlorine-containing gas, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- an inert gas can also be included.
- an oxygen-containing gas can comprise O 2 , CO, NO, N 2 O, or CO 2 , or a combination of two or more thereof;
- the nitrogen-containing gas can comprise NO, N 2 O, N 2 , or NF 3 , or a combination of two or more thereof;
- the fluorine-containing gas can comprise NF 3 , SF 6 , CHF 3 , or C 4 F 8 , or a combination of two or more thereof.
- the chlorine-containing gas can comprise similar combinations as the fluorine-containing gas.
- the flow rate for an oxygen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 500 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 300 sccm.
- the flow rate for an nitrogen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm.
- the flow rate for a fluorine-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm.
- the flow rate for a chlorine-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm.
- a photoresist trim process can be performed. Alternately, the photoresist trim process can be avoided altogether. Photoresist processes may also encompass a variety of operational parameters, such as process time and chamber pressure.
- the process time can vary from approximately 0 seconds to approximately 180 seconds and alternately from approximately 10 seconds to approximately 40 seconds.
- the chamber pressure can vary from approximately 10 mTorr to approximately 120 mTorr and alternately from approximately 10 mTorr to approximately 90 mTorr.
- the process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas, a nitrogen-containing gas and/or an inert gas.
- the flow rates for an oxygen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 500 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 300 sccm, while the flow rates for a nitrogen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 1000 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm.
- RF power can be supplied to an upper electrode and the upper RF power can vary from approximately 0 watts to approximately 1500 watts and alternately from approximately 100 watts to approximately 300 watts.
- RF power can be supplied to a lower electrode and the lower RF power can vary from approximately 0 watts to approximately 500 watts and alternately from approximately 40 watts to approximately 150 watts.
- a TERA cap etch process can be performed. Alternately, the TERA cap etch process may be avoided altogether.
- the TERA cap etch process may also encompass a variety of operational parameters, such as process time and chamber pressure.
- the process time can vary from approximately 0 seconds to approximately 50 seconds and alternately from approximately 0 seconds to approximately 18 seconds.
- the chamber pressure can vary from approximately 10 mTorr to approximately 120 mTorr and alternately from approximately 10 mTorr to approximately 90 mTorr.
- the process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas, a nitrogen-containing gas, a fluorine-containing gas, or a chlorine-containing gas, an inert gas, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- the flow rate for an oxygen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 500 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 300 sccm.
- the flow rate for a nitrogen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm.
- the flow rate for a fluorine-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm.
- the flow rate for a chlorine-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm.
- the size of the features in the TERA layer can be reduced.
- the exposed surfaces of the features in the TERA layer can be oxidized, and a removal process can be performed to remove at least a part of the oxidized portion of the TERA features.
- a trimming amount can be established and the oxidation process can be controlled so that the correct trimming amount is achieved.
- a chemical oxide removal (COR) process can be performed.
- the oxidation process and the COR process can be performed a number of times to reduce the size of the features in the TERA layer to predetermined dimensions.
- the process time can vary from approximately 0 seconds to approximately 180 seconds and alternately from approximately 0 seconds to approximately 18 seconds.
- the chamber pressure can vary from approximately 10 mtorr to approximately 300 mtorr and alternately from approximately 150 mtorr to approximately 250 mtorr.
- the process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas. Alternately, an inert gas can also be included.
- the flow rate for an oxygen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0.0 sccm to approximately 500 sccm and alternately from approximately 150 sccm to approximately 300 sccm.
- RF power can be supplied to an upper electrode and the upper RF power can vary from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 1500 watts and alternately from approximately 200 watts to approximately 400 watts.
- RF power can be supplied to a lower electrode and the lower RF power can vary from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 500 watts and alternately from approximately 30 watts to approximately 100 watts.
- the TERA layer can be partially or fully oxidized.
- TERA layers ranging from approximately 1 nm to approximately 5 nm can be fully oxidized in less than 12 seconds.
- the COR process does not remove non-oxidized TERA material.
- the COR process can be used to remove all or part of the oxidized TERA layer, as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
- the transfer module 40 , the PHT module 50 , and the COR module 60 can be used to perform a removal process.
- the removal process can use a COR recipe to perform the processing and the COR recipe can begin when a substrate is transferred to the COR module.
- the substrate can be received by lift pins that are housed within a substrate holder, and the substrate can be lowered to the substrate holder. Thereafter, the substrate can be secured to the substrate holder using a clamping system, such as an electrostatic clamping system, and a heat transfer gas can be supplied to the backside of the substrate.
- a clamping system such as an electrostatic clamping system
- the COR recipe can be used to set one or more chemical processing parameters for the chemical treatment of the substrate, and these parameters can include a chemical treatment processing pressure, a chemical treatment wall temperature, a chemical treatment substrate holder temperature, a chemical treatment substrate temperature, a chemical treatment gas distribution system temperature, a chemical treatment process gas, or a chemical treatment process gas flow rate, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- the substrate can be chemically treated for a first period of time.
- the first period of time can range from 30 to 360 seconds, for example.
- the substrate can be transferred from the chemical treatment chamber to the PHT module 50 .
- the substrate clamp can be removed, and the flow of heat transfer gas to the backside of the substrate can be terminated.
- the substrate can be vertically lifted from the substrate holder to the transfer plane using the lift pin assembly housed within the substrate holder.
- the transfer system can receive the substrate from the lift pins and can position the substrate within the PHT module.
- a substrate lifter assembly can receive the substrate from the transfer system, and can lower the substrate to the substrate holder.
- the PHT recipe can be used to set one or more thermal processing parameters for thermal treatment of the substrate by the PHT module.
- the substrate can be treated thermally for a second period of time.
- the one or more thermal processing parameters can comprise a thermal treatment wall temperature, a thermal treatment upper assembly temperature, a thermal treatment substrate temperature, a thermal treatment substrate holder temperature, a thermal treatment substrate temperature, a thermal treatment processing pressure, a thermal treatment process gas, or a thermal treatment process gas flow rate, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- the second period of time can range from 30 to 360 seconds, for example.
- the treatment system 30 can comprise a chemical oxide removal (COR) system for trimming an oxidized TERA film.
- the treatment system 30 can comprise the COR module 50 for chemically treating exposed surface layers, such as oxidized surface layers, on a substrate, whereby adsorption of the process chemistry on the exposed surfaces affects a chemical alteration of the surface layers.
- the treatment system 30 can comprise the PHT module 60 for thermally treating the substrate, whereby the substrate temperature is elevated in order to desorb (or evaporate) the chemically altered exposed surfaces on the substrate.
- a COR module can use a process gas comprising HF and NH 3 , and the processing pressure can range from approximately 1 to approximately 100 mTorr and, for example, can range from approximately 2 to approximately 25 mTorr.
- the process gas flow rates can range from approximately 1 to approximately 200 sccm for each specie and, for example, can range from approximately 10 to approximately 100 sccm.
- a substantially uniform pressure field can be achieved.
- the COR module chamber can be heated to a temperature ranging from 30° to 100° C. and, for example, the temperature can be approximately 40° C.
- the gas distribution system can be heated to a temperature ranging from approximately 40° to approximately 100° C. and, for example, the temperature can be approximately 50° C.
- the substrate can be maintained at a temperature ranging from approximately 10° to approximately 50° C. and, for example, the substrate temperature can be approximately 20° C.
- the thermal treatment chamber can be heated to a temperature ranging from approximately 50° to approximately 100° C. and, for example, the temperature can be approximately 80° C.
- the upper assembly can be heated to a temperature ranging from approximately 50° to approximately 100° C. and, for example, the temperature can be approximately 80° C.
- the substrate can be heated to a temperature in excess of approximately 100° C.
- the substrate can be heated in a range from approximately 100° to approximately 200° C., and, for example, the temperature can be approximately 135° C.
- the COR and PHT processes described herein can produce an etch amount of an exposed oxidized surface in excess of approximately 10 nm per 60 seconds of chemical treatment for oxidized TERA.
- the treatments can also produce an etch variation across the substrate of less than approximately 2.5 percent.
- FIGS. 3A-3F illustrate simplified schematic views of a method for processing a substrate in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 3A a simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using a photoresist development process and an etch process.
- a substrate layer 310 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- An additional layer 320 is shown on top of the substrate layer 310 .
- the additional layer can comprise one or more layers and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a TERA layer 330 is shown on top of the additional layer, and the TERA layer can comprise TERA features 332 .
- a photoresist layer 340 is shown on top of the TERA layer 330 , and the photoresist layer 340 can comprise photoresist features 342 .
- the photoresist features 342 can be produced when the photoresist layer is developed, and the TERA features 332 can be produced when the photoresist features 342 are transferred into the TERA layer 330 using an etch process.
- FIG. 3B another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using an etching process.
- Features 332 have been created in the TERA layer 330 A by transferring the photoresist features 342 using an etch process.
- a substrate layer 310 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise of silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- An additional layer 320 is shown on top of the substrate layer 310 .
- the additional layer can comprise one or more layers and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a processed (etched) TERA layer 330 A is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processed TERA layer 330 A can comprise features 332 .
- a photoresist layer 340 is shown on top of the processed TERA layer 330 A, and the photoresist layer 340 can comprise photoresist features 342 .
- FIG. 3C another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using an oxidation process.
- the photoresist features have been removed by the oxidation (ashing) process, and oxidized areas 333 and 335 have been created in the TERA features 332 in the TERA layer 330 B.
- the oxidized areas 333 on the sides of the TERA feature can have a different thickness than the oxidized areas 335 on the top of the TERA features.
- the top portion of the TERA layer can comprise a cap portion that has a higher resistance to etching than the other portions of the TERA layer.
- a substrate layer 310 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- An additional layer 320 is shown on top of the substrate layer 310 .
- the additional layer can comprise one or more layers and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a processed TERA layer 330 B is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processed TERA layer 330 B can comprise features 332 having oxidized areas 333 and 335 .
- FIG. 3D another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using a COR process.
- Oxidized areas have been removed creating reduced TERA features 337 in the TERA layer 330 C by removing the oxidized areas of the TERA features using a COR process.
- a substrate layer 310 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- An additional layer 320 is shown on top of the substrate layer 310 .
- the additional layer can comprise one or more layers and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a processed TERA layer 330 C is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processed TERA layer 330 C can comprise reduced size TERA features 337 .
- FIG. 3E another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using an etch process, and one or more of the layers in the additional layer 320 has been etched using the reduced size TERA features 337 as a mask.
- the reduced size TERA features 337 can be used as mask features and a dry etching process and/or a wet etching process can be performed.
- a substrate layer 310 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a processed (etched) additional layer 320 A is shown on top of the substrate layer 310 .
- the processed (etched) additional layer 320 A can comprise vias 324 and additional layer features 322 .
- the additional layer features 322 can comprise one or more layers and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a processed (partially etched) TERA layer 330 C is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processed (partially etched) TERA layer 330 C can comprise reduced size TERA features 337 .
- the additional layer features can comprise a nitride layer and a doped poly layer.
- FIG. 3F another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using a removal process, and the reduced size TERA features 337 have been removed.
- a substrate layer 310 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a processed (etched) additional layer 320 A is shown on top of the substrate layer 310 .
- the processed (etched) additional layer 320 A can comprise vias 324 and additional layer features 322 .
- the additional layer features 322 can comprise one or more layers and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. In this manner, reduced size features can be created in the additional layer and smaller critical dimensions (gate widths) can be achieved. In one embodiment, further processing can be performed.
- FIGS. 4A-4G illustrate simplified schematic views of a method for processing a substrate in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 4A a simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using a hard mask development process.
- a substrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- An additional layer 420 is shown on top of the substrate layer 410 .
- the additional layer can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a TERA layer 430 is shown on top of the additional layer, and the TERA layer can be used as a hard mask.
- a hard mask layer 440 is shown on top of the TERA layer 430 , and the hard mask layer 440 can comprise hard mask features 442 .
- the hard mask features 442 can be produced using a photoresist layer (not shown).
- FIG. 4B another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using an etching process.
- Features 432 have been created in the TERA layer 430 A by transferring the hard mask features 442 using an etch process.
- a substrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- An additional layer 420 is shown on top of the substrate layer 410 .
- the additional layer can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a photoresist layer 440 is shown on top of the processed TERA layer 430 A, and the photoresist layer 440 can comprise photoresist features 442 .
- FIG. 4C another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using an oxidation process.
- Oxidized areas 435 have been created in the TERA features 432 in the TERA layer 430 B by oxidizing the exposed surfaces of the TERA features 432 using an oxidation process.
- a substrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- An additional layer 420 is shown on top of the substrate layer 410 .
- the additional layer can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a processed TERA layer 430 B is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processed TERA layer 430 B can comprise features 432 having oxidized areas 435 .
- a photoresist layer 440 is shown on top of the processed TERA layer 430 B, and the photoresist layer 440 can comprise photoresist features 442 .
- FIG. 4D another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using a COR process.
- Oxidized areas can be removed using a COR process thereby creating reduced size TERA features 437 in the TERA layer 430 C.
- another substantially lateral etch process can be performed in which the oxidized areas 435 can be removed creating the reduced TERA features 437 in the TERA layer 430 C.
- a substrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- An additional layer 420 is shown on top of the substrate layer 410 .
- the additional layer can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a processed (laterally etched) TERA layer 430 C is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processed (laterally etched) TERA layer 430 C can comprise reduced size TERA features 437 .
- hard mask features can be shown on top of the reduced size TERA features 437 .
- FIG. 4E another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using a removal process, and the hard mask features 442 have been removed.
- the hard mask features can be removed using an ashing process, a dry etching process, or a wet etching process, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a substrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- An additional layer 420 is shown on top of the substrate layer 410 .
- the additional layer can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a processed (laterally etched) TERA layer 430 C is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processed (laterally etched) TERA layer 430 C can comprise reduced size TERA features 437 .
- FIG. 4E hard mask features have been removed from the top surfaces of the reduced size TERA features 437 .
- FIG. 4F another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using an etch process, and the additional layer 420 has been etched using the reduced size TERA features 437 as a mask.
- the reduced size TERA features 437 can be used as mask features and a dry etching process and/or a wet etching process can be performed.
- a substrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a processed (etched) additional layer 420 A is shown on top of the substrate layer 410 .
- the processed (etched) additional layer 420 A can comprise vias 424 and additional layer features 422 .
- the additional layer features 422 can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a processed (laterally etched) TERA layer 430 C is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processed (laterally etched) TERA layer 430 C can comprise reduced size TERA features 437 .
- the additional layer features can comprise a nitride layer and a doped poly layer.
- FIG. 4G another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown.
- the semiconductor device has been processed using a removal process, and the reduced size TERA features 437 have been removed.
- a substrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- a processed (etched) additional layer 420 A is shown on top of the substrate layer 410 .
- the processed (etched) additional layer 420 A can comprise vias 424 and additional layer features 422 .
- the additional layer features 422 can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. In this manner, reduced size features can be created in the additional layer and smaller critical dimensions (gate widths) can be achieved.
- FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a PECVD system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- the PECVD system 500 comprises a processing chamber 510 , an upper electrode 540 as part of a capacitively coupled plasma source, a shower plate assembly 520 , a substrate holder 530 for supporting a substrate 535 , a pressure control system 580 , and a controller 590 .
- the PECVD system 500 can comprise a remote plasma system 575 that can be coupled to the processing chamber 510 using a valve 578 .
- a remote plasma system and valve are not included.
- the PECVD system 500 can comprise the pressure control system 580 that can be coupled to the processing chamber 510 .
- the pressure control system 580 can comprise a throttle valve (not shown) and a turbomolecular pump (TMP) (not shown) and can provide a controlled pressure in processing chamber 510 .
- the pressure control system 580 can comprise a dry pump (not shown).
- the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 100 mTorr.
- the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 20 mTorr.
- the processing chamber 510 can facilitate the formation of plasma in the process space 502 .
- the PECVD system 500 can be configured to process substrates of any size, such as 200 mm substrates, 300 mm substrates, or larger substrates. Alternately, the PECVD system 500 can operate by generating plasma in one or more processing chambers.
- the PECVD system 500 comprises the shower plate assembly 520 coupled to the processing chamber 510 .
- the shower plate assembly 520 is mounted opposite the substrate holder 530 .
- the shower plate assembly 520 comprises a center region 522 , an edge region 524 , and a sub region 526 .
- a shield ring 528 can be used to couple the shower plate assembly 520 to the processing chamber 510 .
- the center region 522 is coupled to a gas supply system 531 by a first process gas line 523 .
- the edge region 524 is coupled to the gas supply system 531 by a second process gas line 525 .
- the sub region 526 is coupled to the gas supply system 531 by a third process gas line 527 .
- the gas supply system 531 provides a first process gas to the center region 522 , a second process gas to the edge region 524 , and a third process gas to the sub region 526 .
- the gas chemistries and flow rates can be individually controlled to these regions.
- the center region 522 and the edge region 524 can be coupled together as a single primary region, and the gas supply system 531 can provide the first process gas and/or the second process gas to the primary region.
- any of the regions can be coupled together and the gas supply system 531 can provide one or more process gasses, as appropriate.
- the gas supply system 531 can comprise at least one vaporizer (not shown) for providing precursors. Alternately, a vaporizer is not required. In an alternate embodiment, a bubbling system can be used.
- the PECVD system 500 comprises an upper electrode 540 that can be coupled to the shower plate assembly 520 and also to the processing chamber 510 .
- the upper electrode 540 can comprise temperature control elements 542 .
- the upper electrode 540 can be coupled to a first RF source 546 using a first match network 544 .
- the first match network 544 need not be provided between the first RF source 546 and the upper electrode 540 .
- the first RF source 546 provides a TRF signal to the upper electrode 540 , and the first RF source 546 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz.
- the TRF signal can be in the frequency range from approximately 1 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz. or alternatively in the frequency range from approximately 2 MHz. to approximately 60 MHz.
- the first RF source 546 can operate in a power range from approximately 0 watts to approximately 10000 watts, or alternatively the first RF source 546 can operate in a power range from approximately 0 watts to approximately 5000 watts.
- the upper electrode 540 and the RF source 546 are parts of a capacitively-coupled plasma source.
- the capacitively-coupled plasma source may be replaced with or augmented by other types of plasma sources, such as an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source, a transformer-coupled plasma (TCP) source, a microwave powered plasma source, an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source, a Helicon wave plasma source, and a surface wave plasma source.
- ICP inductively coupled plasma
- TCP transformer-coupled plasma
- ECR electron cyclotron resonance
- the upper electrode 540 may be eliminated or reconfigured in the various suitable plasma sources.
- the substrate 535 can be, for example, transferred into and out of the processing chamber 510 through a slot valve (not shown) and chamber feed-through (not shown) via a robotic substrate transfer system (not shown), and it can be received by the substrate holder 530 and mechanically translated by devices coupled thereto. Once the substrate 535 is received from the substrate transfer system, the substrate 535 can be raised and/or lowered using a translation device 550 that can be coupled to the substrate holder 530 by a coupling assembly 552 .
- the substrate 535 can be held or affixed to the substrate holder 530 via an electrostatic clamping system.
- the electrostatic clamping system can comprise an electrode 516 and an ESC supply 556 .
- Clamping voltages that can range from approximately ⁇ 2000 V to approximately +2000 V, for example, can be provided to the clamping electrode 516 .
- the clamping voltage can range from approximately ⁇ 1000 V to approximately +1000 V.
- the ESC system and the ESC supply 556 are not required.
- the substrate holder 530 can comprise lift pins (not shown) for lowering and/or raising the substrate 535 to and/or from the surface of the substrate holder 530 .
- different lifting devices can be provided in the substrate holder 530 , as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
- gas can, for example, be delivered to the backside of the substrate 535 via a backside gas system to improve the gas-gap thermal conductance between the substrate 535 and the substrate holder 530 .
- a temperature control system can also be provided. Such a system can be utilized when temperature control of the substrate 535 is required at elevated or reduced temperatures.
- a heating element 532 such as resistive heating elements, or thermoelectric heaters/coolers can be included, and the substrate holder 530 can further include a heat exchange system 534 .
- the heating element 532 can be coupled to a heater supply 558 .
- the heat exchange system 534 can include re-circulating coolant flow passages that receive heat from the substrate holder 530 and transfer the heat to a heat exchanger system (not shown), or when heating, transfers the heat from the heat exchanger system to the substrate holder 530 .
- the electrode 516 can be coupled to a second RF source 560 using a second match network 562 .
- the second match network 562 is not required.
- the second RF source 560 provides a bottom RF signal (BRF) to the lower electrode 516 , and the second RF source 560 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz.
- the BRF signal can be in the frequency range from approximately 0.2 MHz. to approximately 30 MHz. or alternatively, in the frequency range from approximately 0.3 MHz. to approximately 15 MHz.
- the second RF source 560 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 1000 watts, or alternatively, the second RF source 560 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 500 watts.
- the lower electrode 516 may not be used, or may be the sole source of plasma within the chamber 510 , or may augment any additional plasma source.
- the PECVD system 500 can further comprise the translation device 550 that can be coupled by a bellows 554 to the processing chamber 510 . Also, coupling assembly 552 can couple the translation device 550 to the substrate holder 530 . The bellows 554 are configured to seal the vertical translation device 550 from the atmosphere outside the processing chamber 510 .
- the translation device 550 allows a variable gap 504 to be established between the shower plate assembly 520 and the substrate 535 .
- the gap 504 can range from approximately 10 mm to approximately 200 mm, and alternatively, the gap 504 can range from approximately 20 mm to approximately 80 mm.
- the gap 504 can remain fixed or the gap 504 can be changed during a deposition process.
- the substrate holder 530 can further comprise a focus ring 506 and a ceramic cover 508 .
- the focus ring 506 and/or the ceramic cover 508 need not be included, as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
- At least one chamber wall 512 can comprise a coating 514 to protect the wall.
- the coating 514 can comprise a ceramic material.
- the coating 514 is not required.
- a ceramic shield (not shown) can be used within the processing chamber 510 .
- the temperature control system can be used to control the chamber wall 512 temperature.
- ports can be provided in the chamber wall 512 for controlling temperature.
- the chamber wall 512 temperature can be maintained relatively constant while a process is being performed in the chamber 510 .
- the temperature control system can be used to control the temperature of the upper electrode 540 .
- the temperature control elements 542 can be used to control the upper electrode 540 temperature.
- the upper electrode 540 temperature can be maintained relatively constant while a process is being performed in the chamber 510 .
- the PECVD system 500 can also comprise the remote plasma system 575 that can be used for chamber 510 cleaning.
- the PECVD system 500 can also comprise a purging system (not shown) that can be used for controlling contamination and/or chamber 510 cleaning.
- the processing chamber 510 can, for example, further comprise a monitoring port (not shown).
- the monitoring port can, for example, permit optical monitoring of the process space 502 .
- the PECVD system 500 also comprises the controller 590 .
- the controller 590 can be coupled to the chamber 510 , the shower plate assembly 520 , the substrate holder 530 , the gas supply system 531 , the upper electrode 540 , the first RF match 544 , the first RF source 546 , the translation device 550 , the ESC supply 556 , the heater supply 558 , the second RF match 562 , the second RF source 560 , the purging system 595 , the remote plasma device 575 , and the pressure control system 580 .
- the controller 590 can be configured to provide control data to these components and receive data such as process data from these components.
- the controller 590 can comprise a microprocessor, a memory, and a digital I/O port capable of generating control voltages sufficient to communicate and activate inputs to the processing system 500 as well as monitor outputs from the PECVD system 500 .
- controller 590 can exchange information with system components.
- a program stored in the memory can be utilized to control the aforementioned components of the PECVD system 500 according to a process recipe.
- controller 590 can be configured to analyze the process data, to compare the process data with target process data, and to use the comparison to change a process and/or control the deposition tool.
- the controller 590 can be configured to analyze the process data, to compare the process data with historical process data, and to use the comparison to predict, prevent, and/or declare a fault.
- the substrate 535 can be placed on the translatable substrate holder 530 .
- the translatable substrate holder 530 can be used to establish the gap between the upper electrode 540 surface and the surface of the translatable substrate holder 530 .
- the gap 504 can range from approximately 10 mm to approximately 200 mm, or alternatively, the gap 504 can range from approximately 20 mm to approximately 80 mm. In alternate embodiments, the gap 504 size can be changed.
- a TRF signal can be provided to the upper electrode 540 using the first RF source 544 .
- the first RF source 544 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz.
- the first RF source 544 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 1 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz., or the first RF source 544 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 2 MHz. to approximately 60 MHz.
- the first RF source 544 can operate in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 10000 watts, or alternatively, the first RF source 544 can operate in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 5000 watts
- a BRF signal can be provided to the lower electrode 530 using the second RF source 560 .
- the second RF source 560 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz.
- the second RF source 560 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.2 MHz. to approximately 30 MHz. or the second RF source can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.3 MHz. to approximately 15 MHz.
- the second RF source 560 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 1000 watts, or alternatively, the second RF source 560 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 500 watts.
- a BRF signal is not required.
- a process gas can be provided to the processing chamber 510 using the shower plate assembly 520 .
- process gas can comprise a silicon-containing precursor, a carbon-containing precursor, or oxygen containing gas, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- An inert gas can also be included.
- the flow rate for the silicon-containing precursor and the carbon-containing precursor can range from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 5000 sccm and the flow rate for the inert gas can range from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 10000 sccm.
- the silicon-containing precursor can comprise monosilane (SiH 4 ), tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), monomethylsilane (1 MS), dimethylsilane (2MS), trimethylsilane (3MS), tetramethylsilane (4MS), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (OMCTS), dimethyldimethoxysilane (DMDMOS), or tetramethylcyclotetrasilane (TMCTS), or a combination of two or more thereof.
- the carbon-containing precursor can comprise CH 4 , C 2 H 4 , C 2 H 2 , C 6 H 6 , or C 6 H 5 OH, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- the inert gas can comprise argon, helium, or nitrogen, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- the oxygen containing gas can comprise at O 2 , CO, NO, N 2 O, or CO 2 , or a combination of two or more thereof, and the flow rate can range from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 10000 sccm.
- the TERA layer can comprise a material having a refractive index (n) ranging from approximately 1.5 to approximately 2.5 when measured at a wavelength of at least one of 248 nm, 193 nm, or 157 nm, and an extinction coefficient (k) ranging from approximately 0.10 to approximately 0.9 when measured at a wavelength of at least one of 248 nm, 193 nm, or 157 nm.
- a TERA layer can comprise a SiCOH material, or a SiCH material, or a combination thereof.
- the TERA layer can comprise a thickness ranging from approximately 30 nm to approximately 500 nm, and the deposition rate can range from approximately 100 ⁇ /min to approximately 10000 ⁇ /min.
- the TERA layer can comprise one or more layers having different etch-resistance and/or optical properties.
- the chamber pressure and substrate temperature can be controlled during the deposition of the TERA layer.
- the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 100.0 mTorr
- the substrate temperature can range from approximately 0° C. to approximately 500° C.
- FIG. 6 illustrates a simplified block diagram for a processing system 600 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- the processing system 600 for performing a chemical treatment and a thermal treatment of a substrate 642 is presented.
- the processing system 600 comprises a chemical treatment system 610 , and a thermal treatment system 620 coupled to the chemical treatment system 610 .
- the chemical treatment system 610 comprises a chemical treatment chamber 611 , which can be temperature-controlled.
- the thermal treatment system 620 comprises a thermal treatment chamber 621 , which can be temperature-controlled.
- the chemical treatment chamber 611 and the thermal treatment chamber 621 can be thermally insulated from one another using a thermal insulation assembly 630 , and vacuum isolated from one another using a gate valve assembly 696 .
- the chemical treatment system 610 further comprises a temperature controlled substrate holder 640 configured to be substantially thermally isolated from the chemical treatment chamber 611 and configured to support the substrate 642 .
- a vacuum pumping system 650 is coupled to the chemical treatment chamber 611 to evacuate the chemical treatment chamber 611 .
- a gas distribution system 660 is also connected to the chemical treatment chamber 611 for introducing a process gas into a process space 662 within the chemical treatment chamber 611 .
- the thermal treatment system 620 further comprises a temperature controlled substrate holder 670 mounted within the thermal treatment chamber 621 .
- the substrate holder 670 is configured to be substantially thermally insulated from the thermal treatment chamber 621 and is configured to support a substrate 642 ′.
- a vacuum pumping system 680 is used to evacuate the thermal treatment chamber 621 .
- a substrate lifter assembly 690 is coupled to the thermal treatment chamber 621 .
- the lifter assembly 690 can vertically translate the substrate 642 ′′ between a holding plane (solid lines) and the substrate holder 670 (dashed lines), or a transfer plane located therebetween.
- the thermal treatment chamber 621 can further comprise an upper assembly 684 .
- the chemical treatment chamber 611 , thermal treatment chamber 621 , and thermal insulation assembly 630 define a common opening 694 through which a substrate 642 can be transferred.
- the common opening 694 can be sealed closed using the gate valve assembly 696 in order to permit independent processing in the two chambers 611 , 621 .
- a transfer opening 698 can be formed in the thermal treatment chamber 621 in order to permit substrate exchanges with a transfer system as illustrated in FIG. 1 .
- a second thermal insulation assembly 631 can be implemented to thermally insulate the thermal treatment chamber 621 from a transfer system (not shown).
- the transfer opening 698 can be formed in the chemical treatment chamber 611 and not the thermal treatment chamber 621 , or the transfer opening 698 can be formed in both the chemical treatment chamber 611 and the thermal treatment chamber 621 .
- the chemical treatment system 610 comprises the substrate holder 640 and the substrate holder assembly 644 in order to provide several operational functions for thermally controlling and processing the substrate 642 .
- the substrate holder 640 and the substrate holder assembly 644 can comprise an electrostatic clamping system (or mechanical clamping system) in order to electrically (or mechanically) clamp the substrate 642 to the substrate holder 640 .
- the substrate holder 640 can, for example, further include a cooling system having a re-circulating coolant flow that receives heat from the substrate holder 640 and transfers heat to a heat exchanger system (not shown), or when heating, transfers heat from the heat exchanger system.
- a heat transfer gas can, for example, be delivered to the back-side of the substrate 642 via a backside gas system to improve the gas-gap thermal conductance between the substrate 642 and the substrate holder 640 .
- the heat transfer gas supplied to the back-side of the substrate 642 can comprise an inert gas such as helium, argon, xenon, krypton, a process gas, or other gas such as oxygen, nitrogen, or hydrogen.
- Such a system can be utilized when temperature control of the substrate 642 is required at elevated or reduced temperatures.
- the backside gas system can comprise a multi-zone gas distribution system such as a two-zone (center-edge) system, wherein the back-side gas gap pressure can be independently varied between the center and the edge of the substrate 642 .
- heating/cooling elements such as resistive heating elements, or thermo-electric heaters/coolers can be included in the substrate holder 640 , as well as the chamber wall of the chemical treatment chamber 611 .
- the substrate holder 640 can further comprise a lift pin assembly (not shown) capable of raising and lowering three or more lift pins (not shown) in order to vertically translate the substrate 642 to and from an upper surface of the substrate holder 640 and a transfer plane in the processing system 600 .
- a lift pin assembly capable of raising and lowering three or more lift pins (not shown) in order to vertically translate the substrate 642 to and from an upper surface of the substrate holder 640 and a transfer plane in the processing system 600 .
- the temperature of the temperature-controlled substrate holder 640 can be monitored using a temperature sensing device (not shown) such as a thermocouple (e.g. a K-type thermocouple, Pt sensor, etc.).
- a controller can utilize the temperature measurement as feedback to the substrate holder 640 assembly in order to control the temperature of substrate holder 640 .
- a fluid flow rate, fluid temperature, heat transfer gas type, heat transfer gas pressure, clamping force, resistive heater element current or voltage, thermoelectric device current or polarity, or a combination of two or more thereof can be adjusted in order to affect a change in the temperature of substrate holder 640 and/or the temperature of the substrate 642 .
- chemical treatment system 610 comprises a gas distribution system 660 .
- a gas distribution system 660 can comprise a showerhead gas injection system (not shown).
- the gas distribution system 660 can further comprise one or more gas distribution orifices to distribute a process gas to the process space 662 within the chemical treatment chamber 611 .
- the process gas can, for example, comprise NH 3 , HF, H 2 , O 2 , CO, CO 2 , Ar, He, etc.
- the chemical treatment system 620 further comprises the temperature controlled chemical treatment chamber 611 that is maintained at an elevated temperature.
- a wall heating element 666 can be coupled to a wall temperature control unit 668 , and the wall heating element 666 can be configured to couple to the chemical treatment chamber 611 .
- the heating element 666 can, for example, comprise a resistive heater element such as a tungsten, nickel-chromium alloy, aluminum-iron alloy, aluminum nitride, etc., filament.
- Examples of commercially available materials to fabricate resistive heating elements include Kanthal, Nikrothal, Akrothal, which are registered trademark names for metal alloys produced by Kanthal Corporation of Bethel, Conn.
- the Kanthal family includes ferritic alloys (FeCrAl) and the Nikrothal family includes austenitic alloys (NiCr, NiCrFe).
- the wall temperature control unit 668 can, for example, comprise a controllable DC power supply.
- wall heating element 666 can comprise at least one Firerod cartridge heater commercially available from Watlow (1310 Kingsland Dr., Batavia, Ill., 60510).
- a cooling element can also be employed in the chemical treatment chamber 611 .
- the temperature of the chemical treatment chamber 611 can be monitored using a temperature-sensing device such as a thermocouple (e.g. a K-type thermocouple, Pt sensor, etc.).
- a controller can utilize the temperature measurement as feedback to the wall temperature control unit 668 in order to control the temperature of the chemical treatment chamber 611 .
- the chemical treatment system 610 can further comprise a temperature controlled gas distribution system 660 that can be maintained at any selected temperature.
- the vacuum pumping system 650 can comprise a vacuum pump 652 and a gate valve 654 for throttling the chamber pressure.
- the vacuum pump 652 can, for example, include a turbo-molecular vacuum pump (TMP) capable of a pumping speed up to 5000 liters per second (and greater).
- TMP turbo-molecular vacuum pump
- the TMP can be a Seiko STP-A803 vacuum pump, or an Ebara ET1301W vacuum pump.
- TMPs are useful for low pressure processing, typically less than 50 mTorr. For high pressure (i.e., greater than 100 mTorr) or low throughput processing (i.e., no gas flow), a mechanical booster pump and dry roughing pump can be used.
- the processing system 600 can be controlled using a controller, such as controller 90 in FIG. 1 .
- the processing system 600 can comprise a controller (not shown) that can be coupled to the chemical treatment system 610 and the thermal treatment system 620 .
- the controller can comprise a processor, memory, and a digital I/O port capable of exchanging information with the chemical treatment system 610 as well as the thermal treatment system 620 .
- the thermal treatment system 620 further comprises a temperature controlled substrate holder 670 .
- the substrate holder 670 can further comprise a heating element 676 embedded therein and a substrate holder temperature control unit 678 coupled thereto.
- the heating element 676 can, for example, comprise a resistive heater element such as a tungsten, nickel-chromium alloy, aluminum-iron alloy, aluminum nitride, etc., filament.
- Examples of commercially available materials to fabricate resistive heating elements include Kanthal, Nikrothal, and Akrothal, which are registered trademark names for metal alloys produced by Kanthal Corporation of Bethel, Conn.
- the Kanthal family includes ferritic alloys (FeCrAl) and the Nikrothal family includes austenitic alloys (NiCr, NiCrFe).
- the substrate holder temperature control unit 678 can, for example, comprise a controllable DC power supply.
- the temperature controlled substrate holder 670 can, for example, be a cast-in heater commercially available from Watlow (1310 Kingsland Dr., Batavia, Ill., 60510) capable of a maximum operating temperature of 400 to 450 C, or a film heater comprising aluminum nitride materials that is also commercially available from Watlow and capable of operating temperatures as high as 300 C and power densities of up to 23.25 W/cm 2 .
- a cooling element can be incorporated in the substrate holder 670 .
- the temperature of the substrate holder 670 can be monitored using a temperature-sensing device such as a thermocouple (e.g. a K-type thermocouple). Furthermore, a controller can utilize the temperature measurement as feedback to the substrate holder temperature control unit 678 in order to control the temperature of the substrate holder 670 .
- a temperature-sensing device such as a thermocouple (e.g. a K-type thermocouple).
- a controller can utilize the temperature measurement as feedback to the substrate holder temperature control unit 678 in order to control the temperature of the substrate holder 670 .
- the thermal treatment system 620 can further comprise a temperature controlled thermal treatment chamber 621 that is maintained at a selected temperature.
- a thermal wall heating element 683 can be coupled to a thermal wall temperature control unit 681 , and the thermal wall heating element 683 can be configured to couple to the thermal treatment chamber 621 .
- the heating element 683 can, for example, comprise a resistive heater element such as a tungsten, nickel-chromium alloy, aluminum-iron alloy, aluminum nitride, etc., filament.
- Examples of commercially available materials to fabricate resistive heating elements include Kanthal, Nikrothal, Akrothal, which are registered trademark names for metal alloys produced by Kanthal Corporation of Bethel, Conn.
- the Kanthal family includes ferritic alloys (FeCrAl) and the Nikrothal family includes austenitic alloys (NiCr, NiCrFe).
- thermal wall temperature control unit 681 can, for example, comprise a controllable DC power supply.
- thermal wall heating element 683 can comprise at least one Firerod cartridge heater commercially available from Watlow (1310 Kingsland Dr., Batavia, Ill., 60510).
- cooling elements may be employed in thermal treatment chamber 621 .
- the temperature of the thermal treatment chamber 621 can be monitored using a temperature-sensing device such as a thermocouple (e.g. a K-type thermocouple, Pt sensor, etc.).
- a controller can utilize the temperature measurement as feedback to the thermal wall temperature control unit 681 in order to control the temperature of the thermal treatment chamber 621 .
- thermal treatment system 620 can further comprise an upper assembly 684 .
- the upper assembly 684 can, for example, comprise a gas injection system for introducing a purge gas, process gas, or cleaning gas to the thermal treatment chamber 621 .
- the thermal treatment chamber 621 can comprise a gas injection system separate from the upper assembly.
- a purge gas, process gas, or cleaning gas can be introduced to the thermal treatment chamber 621 through a side-wall thereof.
- the upper assembly 684 can comprise a radiant heater such as an array of tungsten halogen lamps for heating the substrate 642 ′′ positioned on the substrate lifter assembly 690 .
- the thermal treatment system 620 can further comprise a temperature controlled upper assembly 684 that can be maintained at a selected temperature.
- the upper assembly 684 can comprise a heating element.
- the temperature of the upper assembly 684 can be monitored using a temperature-sensing device.
- a controller can utilize the temperature measurement as feedback to control the temperature of the upper assembly 684 .
- the upper assembly 684 may additionally or alternatively include a cooling element.
- the thermal treatment system 620 can further comprise a substrate lifter assembly 690 .
- the substrate lifter assembly 690 can be configured to lower a substrate 642 ′ to an upper surface of the substrate holder 670 , as well as raise a substrate 642 ′′ from an upper surface of the substrate holder 670 to a holding plane, or a transfer plane therebetween.
- the substrate 642 ′′ can be exchanged with a transfer system utilized to transfer substrates into and out of the chemical and thermal treatment chambers 611 , 621 .
- the substrate 642 ′′ can be cooled while another substrate is exchanged between the transfer system and the chemical and thermal treatment chambers 611 , 621 .
- the thermal treatment system 620 further comprises a vacuum pumping system 680 .
- the vacuum pumping system 680 can, for example, comprise a vacuum pump, and a throttle valve such as a gate valve or butterfly valve.
- the vacuum pump can, for example, include a turbo-molecular vacuum pump (TMP) capable of a pumping speed up to 5000 liters per second (and greater).
- TMPs are useful for low pressure processing, typically less than 50 mTorr.
- a mechanical booster pump and dry roughing pump can be used.
- a gate valve assembly 696 can be utilized to vertically translate a gate valve in order to open and close the common opening 694 .
- the gate valve assembly 696 can vacuum seal the common opening 694 .
- the processing system 600 can comprise a chemical oxide removal (COR) system 610 for trimming oxidized features of a TERA layer.
- the processing system 600 comprises the chemical treatment system 610 for chemically treating exposed surfaces of features on a TERA layer, such as oxidized surfaces, whereby adsorption of the process chemistry on the exposed surfaces of the features on a TERA layer affects chemical alteration of the exposed surfaces.
- the processing system 600 comprises the thermal treatment system 620 for thermally treating the substrate, whereby the substrate temperature is elevated in order to desorb (or evaporate) the chemically altered exposed surfaces of the features on a TERA layer.
- An exemplary COR process can comprise a number of process steps.
- the substrate 642 can be transferred into the chemical treatment system 610 using the substrate transfer system.
- the substrate 642 can be received by lift pins that are housed within the substrate holder 640 , and the substrate 642 is lowered to the substrate holder 640 . Thereafter, the substrate 642 can be secured to the substrate holder 660 using a clamping system, such as an electrostatic clamping system, and a heat transfer gas can be supplied to the backside of the substrate 642 .
- a clamping system such as an electrostatic clamping system
- one or more chemical processing parameters for chemical treatment of the substrate 642 can be established.
- the one or more chemical processing parameters comprise a chemical treatment processing pressure, a chemical treatment wall temperature, a chemical treatment substrate holder temperature, a chemical treatment substrate temperature, a chemical treatment gas distribution system temperature, or a chemical treatment gas flow rate, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- the substrate 642 can be chemically treated for a first period of time.
- the first period of time can range from 10 to 480 seconds, for example.
- the substrate 642 can be transferred from the chemical treatment chamber 611 to the thermal treatment chamber 621 .
- the substrate clamp can be removed, and the flow of heat transfer gas to the backside of the substrate 642 can be terminated.
- the substrate 642 can be vertically lifted from the substrate holder 640 to the transfer plane using the lift pin assembly housed within the substrate holder 640 .
- the transfer system can receive the substrate 642 from the lift pins and can position the substrate 642 within the thermal treatment system 620 .
- the substrate lifter assembly 690 receives the substrate 641 ′, 642 ′′ from the transfer system, and lowers the substrate 642 ′ to the substrate holder 670
- the thermal processing parameters for a thermal treatment of the substrate 642 ′ can be set.
- the one or more thermal processing parameters comprise a thermal treatment wall temperature, a thermal treatment upper assembly temperature, a thermal treatment substrate temperature, a thermal treatment substrate holder temperature, a thermal treatment substrate temperature, or a thermal treatment processing pressure, or a combination of two or more thereof.
- the substrate 642 ′ can be thermally treated for a second period of time.
- the second period of time can range from 10 to 480 seconds, for example.
- FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a processing subsystem 700 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
- the processing subsystem 700 for performing a number of processes, such as etching, ashing, cleaning, and oxidizing, is presented.
- the processing subsystem 700 can comprise a processing chamber 710 , an upper assembly 720 , a gas supply system 750 , a shower plate assembly 756 , a substrate holder 730 for supporting a substrate 705 , a pressure control system 780 , and a controller 790 .
- the processing subsystem 700 can comprise the pressure control system 780 that can be coupled to the processing chamber 710 .
- the pressure control system 780 can comprise a throttle valve (not shown) and a turbomolecular pump (TMP) (not shown) and can provide a controlled pressure in the processing chamber 710 .
- TMP turbomolecular pump
- the pressure control system 700 can comprise a dry pump.
- the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 100 mTorr.
- the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 20 mTorr.
- the processing chamber 710 can facilitate the formation of plasma in a process space 702 .
- the processing subsystem 700 can be configured to process substrates of any size, such as 200 mm substrates, 300 mm substrates, or larger substrates. Alternately, the processing subsystem 700 can operate by generating plasma in one or more processing chambers.
- the processing subsystem 700 can comprise a shower plate 758 coupled to gas distribution system components 756 and 752 .
- the gas distribution system component 752 can be coupled to a gas distribution system 750 .
- the shower plate 758 can comprise quartz and can be mounted opposite the substrate holder 730 .
- the shower plate 758 can comprise one or more distribution regions (not shown).
- a shield ring 744 can be used to couple the shower plate 758 to the gas distribution system component 756 .
- Ceramic insulators 740 , 742 , and 746 can be used to couple the gas distribution system component 756 and the shower plate 758 to the processing chamber 710 .
- the gas distribution system 750 can provide process gas to the gas distribution system components 756 , 752 and to the shower plate 758 .
- the gas chemistries and flow rates can be individually controlled.
- the processing subsystem 700 can comprise an upper electrode 725 that can be coupled to the gas distribution system components 756 , 752 , to the shower plate 758 and to the processing chamber 710 .
- the upper electrode 725 can comprise temperature control elements (not shown).
- the upper electrode 725 can be coupled to a first RF source 770 using a first match network 772 . Alternately, a separate match network 772 is not required.
- the first RF source 770 can provide a TRF signal to the upper electrode, and the first RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz.
- the TRF signal can be in the frequency range from approximately 1 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz. or alternatively in the frequency range from approximately 10 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz.
- the first RF source 790 can operate in a power range from approximately 0 watts to approximately 10000 watts, or alternatively the first RF source 770 can operate in a power range from approximately 0 watts to approximately 5000 watts.
- the upper electrode 725 and the first RF source 770 can be parts of a capacitively coupled plasma source.
- the capacitively couple plasma source may be replaced with or augmented by other types of plasma sources, such as an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source, a transformer-coupled plasma (TCP) source, a microwave powered plasma source, an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source, a Helicon wave plasma source, and a surface wave plasma source.
- ICP inductively coupled plasma
- TCP transformer-coupled plasma
- ECR electron cyclotron resonance
- the upper electrode 725 may be eliminated or reconfigured in the various suitable plasma sources.
- the substrate 705 can be, for example, transferred into and out of processing chamber 710 through a slot valve (not shown) and chamber feed-through (not shown) via robotic substrate transfer system (not shown), and it can be received by the substrate holder 730 .
- the processing chamber 710 can comprise a translation device (not shown), and when the substrate 705 is received from the substrate transfer system, the substrate 705 can be raised and/or lowered using a translation device (not shown) that can be coupled to the substrate holder 730 .
- the substrate 705 can be affixed to the substrate holder 730 via an electrostatic clamping system 764 .
- the electrostatic clamping system 764 can comprise an electrode and an ESC supply. Clamping voltages that can range from approximately ⁇ 5000 V to approximately +5000 V, for example, can be provided to the clamping electrode. Alternatively, the clamping voltage can range from approximately ⁇ 2500 V to approximately +2500 V. In alternate embodiments, an ESC system and supply may be omitted altogether.
- the substrate holder 730 can comprise lift pins (not shown) for lowering and/or raising the substrate 705 to and/or from the surface of the substrate holder 730 .
- different lifting means can be provided in the substrate holder 730 .
- gas can, for example, be delivered to the backside of the substrate 705 via a backside gas system to improve the gas-gap thermal conductance between the substrate 705 and the substrate holder 730 .
- a temperature control system can also be provided. Such a system can be utilized when temperature control of the substrate is required at elevated or reduced temperatures.
- temperature control elements (not shown) can be included in the substrate holder 730 , the processing chamber 710 and/or the upper assembly 720 .
- an electrode 768 can be coupled to a second RF source 775 using a second match network 777 .
- the match network 777 may be omitted altogether.
- the second RF source 775 can provide a bottom RF signal (BRF) to the lower electrode 768 , and the second RF source 775 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz.
- the BRF signal can be in the frequency range from approximately 0.2 MHz. to approximately 30 MHz. or alternatively, in the frequency range from approximately 0.3 MHz. to approximately 15 MHz.
- the second RF source 775 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 2500 watts, or alternatively, the second RF source 775 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 500 watts.
- the lower electrode 768 may be not used, or may be the sole source of plasma within the chamber, or may augment any additional plasma source.
- the substrate holder 730 can further comprise a quartz focus ring 762 and quartz isolators 760 , 766 .
- the focus ring 762 and/or quartz isolators 760 , 766 may be omitted altogether.
- the processing chamber 710 can further comprise a chamber liner 714 and at least one protective element 716 .
- the protective element 716 can comprise a ceramic material, and can be used to protect the substrate holder 730 and the wall. In an alternate embodiment, the protective element 716 may be omitted altogether.
- a gap can be established between the shower plate 758 and the substrate holder 730 using different wall heights for the processing chamber 710 .
- a 170 mm gap can be established.
- different gap sizes can be used.
- a translation device (not shown) can be used to provide a variable gap, and the gap can remain fixed or the gap can be changed during a process.
- the processing chamber 710 can, for example, further comprise a monitoring port (not shown).
- a monitoring port can, for example, permit optical monitoring of the process space 702 .
- the processing subsystem 700 can also comprise the controller 790 .
- the controller 790 can be coupled to the processing chamber 710 , the gas supply system 750 , the first RF match 772 , the first RF source 770 , the second RF match 787 , the second RF source 785 , and the pressure control system 780 .
- the controller 790 can be configured to provide control data to these components and receive data such as process data from these components.
- controller 790 can comprise a microprocessor, a memory, and a digital I/O port capable of generating control voltages sufficient to communicate and activate inputs to the processing system 700 as well as monitor outputs from the processing subsystem 700 .
- controller 790 can exchange information with system components.
- a program stored in the memory can be utilized to control the aforementioned components of the processing subsystem 700 according to a process recipe.
- controller 790 can be configured to analyze the process data, to compare the process data with target process data, and to use the comparison to change a process and/or control the deposition tool.
- the controller 790 can be configured to analyze the process data, to compare the process data with historical process data, and to use the comparison to predict, prevent, and/or declare a fault.
- the substrate 705 can be placed on the substrate holder 730 in the processing chamber 710 .
- the processing chamber 710 can be chosen based on the gap size between the upper electrode surface 725 and a surface of the substrate holder 730 .
- the gap can range from approximately 10 mm to approximately 200 mm, or alternatively, the gap can range from approximately 150 mm to approximately 190 mm. In alternate embodiments, the gap size can be different.
- a TRF signal can be provided to the upper electrode 725 using the first RF source 770 .
- the first RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz.
- the first RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 1 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz., or the first RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 20 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz.
- the first RF source 770 can operate in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 10000 watts, or alternatively, the first RF source 770 can operate in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 5000 watts
- a BRF signal can be provided to the lower electrode 768 using the second RF source 775 .
- the second RF source 775 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz.
- the second RF source 775 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.2 MHz. to approximately 30 MHz, or the second RF source can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.3 MHz. to approximately 15 MHz.
- the second RF source 775 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 1000 watts, or alternatively, the second RF source 775 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 500 watts.
- a BRF signal is not required.
- a process gas can be provided to the processing chamber 710 using the shower plate 758 .
- the process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas and an inert gas.
- the oxygen-containing gas can comprise O 2 , CO, NO, N 2 O, or CO 2 , or a combination of two or more thereof, and the flow rate can range from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 10000 sccm.
- the inert gas can comprise argon, helium, or nitrogen, or a combination of two or more thereof, and the flow rate for the inert gas can range from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 10000 sccm.
- the chamber pressure and substrate temperature can be controlled during the etching of the TERA layer.
- the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 100.0 mTorr
- the substrate temperature can range from approximately 0° C. to approximately 500° C.
- the substrate can be placed on the substrate holder 730 in a processing chamber 710 .
- the processing chamber 710 can be chosen based on the gap size between the upper electrode surface 725 and a surface of the substrate holder 730 .
- the gap can range from approximately 10 mm to approximately 200 mm, or alternatively, the gap can range from approximately 150 mm to approximately 190 mm. In alternate embodiments, the gap size can be selected from a wide variety of predetermined values.
- a TRF signal can be provided to the upper electrode 725 using the first RF source 770 .
- the first RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz.
- the first RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 1 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz. or the first RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 20 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz.
- the first RF source 770 can operate in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 10000 watts, or alternatively, the first RF source 770 can operate in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 5000 watts
- a BRF signal can be provided to the lower electrode 768 using the second RF source 775 .
- the second RF source 775 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz.
- the second RF source 775 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.2 MHz. to approximately 30 MHz. or the second RF source can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.3 MHz. to approximately 15 MHz.
- the second RF source 775 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 1000 watts, or alternatively, the second RF source 775 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 500 watts.
- a BRF signal is not required.
- a process gas can be provided to the processing chamber 710 using the shower plate 758 .
- the process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas and/or an inert gas.
- the oxygen containing gas can comprise O 2 , CO, NO, N 2 O, or CO 2 , or a combination of two or more thereof, and the flow rate can range from approximately 0.0 sccm to approximately 10000 sccm.
- the inert gas can comprise argon, helium, or nitrogen, or a combination of two or more thereof, and the flow rate for the inert gas can range from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 10000 sccm.
- the chamber pressure and substrate temperature can be controlled when oxidizing the features of a TERA layer.
- the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 100.0 Torr
- the substrate temperature can range from approximately 0° C. to approximately 500° C.
Abstract
A processing system and method for chemically treating a TERA layer on a substrate. The chemical treatment of the substrate chemically alters exposed surfaces on the substrate. In one embodiment, the system for processing a TERA layer includes a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system for depositing the TERA layer on the substrate, an etching system for creating features in the TERA layer, and a processing subsystem for reducing the size of the features in the TERA layer.
Description
- This is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/883,784, filed Jul. 6, 2004, for which the Issue Fee has been paid. This application is related to U.S. Pat. No. 7,029,536, which issued on Apr. 18, 2006, U.S. Pat. No. 7,079,760, which issued on Jul. 18, 2006, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/705,397, filed on Nov. 12, 2003, and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/644,958, filed on Aug. 21, 2003. The contents of all of these patents and applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates to a system and method for treating a Tunable Etch Rate ARC (TERA) layer, and more particularly to a system and method for chemical treatment of a TERA layer.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- During semiconductor processing, a (dry) plasma etch process can be utilized to remove or etch material along fine lines or within vias or contacts patterned on a silicon substrate. The plasma etch process generally involves positioning a semiconductor substrate with an overlying patterned, protective layer, for example a photoresist layer, in a processing chamber. Once the substrate is positioned within the chamber, an ionizable, dissociative gas mixture is introduced within the chamber at a pre-specified flow rate, while a vacuum pump is throttled to achieve an ambient process pressure. Thereafter, a plasma is formed when a fraction of the gas species present are ionized by electrons heated via the transfer of radio frequency (RF) power either inductively or capacitively, or microwave power using, for example, electron cyclotron resonance (ECR). Moreover, the heated electrons serve to dissociate some species of the ambient gas species and create reactant specie(s) suitable for the exposed surface etch chemistry. Once the plasma is formed, selected surfaces of the substrate are etched by the plasma. The process is adjusted to achieve appropriate conditions, including an appropriate concentration of desirable reactant and ion populations to etch various features (e.g., trenches, vias, contacts, gates, etc.) in the selected regions of the substrate. Such substrate materials where etching is required include silicon dioxide (SiO2), low-k dielectric materials, poly-silicon, and silicon nitride. During material processing, etching such features generally comprises the transfer of a pattern formed within a mask layer to the underlying film within which the respective features are formed. The mask can, for example, comprise a light-sensitive material such as (negative or positive) photo-resist, multiple layers including such layers as photo-resist and an anti-reflective coating (ARC), or a hard mask formed from the transfer of a pattern in a first layer, such as photo-resist, to the underlying hard mask layer.
- The principles of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, provide a method of processing a Tunable Etch Rate ARC (TERA) layer on a substrate. The TERA layer processing method includes depositing the TERA layer on the substrate using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system, creating features in the TERA layer using an etching system, and reducing the size of the features in the TERA layer.
- Additionally, a system for processing a TERA layer is presented. The system includes a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system for depositing the TERA layer on the substrate, an etching system for creating features in the TERA layer, and a processing subsystem for reducing the size of the features in the TERA layer.
- Numerous other aspects of the invention will be made apparent from the description that follows and from the drawings appended hereto, as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
- Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which corresponding reference symbols indicate corresponding parts, and in which:
-
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of a processing system according to an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified flow diagram of a method for operating a processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; -
FIGS. 3A-3F illustrate simplified schematic views of a method for processing a substrate in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; -
FIGS. 4A-4G illustrate simplified schematic views of a method for processing a substrate in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a PECVD system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 6 illustrates a simplified block diagram for a treatment system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and -
FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a processing subsystem in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. - In material processing methodologies, pattern etching comprises the application of a thin layer of light-sensitive material, such as photoresist, to an upper surface of a substrate that is subsequently patterned in order to provide a mask for transferring this pattern to the underlying thin film during etching. The patterning of the light-sensitive material generally involves exposure by a radiation source through a reticle (and associated optics) of the light-sensitive material using, for example, a micro-lithography system, followed by the removal of the irradiated regions of the light-sensitive material (as in the case of positive photoresist), or non-irradiated regions (as in the case of negative resist) using a developing solvent.
- Additionally, multi-layer and hard masks can be implemented for etching features in a thin film. For example, when etching features in a thin film using a hard mask, the mask pattern in the light-sensitive layer is transferred to the hard mask layer using a separate etch step preceding the main etch step for the thin film. The hard mask can, for example, comprise a TERA layer that can be selected from several materials for silicon processing including silicon dioxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (Si3N4), and carbon, for example.
- In order to reduce the feature size formed in the thin film, the hard mask can be trimmed laterally using, for example, a two-step process involving a chemical treatment of the exposed surfaces of the hard mask layer in order to alter the surface chemistry of the hard mask layer, and a post treatment of the exposed surfaces of the hard mask layer in order to desorb the altered surface chemistry.
-
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of a processing system according to an embodiment of the invention. In the illustrated embodiment, a processing system 1 for processing a substrate using, for example, TERA layer trimming is shown. Processing system 1 can comprise amulti-element manufacturing system 10, adeposition system 20 coupled to themulti-element manufacturing system 10, atreatment system 30 coupled to themulti-element manufacturing system 10, and anetching system 70 coupled to themulti-element manufacturing system 10. - The
treatment system 30 can comprise atransfer module 40, athermal treatment module 50, and achemical treatment module 60. Also, as illustrated inFIG. 1 , thetransfer module 40 can be coupled to thethermal treatment module 50 in order to transfer substrates into and out of thethermal treatment module 50 and thechemical treatment module 60, and exchange substrates with amulti-element manufacturing system 10. - As should be apparent to those skilled in the art, the
multi-element manufacturing system 10 can comprise additional processing elements (not shown) including such devices as etch systems, deposition systems, coating systems, cleaning systems, polishing systems, patterning systems, metrology systems, alignment systems, lithography systems, and transfer systems. Also, themulti-element manufacturing system 10 can permit the transfer of substrates to and from the processing elements (20, 30, and 70) and the additional processing elements (not shown). - As should be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the exact type and arrangement of components for processing system 1 may vary without departing from the scope of the invention. As such, processing system 1 is not limited solely to
components - In one embodiment,
deposition system 20 can comprise a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system, a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) system, an ionized physical vapor deposition (iPVD) system, or an atomic layer deposition (ALD) system, or a combination of two or more thereof. The process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas, a nitrogen containing gas, a fluorine-containing gas, or a chlorine-containing gas, or a combination of two or more thereof. Alternately, an inert gas can also be included. - For example, an oxygen-containing gas can comprise O2, CO, NO, N2O, or CO2, or a combination of two or more thereof. The nitrogen-containing gas can comprise NO, N2O, N2, or NF3, or a combination of two or more thereof. The fluorine-containing gas can comprise NF3, SF6, CHF3, or C4F8, or a combination of two or more thereof. It will be appreciated that similar combinations to the fluorine-containing gas can be used for the chlorine-containing gas. Moreover, hybrids of gas containing both fluorine and chlorine may be employed.
- The flow rate for an oxygen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 500 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 300 sccm. The flow rate for an nitrogen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm. The flow rate for a fluorine-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm. The flow rate for a chlorine-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm.
- In order to isolate the processes occurring in the
deposition system 20, anisolation assembly 25 can be utilized to couple thedeposition system 20 to themulti-element manufacturing system 10. Theisolation assembly 25 can comprise a thermal insulation assembly to provide thermal isolation and/or a gate valve assembly to provide vacuum isolation. In alternate embodiments, theprocessing element 20 can comprise multiple modules. - As indicated above, in one embodiment, the
treatment system 30 can comprise thetransfer module 40, thethermal treatment module 50, which may be a physical heat treatment (PHT) module, and thechemical treatment module 60, which may be a chemical oxide removal (COR) module. In order to isolate the processes occurring in the different modules,isolation assemblies isolation assembly 35 can be used to couple thetransfer module 40 to themulti-element manufacturing system 10; theisolation assembly 45 can be used to couple thetransfer module 40 to thePHT module 50; and theisolation assembly 55 can be used to couple thePHT module 50 to theCOR module 60. Theisolation assemblies isolation assemblies - In general, the
transfer module 40 and/or thePHT module 50 of the processing system 1 depicted inFIG. 1 can comprise at least two transfer openings to permit the passage of the substrate therethrough. For example, as depicted inFIG. 1 , thePHT module 50 comprises two transfer openings. The first transfer opening permits the passage of the substrate between thePHT module 50 and thetransfer system 40, and the second transfer opening permits the passage of the substrate between thePHT module 50 and theCOR module 60. Alternately, each treatment system element can comprise at least one transfer opening to permit the passage of the substrate therethrough. - In one embodiment, the
transfer system 40, thePHT module 50, and theCOR module 60 can be configured as in-line elements. Alternately, thetransfer system 40, thePHT module 50, and theCOR module 60 can be configured in any number of arrangements. For example, a stacked arrangement or a side-by-side arrangement can be used. - In one embodiment, the
etching system 70 can comprise a dry etching system and/or a wet etching system. For example, theetching system 70 can comprise a plasma etching system. In order to isolate the processes occurring in theetching system 70, anisolation assembly 65 can be utilized to couple theetching system 70 to themulti-element manufacturing system 10. Theisolation assembly 65 can comprise a thermal insulation assembly to provide thermal isolation and/or a gate valve assembly to provide vacuum isolation. In alternate embodiments, theetching system 70 can comprise multiple modules. - In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 1 , acontroller 90 can be coupled to themulti-element manufacturing system 10, thedeposition system 20, thetransfer module 40, thePHT module 50, theCOR module 60, and theetching system 70. For example, thecontroller 90 can be used to control themulti-element manufacturing system 10, thedeposition system 20, thetransfer module 40, thePHT module 50, theCOR module 60, and theetching system 70. Thecontroller 90 can also be connected to various components in any of a number of different ways without departing from the scope of the invention. - Additionally, the
multi-element manufacturing system 10 can exchange substrates with one or more substrate cassettes (not shown). Additionally, for example, an isolation assembly can serve as part of a processing element. -
FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified flow diagram of a method for operating a processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In the illustrated embodiment, a procedure is shown for reducing the size of features on a TERA layer. -
Procedure 200 begins attask 210. Intask 220, a TERA layer is deposited on a substrate. TERA layers can be deposited on top of many different layers of a substrate. For example, a TERA layer can be deposited on an oxide layer, a dielectric layer, or a metallic layer. The deposition of the TERA layer is discussed in greater detail herein. - Features are then created in a TERA layer, as indicated by
task 230. In one embodiment, a photoresist layer can be deposited on the TERA layer and a pattern may be transferred into the photoresist layer using at least one photolithography step. The pattern can be developed to form features in the photoresist layer; and an etching process can be used to create features in the TERA layer. In an alternate embodiment, a hard mask layer can be deposited on the TERA layer. - While performing
process 200, a stabilization step can be performed before and/or after an individual processing step. Alternately, the stabilization step may be avoided altogether. - Stabilization processes may encompass a variety of operational parameters, such as process time and chamber pressure. For example, the process time can vary from approximately 2 seconds to approximately 150 seconds and alternately from approximately 4 seconds to approximately 15 seconds. The chamber pressure can vary from approximately 2 mTorr to approximately 800 mTorr and alternately from approximately 10 mTorr to approximately 90 mTorr.
- As discussed at length above, the process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas, a nitrogen containing gas, a fluorine-containing gas, or a chlorine-containing gas, or a combination of two or more thereof. Alternately, an inert gas can also be included. For example, an oxygen-containing gas can comprise O2, CO, NO, N2O, or CO2, or a combination of two or more thereof; the nitrogen-containing gas can comprise NO, N2O, N2, or NF3, or a combination of two or more thereof; and the fluorine-containing gas can comprise NF3, SF6, CHF3, or C4F8, or a combination of two or more thereof. The chlorine-containing gas can comprise similar combinations as the fluorine-containing gas.
- The flow rate for an oxygen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 500 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 300 sccm. The flow rate for an nitrogen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm. The flow rate for a fluorine-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm. The flow rate for a chlorine-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm.
- In one embodiment, a photoresist trim process can be performed. Alternately, the photoresist trim process can be avoided altogether. Photoresist processes may also encompass a variety of operational parameters, such as process time and chamber pressure. For example, the process time can vary from approximately 0 seconds to approximately 180 seconds and alternately from approximately 10 seconds to approximately 40 seconds. The chamber pressure can vary from approximately 10 mTorr to approximately 120 mTorr and alternately from approximately 10 mTorr to approximately 90 mTorr. Also, as discussed above, the process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas, a nitrogen-containing gas and/or an inert gas. And, the flow rates for an oxygen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 500 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 300 sccm, while the flow rates for a nitrogen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 1000 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm.
- RF power can be supplied to an upper electrode and the upper RF power can vary from approximately 0 watts to approximately 1500 watts and alternately from approximately 100 watts to approximately 300 watts. In addition, RF power can be supplied to a lower electrode and the lower RF power can vary from approximately 0 watts to approximately 500 watts and alternately from approximately 40 watts to approximately 150 watts.
- In one embodiment, a TERA cap etch process can be performed. Alternately, the TERA cap etch process may be avoided altogether. The TERA cap etch process may also encompass a variety of operational parameters, such as process time and chamber pressure. For example, the process time can vary from approximately 0 seconds to approximately 50 seconds and alternately from approximately 0 seconds to approximately 18 seconds. The chamber pressure can vary from approximately 10 mTorr to approximately 120 mTorr and alternately from approximately 10 mTorr to approximately 90 mTorr.
- Also, as discussed above, the process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas, a nitrogen-containing gas, a fluorine-containing gas, or a chlorine-containing gas, an inert gas, or a combination of two or more thereof. And the flow rate for an oxygen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 500 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 300 sccm. The flow rate for a nitrogen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm. The flow rate for a fluorine-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm. The flow rate for a chlorine-containing gas can vary from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 200 sccm and alternately from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 100 sccm.
- In
task 240, the size of the features in the TERA layer can be reduced. In one embodiment, the exposed surfaces of the features in the TERA layer can be oxidized, and a removal process can be performed to remove at least a part of the oxidized portion of the TERA features. A trimming amount can be established and the oxidation process can be controlled so that the correct trimming amount is achieved. During a removal process, a chemical oxide removal (COR) process can be performed. In an alternate embodiment, the oxidation process and the COR process can be performed a number of times to reduce the size of the features in the TERA layer to predetermined dimensions. - During an exemplary TERA oxidation process, the process time can vary from approximately 0 seconds to approximately 180 seconds and alternately from approximately 0 seconds to approximately 18 seconds. The chamber pressure can vary from approximately 10 mtorr to approximately 300 mtorr and alternately from approximately 150 mtorr to approximately 250 mtorr. The process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas. Alternately, an inert gas can also be included. The flow rate for an oxygen-containing gas can vary from approximately 0.0 sccm to approximately 500 sccm and alternately from approximately 150 sccm to approximately 300 sccm. RF power can be supplied to an upper electrode and the upper RF power can vary from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 1500 watts and alternately from approximately 200 watts to approximately 400 watts. In addition, RF power can be supplied to a lower electrode and the lower RF power can vary from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 500 watts and alternately from approximately 30 watts to approximately 100 watts.
- During the oxidation process, the TERA layer can be partially or fully oxidized. For example, TERA layers ranging from approximately 1 nm to approximately 5 nm can be fully oxidized in less than 12 seconds. The COR process does not remove non-oxidized TERA material. The COR process can be used to remove all or part of the oxidized TERA layer, as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
- For example, the
transfer module 40, thePHT module 50, and theCOR module 60 can be used to perform a removal process. The removal process can use a COR recipe to perform the processing and the COR recipe can begin when a substrate is transferred to the COR module. The substrate can be received by lift pins that are housed within a substrate holder, and the substrate can be lowered to the substrate holder. Thereafter, the substrate can be secured to the substrate holder using a clamping system, such as an electrostatic clamping system, and a heat transfer gas can be supplied to the backside of the substrate. - Next, the COR recipe can be used to set one or more chemical processing parameters for the chemical treatment of the substrate, and these parameters can include a chemical treatment processing pressure, a chemical treatment wall temperature, a chemical treatment substrate holder temperature, a chemical treatment substrate temperature, a chemical treatment gas distribution system temperature, a chemical treatment process gas, or a chemical treatment process gas flow rate, or a combination of two or more thereof. Then, the substrate can be chemically treated for a first period of time. The first period of time can range from 30 to 360 seconds, for example.
- Next, the substrate can be transferred from the chemical treatment chamber to the
PHT module 50. During which time, the substrate clamp can be removed, and the flow of heat transfer gas to the backside of the substrate can be terminated. The substrate can be vertically lifted from the substrate holder to the transfer plane using the lift pin assembly housed within the substrate holder. The transfer system can receive the substrate from the lift pins and can position the substrate within the PHT module. Therein, a substrate lifter assembly can receive the substrate from the transfer system, and can lower the substrate to the substrate holder. - Then, the PHT recipe can be used to set one or more thermal processing parameters for thermal treatment of the substrate by the PHT module. In the PHT recipe, the substrate can be treated thermally for a second period of time. For example, the one or more thermal processing parameters can comprise a thermal treatment wall temperature, a thermal treatment upper assembly temperature, a thermal treatment substrate temperature, a thermal treatment substrate holder temperature, a thermal treatment substrate temperature, a thermal treatment processing pressure, a thermal treatment process gas, or a thermal treatment process gas flow rate, or a combination of two or more thereof. The second period of time can range from 30 to 360 seconds, for example.
- In an exemplary process, the
treatment system 30 can comprise a chemical oxide removal (COR) system for trimming an oxidized TERA film. Thetreatment system 30 can comprise theCOR module 50 for chemically treating exposed surface layers, such as oxidized surface layers, on a substrate, whereby adsorption of the process chemistry on the exposed surfaces affects a chemical alteration of the surface layers. Additionally, thetreatment system 30 can comprise thePHT module 60 for thermally treating the substrate, whereby the substrate temperature is elevated in order to desorb (or evaporate) the chemically altered exposed surfaces on the substrate. - In one embodiment, a COR module can use a process gas comprising HF and NH3, and the processing pressure can range from approximately 1 to approximately 100 mTorr and, for example, can range from approximately 2 to approximately 25 mTorr. The process gas flow rates can range from approximately 1 to approximately 200 sccm for each specie and, for example, can range from approximately 10 to approximately 100 sccm. In addition, a substantially uniform pressure field can be achieved. Additionally, the COR module chamber can be heated to a temperature ranging from 30° to 100° C. and, for example, the temperature can be approximately 40° C. Additionally, the gas distribution system can be heated to a temperature ranging from approximately 40° to approximately 100° C. and, for example, the temperature can be approximately 50° C. The substrate can be maintained at a temperature ranging from approximately 10° to approximately 50° C. and, for example, the substrate temperature can be approximately 20° C.
- In addition, in the
PHT module 50, the thermal treatment chamber can be heated to a temperature ranging from approximately 50° to approximately 100° C. and, for example, the temperature can be approximately 80° C. Additionally, the upper assembly can be heated to a temperature ranging from approximately 50° to approximately 100° C. and, for example, the temperature can be approximately 80° C. The substrate can be heated to a temperature in excess of approximately 100° C. Alternatively, the substrate can be heated in a range from approximately 100° to approximately 200° C., and, for example, the temperature can be approximately 135° C. - The COR and PHT processes described herein can produce an etch amount of an exposed oxidized surface in excess of approximately 10 nm per 60 seconds of chemical treatment for oxidized TERA. The treatments can also produce an etch variation across the substrate of less than approximately 2.5 percent.
-
FIGS. 3A-3F illustrate simplified schematic views of a method for processing a substrate in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. InFIG. 3A , a simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using a photoresist development process and an etch process. Asubstrate layer 310 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. Anadditional layer 320 is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 310. The additional layer can comprise one or more layers and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. - A
TERA layer 330 is shown on top of the additional layer, and the TERA layer can comprise TERA features 332. In addition, aphotoresist layer 340 is shown on top of theTERA layer 330, and thephotoresist layer 340 can comprise photoresist features 342. For example, the photoresist features 342 can be produced when the photoresist layer is developed, and the TERA features 332 can be produced when the photoresist features 342 are transferred into theTERA layer 330 using an etch process. - In
FIG. 3B , another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using an etching process.Features 332 have been created in theTERA layer 330A by transferring the photoresist features 342 using an etch process. Asubstrate layer 310 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise of silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. Anadditional layer 320 is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 310. The additional layer can comprise one or more layers and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. - A processed (etched)
TERA layer 330A is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processedTERA layer 330A can comprise features 332. In addition, aphotoresist layer 340 is shown on top of the processedTERA layer 330A, and thephotoresist layer 340 can comprise photoresist features 342. - In
FIG. 3C , another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using an oxidation process. The photoresist features have been removed by the oxidation (ashing) process, andoxidized areas TERA layer 330B. Theoxidized areas 333 on the sides of the TERA feature can have a different thickness than the oxidizedareas 335 on the top of the TERA features. For example, the top portion of the TERA layer can comprise a cap portion that has a higher resistance to etching than the other portions of the TERA layer. - In
FIG. 3C , asubstrate layer 310 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. Anadditional layer 320 is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 310. The additional layer can comprise one or more layers and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. A processedTERA layer 330B is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processedTERA layer 330B can comprisefeatures 332 having oxidizedareas - In
FIG. 3D , another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using a COR process. Oxidized areas have been removed creating reduced TERA features 337 in theTERA layer 330C by removing the oxidized areas of the TERA features using a COR process. Asubstrate layer 310 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. Anadditional layer 320 is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 310. The additional layer can comprise one or more layers and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. A processedTERA layer 330C is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processedTERA layer 330C can comprise reduced size TERA features 337. - In
FIG. 3E , another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using an etch process, and one or more of the layers in theadditional layer 320 has been etched using the reduced size TERA features 337 as a mask. The reduced size TERA features 337 can be used as mask features and a dry etching process and/or a wet etching process can be performed. Asubstrate layer 310 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. - A processed (etched)
additional layer 320A is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 310. The processed (etched)additional layer 320A can comprisevias 324 and additional layer features 322. The additional layer features 322 can comprise one or more layers and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. A processed (partially etched)TERA layer 330C is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processed (partially etched)TERA layer 330C can comprise reduced size TERA features 337. For example, the additional layer features can comprise a nitride layer and a doped poly layer. - In
FIG. 3F , another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using a removal process, and the reduced size TERA features 337 have been removed. Asubstrate layer 310 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. A processed (etched)additional layer 320A is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 310. The processed (etched)additional layer 320A can comprisevias 324 and additional layer features 322. The additional layer features 322 can comprise one or more layers and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. In this manner, reduced size features can be created in the additional layer and smaller critical dimensions (gate widths) can be achieved. In one embodiment, further processing can be performed. -
FIGS. 4A-4G illustrate simplified schematic views of a method for processing a substrate in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. - In
FIG. 4A , a simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using a hard mask development process. Asubstrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. Anadditional layer 420 is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 410. The additional layer can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. ATERA layer 430 is shown on top of the additional layer, and the TERA layer can be used as a hard mask. In addition, ahard mask layer 440 is shown on top of theTERA layer 430, and thehard mask layer 440 can comprise hard mask features 442. For example, the hard mask features 442 can be produced using a photoresist layer (not shown). - In
FIG. 4B , another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using an etching process.Features 432 have been created in theTERA layer 430A by transferring the hard mask features 442 using an etch process. Asubstrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. - An
additional layer 420 is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 410. The additional layer can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. In addition, aphotoresist layer 440 is shown on top of the processedTERA layer 430A, and thephotoresist layer 440 can comprise photoresist features 442. - In
FIG. 4C , another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using an oxidation process.Oxidized areas 435 have been created in the TERA features 432 in theTERA layer 430B by oxidizing the exposed surfaces of the TERA features 432 using an oxidation process. Asubstrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. - An
additional layer 420 is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 410. The additional layer can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. A processedTERA layer 430B is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processedTERA layer 430B can comprisefeatures 432 having oxidizedareas 435. In addition, aphotoresist layer 440 is shown on top of the processedTERA layer 430B, and thephotoresist layer 440 can comprise photoresist features 442. - In
FIG. 4D , another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using a COR process. Oxidized areas can be removed using a COR process thereby creating reduced size TERA features 437 in theTERA layer 430C. Alternately, another substantially lateral etch process can be performed in which the oxidizedareas 435 can be removed creating the reduced TERA features 437 in theTERA layer 430C. Asubstrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. - An
additional layer 420 is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 410. The additional layer can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. A processed (laterally etched)TERA layer 430C is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processed (laterally etched)TERA layer 430C can comprise reduced size TERA features 437. In addition, hard mask features can be shown on top of the reduced size TERA features 437. - In
FIG. 4E , another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using a removal process, and the hard mask features 442 have been removed. The hard mask features can be removed using an ashing process, a dry etching process, or a wet etching process, or a combination of two or more thereof. Asubstrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. - An
additional layer 420 is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 410. The additional layer can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. A processed (laterally etched)TERA layer 430C is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processed (laterally etched)TERA layer 430C can comprise reduced size TERA features 437. InFIG. 4E , hard mask features have been removed from the top surfaces of the reduced size TERA features 437. - In
FIG. 4F , another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using an etch process, and theadditional layer 420 has been etched using the reduced size TERA features 437 as a mask. The reduced size TERA features 437 can be used as mask features and a dry etching process and/or a wet etching process can be performed. Asubstrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. - A processed (etched)
additional layer 420A is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 410. The processed (etched)additional layer 420A can comprisevias 424 and additional layer features 422. The additional layer features 422 can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. A processed (laterally etched)TERA layer 430C is shown on top of the additional layer, and the processed (laterally etched)TERA layer 430C can comprise reduced size TERA features 437. For example, the additional layer features can comprise a nitride layer and a doped poly layer. - In
FIG. 4G , another simplified schematic view of a partially processed semiconductor device is shown. - In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor device has been processed using a removal process, and the reduced size TERA features 437 have been removed. A
substrate layer 410 is shown, and the substrate layer can comprise silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or gallium arsenide (GaAs), or a combination of two or more thereof. A processed (etched)additional layer 420A is shown on top of thesubstrate layer 410. The processed (etched)additional layer 420A can comprisevias 424 and additional layer features 422. The additional layer features 422 can comprise one or more layers, and each layer can comprise an oxide, a metal, or a dielectric material, or a combination of two or more thereof. In this manner, reduced size features can be created in the additional layer and smaller critical dimensions (gate widths) can be achieved. -
FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a PECVD system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In the illustrated embodiment, thePECVD system 500 comprises aprocessing chamber 510, anupper electrode 540 as part of a capacitively coupled plasma source, ashower plate assembly 520, asubstrate holder 530 for supporting asubstrate 535, apressure control system 580, and acontroller 590. - In one embodiment, the
PECVD system 500 can comprise aremote plasma system 575 that can be coupled to theprocessing chamber 510 using avalve 578. In another embodiment, a remote plasma system and valve are not included. - In one embodiment, the
PECVD system 500 can comprise thepressure control system 580 that can be coupled to theprocessing chamber 510. For example, thepressure control system 580 can comprise a throttle valve (not shown) and a turbomolecular pump (TMP) (not shown) and can provide a controlled pressure inprocessing chamber 510. In alternate embodiments, thepressure control system 580 can comprise a dry pump (not shown). For example, the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 100 mTorr. Alternatively, the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 20 mTorr. - The
processing chamber 510 can facilitate the formation of plasma in theprocess space 502. ThePECVD system 500 can be configured to process substrates of any size, such as 200 mm substrates, 300 mm substrates, or larger substrates. Alternately, thePECVD system 500 can operate by generating plasma in one or more processing chambers. - The
PECVD system 500 comprises theshower plate assembly 520 coupled to theprocessing chamber 510. Theshower plate assembly 520 is mounted opposite thesubstrate holder 530. Theshower plate assembly 520 comprises acenter region 522, anedge region 524, and asub region 526. Ashield ring 528 can be used to couple theshower plate assembly 520 to theprocessing chamber 510. - The
center region 522 is coupled to agas supply system 531 by a firstprocess gas line 523. Theedge region 524 is coupled to thegas supply system 531 by a secondprocess gas line 525. Thesub region 526 is coupled to thegas supply system 531 by a thirdprocess gas line 527. - The
gas supply system 531 provides a first process gas to thecenter region 522, a second process gas to theedge region 524, and a third process gas to thesub region 526. The gas chemistries and flow rates can be individually controlled to these regions. Alternately, thecenter region 522 and theedge region 524 can be coupled together as a single primary region, and thegas supply system 531 can provide the first process gas and/or the second process gas to the primary region. In alternate embodiments, any of the regions can be coupled together and thegas supply system 531 can provide one or more process gasses, as appropriate. - The
gas supply system 531 can comprise at least one vaporizer (not shown) for providing precursors. Alternately, a vaporizer is not required. In an alternate embodiment, a bubbling system can be used. - The
PECVD system 500 comprises anupper electrode 540 that can be coupled to theshower plate assembly 520 and also to theprocessing chamber 510. Theupper electrode 540 can comprisetemperature control elements 542. Theupper electrode 540 can be coupled to afirst RF source 546 using afirst match network 544. As would be appreciated by those skilled in the art, thefirst match network 544 need not be provided between thefirst RF source 546 and theupper electrode 540. - The
first RF source 546 provides a TRF signal to theupper electrode 540, and thefirst RF source 546 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. The TRF signal can be in the frequency range from approximately 1 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz. or alternatively in the frequency range from approximately 2 MHz. to approximately 60 MHz. Thefirst RF source 546 can operate in a power range from approximately 0 watts to approximately 10000 watts, or alternatively thefirst RF source 546 can operate in a power range from approximately 0 watts to approximately 5000 watts. - The
upper electrode 540 and theRF source 546 are parts of a capacitively-coupled plasma source. The capacitively-coupled plasma source may be replaced with or augmented by other types of plasma sources, such as an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source, a transformer-coupled plasma (TCP) source, a microwave powered plasma source, an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source, a Helicon wave plasma source, and a surface wave plasma source. As is well known in the art, theupper electrode 540 may be eliminated or reconfigured in the various suitable plasma sources. - The
substrate 535 can be, for example, transferred into and out of theprocessing chamber 510 through a slot valve (not shown) and chamber feed-through (not shown) via a robotic substrate transfer system (not shown), and it can be received by thesubstrate holder 530 and mechanically translated by devices coupled thereto. Once thesubstrate 535 is received from the substrate transfer system, thesubstrate 535 can be raised and/or lowered using atranslation device 550 that can be coupled to thesubstrate holder 530 by acoupling assembly 552. - The
substrate 535 can be held or affixed to thesubstrate holder 530 via an electrostatic clamping system. For example, the electrostatic clamping system can comprise anelectrode 516 and anESC supply 556. Clamping voltages that can range from approximately −2000 V to approximately +2000 V, for example, can be provided to the clampingelectrode 516. Alternatively, the clamping voltage can range from approximately −1000 V to approximately +1000 V. In alternate embodiments, the ESC system and theESC supply 556 are not required. - The
substrate holder 530 can comprise lift pins (not shown) for lowering and/or raising thesubstrate 535 to and/or from the surface of thesubstrate holder 530. In alternate embodiments, different lifting devices can be provided in thesubstrate holder 530, as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In alternate embodiments, gas can, for example, be delivered to the backside of thesubstrate 535 via a backside gas system to improve the gas-gap thermal conductance between thesubstrate 535 and thesubstrate holder 530. - A temperature control system can also be provided. Such a system can be utilized when temperature control of the
substrate 535 is required at elevated or reduced temperatures. For example, aheating element 532, such as resistive heating elements, or thermoelectric heaters/coolers can be included, and thesubstrate holder 530 can further include aheat exchange system 534. Theheating element 532 can be coupled to aheater supply 558. Theheat exchange system 534 can include re-circulating coolant flow passages that receive heat from thesubstrate holder 530 and transfer the heat to a heat exchanger system (not shown), or when heating, transfers the heat from the heat exchanger system to thesubstrate holder 530. - Also, the
electrode 516 can be coupled to asecond RF source 560 using asecond match network 562. Alternately, thesecond match network 562 is not required. - The
second RF source 560 provides a bottom RF signal (BRF) to thelower electrode 516, and thesecond RF source 560 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. The BRF signal can be in the frequency range from approximately 0.2 MHz. to approximately 30 MHz. or alternatively, in the frequency range from approximately 0.3 MHz. to approximately 15 MHz. Thesecond RF source 560 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 1000 watts, or alternatively, thesecond RF source 560 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 500 watts. In various embodiments, thelower electrode 516 may not be used, or may be the sole source of plasma within thechamber 510, or may augment any additional plasma source. - The
PECVD system 500 can further comprise thetranslation device 550 that can be coupled by abellows 554 to theprocessing chamber 510. Also,coupling assembly 552 can couple thetranslation device 550 to thesubstrate holder 530. Thebellows 554 are configured to seal thevertical translation device 550 from the atmosphere outside theprocessing chamber 510. - The
translation device 550 allows avariable gap 504 to be established between theshower plate assembly 520 and thesubstrate 535. Thegap 504 can range from approximately 10 mm to approximately 200 mm, and alternatively, thegap 504 can range from approximately 20 mm to approximately 80 mm. Thegap 504 can remain fixed or thegap 504 can be changed during a deposition process. - Additionally, the
substrate holder 530 can further comprise afocus ring 506 and aceramic cover 508. Alternately, thefocus ring 506 and/or theceramic cover 508 need not be included, as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art. - At least one
chamber wall 512 can comprise acoating 514 to protect the wall. For example, thecoating 514 can comprise a ceramic material. In an alternate embodiment, thecoating 514 is not required. Furthermore, a ceramic shield (not shown) can be used within theprocessing chamber 510. - In addition, the temperature control system can be used to control the
chamber wall 512 temperature. For example, ports can be provided in thechamber wall 512 for controlling temperature. Thechamber wall 512 temperature can be maintained relatively constant while a process is being performed in thechamber 510. - Also, the temperature control system can be used to control the temperature of the
upper electrode 540. Thetemperature control elements 542 can be used to control theupper electrode 540 temperature. Theupper electrode 540 temperature can be maintained relatively constant while a process is being performed in thechamber 510. - In addition, the
PECVD system 500 can also comprise theremote plasma system 575 that can be used forchamber 510 cleaning. - Furthermore, the
PECVD system 500 can also comprise a purging system (not shown) that can be used for controlling contamination and/orchamber 510 cleaning. - In an alternate embodiment, the
processing chamber 510 can, for example, further comprise a monitoring port (not shown). The monitoring port can, for example, permit optical monitoring of theprocess space 502. - The
PECVD system 500 also comprises thecontroller 590. Thecontroller 590 can be coupled to thechamber 510, theshower plate assembly 520, thesubstrate holder 530, thegas supply system 531, theupper electrode 540, thefirst RF match 544, thefirst RF source 546, thetranslation device 550, theESC supply 556, theheater supply 558, thesecond RF match 562, thesecond RF source 560, the purging system 595, theremote plasma device 575, and thepressure control system 580. Thecontroller 590 can be configured to provide control data to these components and receive data such as process data from these components. For example, thecontroller 590 can comprise a microprocessor, a memory, and a digital I/O port capable of generating control voltages sufficient to communicate and activate inputs to theprocessing system 500 as well as monitor outputs from thePECVD system 500. - Moreover, the
controller 590 can exchange information with system components. Also, a program stored in the memory can be utilized to control the aforementioned components of thePECVD system 500 according to a process recipe. In addition,controller 590 can be configured to analyze the process data, to compare the process data with target process data, and to use the comparison to change a process and/or control the deposition tool. Also, thecontroller 590 can be configured to analyze the process data, to compare the process data with historical process data, and to use the comparison to predict, prevent, and/or declare a fault. - During the deposition of a TERA layer, the
substrate 535 can be placed on thetranslatable substrate holder 530. For example, thetranslatable substrate holder 530 can be used to establish the gap between theupper electrode 540 surface and the surface of thetranslatable substrate holder 530. Thegap 504 can range from approximately 10 mm to approximately 200 mm, or alternatively, thegap 504 can range from approximately 20 mm to approximately 80 mm. In alternate embodiments, thegap 504 size can be changed. - During a TERA layer deposition process, a TRF signal can be provided to the
upper electrode 540 using thefirst RF source 544. For example, thefirst RF source 544 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. Alternatively, thefirst RF source 544 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 1 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz., or thefirst RF source 544 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 2 MHz. to approximately 60 MHz. Thefirst RF source 544 can operate in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 10000 watts, or alternatively, thefirst RF source 544 can operate in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 5000 watts - Also, during a TERA layer deposition process, a BRF signal can be provided to the
lower electrode 530 using thesecond RF source 560. For example, thesecond RF source 560 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. Alternatively, thesecond RF source 560 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.2 MHz. to approximately 30 MHz. or the second RF source can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.3 MHz. to approximately 15 MHz. Thesecond RF source 560 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 1000 watts, or alternatively, thesecond RF source 560 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 500 watts. In an alternate embodiment, a BRF signal is not required. - In addition, a process gas can be provided to the
processing chamber 510 using theshower plate assembly 520. For example, process gas can comprise a silicon-containing precursor, a carbon-containing precursor, or oxygen containing gas, or a combination of two or more thereof. An inert gas can also be included. For example, the flow rate for the silicon-containing precursor and the carbon-containing precursor can range from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 5000 sccm and the flow rate for the inert gas can range from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 10000 sccm. The silicon-containing precursor can comprise monosilane (SiH4), tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), monomethylsilane (1 MS), dimethylsilane (2MS), trimethylsilane (3MS), tetramethylsilane (4MS), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (OMCTS), dimethyldimethoxysilane (DMDMOS), or tetramethylcyclotetrasilane (TMCTS), or a combination of two or more thereof. The carbon-containing precursor can comprise CH4, C2H4, C2H2, C6H6, or C6H5OH, or a combination of two or more thereof. The inert gas can comprise argon, helium, or nitrogen, or a combination of two or more thereof. For example, the oxygen containing gas can comprise at O2, CO, NO, N2O, or CO2, or a combination of two or more thereof, and the flow rate can range from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 10000 sccm. - The TERA layer can comprise a material having a refractive index (n) ranging from approximately 1.5 to approximately 2.5 when measured at a wavelength of at least one of 248 nm, 193 nm, or 157 nm, and an extinction coefficient (k) ranging from approximately 0.10 to approximately 0.9 when measured at a wavelength of at least one of 248 nm, 193 nm, or 157 nm. For example, a TERA layer can comprise a SiCOH material, or a SiCH material, or a combination thereof. The TERA layer can comprise a thickness ranging from approximately 30 nm to approximately 500 nm, and the deposition rate can range from approximately 100 Å/min to approximately 10000 Å/min. The TERA layer can comprise one or more layers having different etch-resistance and/or optical properties.
- Furthermore, the chamber pressure and substrate temperature can be controlled during the deposition of the TERA layer. For example, the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 100.0 mTorr, and the substrate temperature can range from approximately 0° C. to approximately 500° C.
-
FIG. 6 illustrates a simplified block diagram for aprocessing system 600 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In the illustrated embodiment, theprocessing system 600 for performing a chemical treatment and a thermal treatment of asubstrate 642 is presented. Theprocessing system 600 comprises achemical treatment system 610, and athermal treatment system 620 coupled to thechemical treatment system 610. Thechemical treatment system 610 comprises achemical treatment chamber 611, which can be temperature-controlled. Thethermal treatment system 620 comprises athermal treatment chamber 621, which can be temperature-controlled. Thechemical treatment chamber 611 and thethermal treatment chamber 621 can be thermally insulated from one another using athermal insulation assembly 630, and vacuum isolated from one another using agate valve assembly 696. - As illustrated in
FIG. 6 , thechemical treatment system 610 further comprises a temperature controlledsubstrate holder 640 configured to be substantially thermally isolated from thechemical treatment chamber 611 and configured to support thesubstrate 642. Avacuum pumping system 650 is coupled to thechemical treatment chamber 611 to evacuate thechemical treatment chamber 611. Agas distribution system 660 is also connected to thechemical treatment chamber 611 for introducing a process gas into aprocess space 662 within thechemical treatment chamber 611. - Also, the
thermal treatment system 620 further comprises a temperature controlledsubstrate holder 670 mounted within thethermal treatment chamber 621. Thesubstrate holder 670 is configured to be substantially thermally insulated from thethermal treatment chamber 621 and is configured to support asubstrate 642′. Avacuum pumping system 680 is used to evacuate thethermal treatment chamber 621. Asubstrate lifter assembly 690 is coupled to thethermal treatment chamber 621. Thelifter assembly 690 can vertically translate thesubstrate 642″ between a holding plane (solid lines) and the substrate holder 670 (dashed lines), or a transfer plane located therebetween. Thethermal treatment chamber 621 can further comprise anupper assembly 684. - Additionally, the
chemical treatment chamber 611,thermal treatment chamber 621, andthermal insulation assembly 630 define acommon opening 694 through which asubstrate 642 can be transferred. During processing, thecommon opening 694 can be sealed closed using thegate valve assembly 696 in order to permit independent processing in the twochambers transfer opening 698 can be formed in thethermal treatment chamber 621 in order to permit substrate exchanges with a transfer system as illustrated inFIG. 1 . For example, a secondthermal insulation assembly 631 can be implemented to thermally insulate thethermal treatment chamber 621 from a transfer system (not shown). Although theopening 698 is illustrated as part of thethermal treatment chamber 621, thetransfer opening 698 can be formed in thechemical treatment chamber 611 and not thethermal treatment chamber 621, or thetransfer opening 698 can be formed in both thechemical treatment chamber 611 and thethermal treatment chamber 621. - As illustrated in
FIG. 6 , thechemical treatment system 610 comprises thesubstrate holder 640 and thesubstrate holder assembly 644 in order to provide several operational functions for thermally controlling and processing thesubstrate 642. Thesubstrate holder 640 and thesubstrate holder assembly 644 can comprise an electrostatic clamping system (or mechanical clamping system) in order to electrically (or mechanically) clamp thesubstrate 642 to thesubstrate holder 640. Furthermore, thesubstrate holder 640 can, for example, further include a cooling system having a re-circulating coolant flow that receives heat from thesubstrate holder 640 and transfers heat to a heat exchanger system (not shown), or when heating, transfers heat from the heat exchanger system. - Moreover, a heat transfer gas can, for example, be delivered to the back-side of the
substrate 642 via a backside gas system to improve the gas-gap thermal conductance between thesubstrate 642 and thesubstrate holder 640. For instance, the heat transfer gas supplied to the back-side of thesubstrate 642 can comprise an inert gas such as helium, argon, xenon, krypton, a process gas, or other gas such as oxygen, nitrogen, or hydrogen. Such a system can be utilized when temperature control of thesubstrate 642 is required at elevated or reduced temperatures. For example, the backside gas system can comprise a multi-zone gas distribution system such as a two-zone (center-edge) system, wherein the back-side gas gap pressure can be independently varied between the center and the edge of thesubstrate 642. In other embodiments, heating/cooling elements, such as resistive heating elements, or thermo-electric heaters/coolers can be included in thesubstrate holder 640, as well as the chamber wall of thechemical treatment chamber 611. - Also, the
substrate holder 640 can further comprise a lift pin assembly (not shown) capable of raising and lowering three or more lift pins (not shown) in order to vertically translate thesubstrate 642 to and from an upper surface of thesubstrate holder 640 and a transfer plane in theprocessing system 600. - In addition, the temperature of the temperature-controlled
substrate holder 640 can be monitored using a temperature sensing device (not shown) such as a thermocouple (e.g. a K-type thermocouple, Pt sensor, etc.). Furthermore, a controller can utilize the temperature measurement as feedback to thesubstrate holder 640 assembly in order to control the temperature ofsubstrate holder 640. For example, a fluid flow rate, fluid temperature, heat transfer gas type, heat transfer gas pressure, clamping force, resistive heater element current or voltage, thermoelectric device current or polarity, or a combination of two or more thereof can be adjusted in order to affect a change in the temperature ofsubstrate holder 640 and/or the temperature of thesubstrate 642. - Referring again to
FIG. 6 ,chemical treatment system 610 comprises agas distribution system 660. In one embodiment, agas distribution system 660 can comprise a showerhead gas injection system (not shown). Thegas distribution system 660 can further comprise one or more gas distribution orifices to distribute a process gas to theprocess space 662 within thechemical treatment chamber 611. Additionally, the process gas can, for example, comprise NH3, HF, H2, O2, CO, CO2, Ar, He, etc. - As shown in
FIG. 6 , thechemical treatment system 620 further comprises the temperature controlledchemical treatment chamber 611 that is maintained at an elevated temperature. For example, awall heating element 666 can be coupled to a walltemperature control unit 668, and thewall heating element 666 can be configured to couple to thechemical treatment chamber 611. Theheating element 666 can, for example, comprise a resistive heater element such as a tungsten, nickel-chromium alloy, aluminum-iron alloy, aluminum nitride, etc., filament. Examples of commercially available materials to fabricate resistive heating elements include Kanthal, Nikrothal, Akrothal, which are registered trademark names for metal alloys produced by Kanthal Corporation of Bethel, Conn. The Kanthal family includes ferritic alloys (FeCrAl) and the Nikrothal family includes austenitic alloys (NiCr, NiCrFe). - When an electrical current flows through the filament, power is dissipated as heat, and, therefore, the wall
temperature control unit 668 can, for example, comprise a controllable DC power supply. For example,wall heating element 666 can comprise at least one Firerod cartridge heater commercially available from Watlow (1310 Kingsland Dr., Batavia, Ill., 60510). A cooling element can also be employed in thechemical treatment chamber 611. The temperature of thechemical treatment chamber 611 can be monitored using a temperature-sensing device such as a thermocouple (e.g. a K-type thermocouple, Pt sensor, etc.). Furthermore, a controller can utilize the temperature measurement as feedback to the walltemperature control unit 668 in order to control the temperature of thechemical treatment chamber 611. - Referring again to
FIG. 6 , thechemical treatment system 610 can further comprise a temperature controlledgas distribution system 660 that can be maintained at any selected temperature. - Furthermore, in
FIG. 6 , thevacuum pumping system 650 is shown that can comprise avacuum pump 652 and agate valve 654 for throttling the chamber pressure. Thevacuum pump 652 can, for example, include a turbo-molecular vacuum pump (TMP) capable of a pumping speed up to 5000 liters per second (and greater). For example, the TMP can be a Seiko STP-A803 vacuum pump, or an Ebara ET1301W vacuum pump. TMPs are useful for low pressure processing, typically less than 50 mTorr. For high pressure (i.e., greater than 100 mTorr) or low throughput processing (i.e., no gas flow), a mechanical booster pump and dry roughing pump can be used. - In one embodiment, the
processing system 600 can be controlled using a controller, such ascontroller 90 inFIG. 1 . In an alternate embodiment, theprocessing system 600 can comprise a controller (not shown) that can be coupled to thechemical treatment system 610 and thethermal treatment system 620. For example, the controller can comprise a processor, memory, and a digital I/O port capable of exchanging information with thechemical treatment system 610 as well as thethermal treatment system 620. - As shown in
FIG. 6 , thethermal treatment system 620 further comprises a temperature controlledsubstrate holder 670. Thesubstrate holder 670 can further comprise aheating element 676 embedded therein and a substrate holdertemperature control unit 678 coupled thereto. Theheating element 676 can, for example, comprise a resistive heater element such as a tungsten, nickel-chromium alloy, aluminum-iron alloy, aluminum nitride, etc., filament. Examples of commercially available materials to fabricate resistive heating elements include Kanthal, Nikrothal, and Akrothal, which are registered trademark names for metal alloys produced by Kanthal Corporation of Bethel, Conn. The Kanthal family includes ferritic alloys (FeCrAl) and the Nikrothal family includes austenitic alloys (NiCr, NiCrFe). - As discussed above, when an electrical current flows through the filament, power is dissipated as heat, and, therefore, the substrate holder
temperature control unit 678 can, for example, comprise a controllable DC power supply. Alternately, the temperature controlledsubstrate holder 670 can, for example, be a cast-in heater commercially available from Watlow (1310 Kingsland Dr., Batavia, Ill., 60510) capable of a maximum operating temperature of 400 to 450 C, or a film heater comprising aluminum nitride materials that is also commercially available from Watlow and capable of operating temperatures as high as 300 C and power densities of up to 23.25 W/cm2. Alternatively, a cooling element can be incorporated in thesubstrate holder 670. - The temperature of the
substrate holder 670 can be monitored using a temperature-sensing device such as a thermocouple (e.g. a K-type thermocouple). Furthermore, a controller can utilize the temperature measurement as feedback to the substrate holdertemperature control unit 678 in order to control the temperature of thesubstrate holder 670. - Referring again to
FIG. 6 , thethermal treatment system 620 can further comprise a temperature controlledthermal treatment chamber 621 that is maintained at a selected temperature. For example, a thermalwall heating element 683 can be coupled to a thermal walltemperature control unit 681, and the thermalwall heating element 683 can be configured to couple to thethermal treatment chamber 621. Theheating element 683 can, for example, comprise a resistive heater element such as a tungsten, nickel-chromium alloy, aluminum-iron alloy, aluminum nitride, etc., filament. Examples of commercially available materials to fabricate resistive heating elements include Kanthal, Nikrothal, Akrothal, which are registered trademark names for metal alloys produced by Kanthal Corporation of Bethel, Conn. The Kanthal family includes ferritic alloys (FeCrAl) and the Nikrothal family includes austenitic alloys (NiCr, NiCrFe). - When an electrical current flows through the filament, power is dissipated as heat, and, therefore, the thermal wall
temperature control unit 681 can, for example, comprise a controllable DC power supply. For example, thermalwall heating element 683 can comprise at least one Firerod cartridge heater commercially available from Watlow (1310 Kingsland Dr., Batavia, Ill., 60510). Alternatively, or in addition, cooling elements may be employed inthermal treatment chamber 621. The temperature of thethermal treatment chamber 621 can be monitored using a temperature-sensing device such as a thermocouple (e.g. a K-type thermocouple, Pt sensor, etc.). Furthermore, a controller can utilize the temperature measurement as feedback to the thermal walltemperature control unit 681 in order to control the temperature of thethermal treatment chamber 621. - In addition,
thermal treatment system 620 can further comprise anupper assembly 684. Theupper assembly 684 can, for example, comprise a gas injection system for introducing a purge gas, process gas, or cleaning gas to thethermal treatment chamber 621. Alternately, thethermal treatment chamber 621 can comprise a gas injection system separate from the upper assembly. For example, a purge gas, process gas, or cleaning gas can be introduced to thethermal treatment chamber 621 through a side-wall thereof. - In an alternate embodiment, the
upper assembly 684 can comprise a radiant heater such as an array of tungsten halogen lamps for heating thesubstrate 642″ positioned on thesubstrate lifter assembly 690. Thethermal treatment system 620 can further comprise a temperature controlledupper assembly 684 that can be maintained at a selected temperature. For example, theupper assembly 684 can comprise a heating element. The temperature of theupper assembly 684 can be monitored using a temperature-sensing device. Furthermore, a controller can utilize the temperature measurement as feedback to control the temperature of theupper assembly 684. Theupper assembly 684 may additionally or alternatively include a cooling element. - Referring again to
FIG. 6 , thethermal treatment system 620 can further comprise asubstrate lifter assembly 690. Thesubstrate lifter assembly 690 can be configured to lower asubstrate 642′ to an upper surface of thesubstrate holder 670, as well as raise asubstrate 642″ from an upper surface of thesubstrate holder 670 to a holding plane, or a transfer plane therebetween. At the transfer plane, thesubstrate 642″ can be exchanged with a transfer system utilized to transfer substrates into and out of the chemical andthermal treatment chambers substrate 642″ can be cooled while another substrate is exchanged between the transfer system and the chemical andthermal treatment chambers - The
thermal treatment system 620 further comprises avacuum pumping system 680. Thevacuum pumping system 680 can, for example, comprise a vacuum pump, and a throttle valve such as a gate valve or butterfly valve. The vacuum pump can, for example, include a turbo-molecular vacuum pump (TMP) capable of a pumping speed up to 5000 liters per second (and greater). TMPs are useful for low pressure processing, typically less than 50 mTorr. For high pressure processing (i.e., greater than 100 mTorr), a mechanical booster pump and dry roughing pump can be used. - In addition, a
gate valve assembly 696 can be utilized to vertically translate a gate valve in order to open and close thecommon opening 694. Thegate valve assembly 696 can vacuum seal thecommon opening 694. - In one embodiment, the
processing system 600 can comprise a chemical oxide removal (COR)system 610 for trimming oxidized features of a TERA layer. Theprocessing system 600 comprises thechemical treatment system 610 for chemically treating exposed surfaces of features on a TERA layer, such as oxidized surfaces, whereby adsorption of the process chemistry on the exposed surfaces of the features on a TERA layer affects chemical alteration of the exposed surfaces. Additionally, theprocessing system 600 comprises thethermal treatment system 620 for thermally treating the substrate, whereby the substrate temperature is elevated in order to desorb (or evaporate) the chemically altered exposed surfaces of the features on a TERA layer. - An exemplary COR process can comprise a number of process steps. For example, the
substrate 642 can be transferred into thechemical treatment system 610 using the substrate transfer system. Thesubstrate 642 can be received by lift pins that are housed within thesubstrate holder 640, and thesubstrate 642 is lowered to thesubstrate holder 640. Thereafter, thesubstrate 642 can be secured to thesubstrate holder 660 using a clamping system, such as an electrostatic clamping system, and a heat transfer gas can be supplied to the backside of thesubstrate 642. - Next, one or more chemical processing parameters for chemical treatment of the
substrate 642 can be established. For example, the one or more chemical processing parameters comprise a chemical treatment processing pressure, a chemical treatment wall temperature, a chemical treatment substrate holder temperature, a chemical treatment substrate temperature, a chemical treatment gas distribution system temperature, or a chemical treatment gas flow rate, or a combination of two or more thereof. Then, thesubstrate 642 can be chemically treated for a first period of time. The first period of time can range from 10 to 480 seconds, for example. - Next, the
substrate 642 can be transferred from thechemical treatment chamber 611 to thethermal treatment chamber 621. During which time, the substrate clamp can be removed, and the flow of heat transfer gas to the backside of thesubstrate 642 can be terminated. Thesubstrate 642 can be vertically lifted from thesubstrate holder 640 to the transfer plane using the lift pin assembly housed within thesubstrate holder 640. The transfer system can receive thesubstrate 642 from the lift pins and can position thesubstrate 642 within thethermal treatment system 620. Therein, thesubstrate lifter assembly 690 receives the substrate 641′, 642″ from the transfer system, and lowers thesubstrate 642′ to thesubstrate holder 670 - Then, the thermal processing parameters for a thermal treatment of the
substrate 642′ can be set. For example, the one or more thermal processing parameters comprise a thermal treatment wall temperature, a thermal treatment upper assembly temperature, a thermal treatment substrate temperature, a thermal treatment substrate holder temperature, a thermal treatment substrate temperature, or a thermal treatment processing pressure, or a combination of two or more thereof. Next, thesubstrate 642′ can be thermally treated for a second period of time. The second period of time can range from 10 to 480 seconds, for example. -
FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a processing subsystem 700 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In the illustrated embodiment, the processing subsystem 700 for performing a number of processes, such as etching, ashing, cleaning, and oxidizing, is presented. In the illustrated embodiment, the processing subsystem 700 can comprise aprocessing chamber 710, anupper assembly 720, agas supply system 750, ashower plate assembly 756, asubstrate holder 730 for supporting asubstrate 705, apressure control system 780, and acontroller 790. - In one embodiment, the processing subsystem 700 can comprise the
pressure control system 780 that can be coupled to theprocessing chamber 710. For example, thepressure control system 780 can comprise a throttle valve (not shown) and a turbomolecular pump (TMP) (not shown) and can provide a controlled pressure in theprocessing chamber 710. In alternate embodiments, the pressure control system 700 can comprise a dry pump. For example, the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 100 mTorr. Alternatively, the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 20 mTorr. - The
processing chamber 710 can facilitate the formation of plasma in aprocess space 702. The processing subsystem 700 can be configured to process substrates of any size, such as 200 mm substrates, 300 mm substrates, or larger substrates. Alternately, the processing subsystem 700 can operate by generating plasma in one or more processing chambers. - The processing subsystem 700 can comprise a
shower plate 758 coupled to gasdistribution system components distribution system component 752 can be coupled to agas distribution system 750. theshower plate 758 can comprise quartz and can be mounted opposite thesubstrate holder 730. theshower plate 758 can comprise one or more distribution regions (not shown). Ashield ring 744 can be used to couple theshower plate 758 to the gasdistribution system component 756.Ceramic insulators distribution system component 756 and theshower plate 758 to theprocessing chamber 710. - The
gas distribution system 750 can provide process gas to the gasdistribution system components shower plate 758. The gas chemistries and flow rates can be individually controlled. - The processing subsystem 700 can comprise an
upper electrode 725 that can be coupled to the gasdistribution system components shower plate 758 and to theprocessing chamber 710. Theupper electrode 725 can comprise temperature control elements (not shown). Theupper electrode 725 can be coupled to afirst RF source 770 using afirst match network 772. Alternately, aseparate match network 772 is not required. - The
first RF source 770 can provide a TRF signal to the upper electrode, and thefirst RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. The TRF signal can be in the frequency range from approximately 1 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz. or alternatively in the frequency range from approximately 10 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz. Thefirst RF source 790 can operate in a power range from approximately 0 watts to approximately 10000 watts, or alternatively thefirst RF source 770 can operate in a power range from approximately 0 watts to approximately 5000 watts. - The
upper electrode 725 and thefirst RF source 770 can be parts of a capacitively coupled plasma source. The capacitively couple plasma source may be replaced with or augmented by other types of plasma sources, such as an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source, a transformer-coupled plasma (TCP) source, a microwave powered plasma source, an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source, a Helicon wave plasma source, and a surface wave plasma source. As is well known in the art, theupper electrode 725 may be eliminated or reconfigured in the various suitable plasma sources. - The
substrate 705 can be, for example, transferred into and out ofprocessing chamber 710 through a slot valve (not shown) and chamber feed-through (not shown) via robotic substrate transfer system (not shown), and it can be received by thesubstrate holder 730. In an alternate embodiment, theprocessing chamber 710 can comprise a translation device (not shown), and when thesubstrate 705 is received from the substrate transfer system, thesubstrate 705 can be raised and/or lowered using a translation device (not shown) that can be coupled to thesubstrate holder 730. - The
substrate 705 can be affixed to thesubstrate holder 730 via anelectrostatic clamping system 764. For example, theelectrostatic clamping system 764 can comprise an electrode and an ESC supply. Clamping voltages that can range from approximately −5000 V to approximately +5000 V, for example, can be provided to the clamping electrode. Alternatively, the clamping voltage can range from approximately −2500 V to approximately +2500 V. In alternate embodiments, an ESC system and supply may be omitted altogether. - The
substrate holder 730 can comprise lift pins (not shown) for lowering and/or raising thesubstrate 705 to and/or from the surface of thesubstrate holder 730. In alternate embodiments, different lifting means can be provided in thesubstrate holder 730. In alternate embodiments, gas can, for example, be delivered to the backside of thesubstrate 705 via a backside gas system to improve the gas-gap thermal conductance between thesubstrate 705 and thesubstrate holder 730. - A temperature control system can also be provided. Such a system can be utilized when temperature control of the substrate is required at elevated or reduced temperatures. For example, temperature control elements (not shown) can be included in the
substrate holder 730, theprocessing chamber 710 and/or theupper assembly 720. - Also, an
electrode 768 can be coupled to asecond RF source 775 using asecond match network 777. Alternately, thematch network 777 may be omitted altogether. - The
second RF source 775 can provide a bottom RF signal (BRF) to thelower electrode 768, and thesecond RF source 775 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. The BRF signal can be in the frequency range from approximately 0.2 MHz. to approximately 30 MHz. or alternatively, in the frequency range from approximately 0.3 MHz. to approximately 15 MHz. Thesecond RF source 775 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 2500 watts, or alternatively, thesecond RF source 775 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 500 watts. In various embodiments, thelower electrode 768 may be not used, or may be the sole source of plasma within the chamber, or may augment any additional plasma source. - Additionally, the
substrate holder 730 can further comprise aquartz focus ring 762 andquartz isolators focus ring 762 and/orquartz isolators - The
processing chamber 710 can further comprise achamber liner 714 and at least oneprotective element 716. For example, theprotective element 716 can comprise a ceramic material, and can be used to protect thesubstrate holder 730 and the wall. In an alternate embodiment, theprotective element 716 may be omitted altogether. - In one embodiment, a gap can be established between the
shower plate 758 and thesubstrate holder 730 using different wall heights for theprocessing chamber 710. For example, a 170 mm gap can be established. In alternate embodiments, different gap sizes can be used. In other embodiments, a translation device (not shown) can be used to provide a variable gap, and the gap can remain fixed or the gap can be changed during a process. - In an alternate embodiment, the
processing chamber 710 can, for example, further comprise a monitoring port (not shown). A monitoring port can, for example, permit optical monitoring of theprocess space 702. - The processing subsystem 700 can also comprise the
controller 790. Thecontroller 790 can be coupled to theprocessing chamber 710, thegas supply system 750, thefirst RF match 772, thefirst RF source 770, the second RF match 787, the second RF source 785, and thepressure control system 780. Thecontroller 790 can be configured to provide control data to these components and receive data such as process data from these components. For example,controller 790 can comprise a microprocessor, a memory, and a digital I/O port capable of generating control voltages sufficient to communicate and activate inputs to the processing system 700 as well as monitor outputs from the processing subsystem 700. - Moreover, the
controller 790 can exchange information with system components. Also, a program stored in the memory can be utilized to control the aforementioned components of the processing subsystem 700 according to a process recipe. In addition,controller 790 can be configured to analyze the process data, to compare the process data with target process data, and to use the comparison to change a process and/or control the deposition tool. Also, thecontroller 790 can be configured to analyze the process data, to compare the process data with historical process data, and to use the comparison to predict, prevent, and/or declare a fault. During the etching of a TERA layer, thesubstrate 705 can be placed on thesubstrate holder 730 in theprocessing chamber 710. For example, theprocessing chamber 710 can be chosen based on the gap size between theupper electrode surface 725 and a surface of thesubstrate holder 730. The gap can range from approximately 10 mm to approximately 200 mm, or alternatively, the gap can range from approximately 150 mm to approximately 190 mm. In alternate embodiments, the gap size can be different. - During a TERA layer etching process, a TRF signal can be provided to the
upper electrode 725 using thefirst RF source 770. For example, thefirst RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. Alternatively, thefirst RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 1 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz., or thefirst RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 20 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz. Thefirst RF source 770 can operate in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 10000 watts, or alternatively, thefirst RF source 770 can operate in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 5000 watts - Also, when etching a TERA layer, a BRF signal can be provided to the
lower electrode 768 using thesecond RF source 775. For example, thesecond RF source 775 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. Alternatively, thesecond RF source 775 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.2 MHz. to approximately 30 MHz, or the second RF source can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.3 MHz. to approximately 15 MHz. Thesecond RF source 775 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 1000 watts, or alternatively, thesecond RF source 775 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 500 watts. In an alternate embodiment, a BRF signal is not required. - In addition, a process gas can be provided to the
processing chamber 710 using theshower plate 758. For example, the process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas and an inert gas. For example, the oxygen-containing gas can comprise O2, CO, NO, N2O, or CO2, or a combination of two or more thereof, and the flow rate can range from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 10000 sccm. The inert gas can comprise argon, helium, or nitrogen, or a combination of two or more thereof, and the flow rate for the inert gas can range from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 10000 sccm. - Furthermore, the chamber pressure and substrate temperature can be controlled during the etching of the TERA layer. For example, the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 100.0 mTorr, and the substrate temperature can range from approximately 0° C. to approximately 500° C.
- During the oxidation of the features of a TERA layer, the substrate can be placed on the
substrate holder 730 in aprocessing chamber 710. For example, theprocessing chamber 710 can be chosen based on the gap size between theupper electrode surface 725 and a surface of thesubstrate holder 730. The gap can range from approximately 10 mm to approximately 200 mm, or alternatively, the gap can range from approximately 150 mm to approximately 190 mm. In alternate embodiments, the gap size can be selected from a wide variety of predetermined values. - During the oxidation of the features of a TERA layer, a TRF signal can be provided to the
upper electrode 725 using thefirst RF source 770. For example, thefirst RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. Alternatively, thefirst RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 1 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz. or thefirst RF source 770 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 20 MHz. to approximately 100 MHz. Thefirst RF source 770 can operate in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 10000 watts, or alternatively, thefirst RF source 770 can operate in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 5000 watts - Also, when oxidizing the features of a TERA layer, a BRF signal can be provided to the
lower electrode 768 using thesecond RF source 775. For example, thesecond RF source 775 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. Alternatively, thesecond RF source 775 can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.2 MHz. to approximately 30 MHz. or the second RF source can operate in a frequency range from approximately 0.3 MHz. to approximately 15 MHz. Thesecond RF source 775 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 1000 watts, or alternatively, thesecond RF source 775 can operate in a power range from approximately 0.0 watts to approximately 500 watts. In an alternate embodiment, a BRF signal is not required. - In addition, when oxidizing the features of a TERA layer, a process gas can be provided to the
processing chamber 710 using theshower plate 758. For example, the process gas can comprise an oxygen-containing gas and/or an inert gas. For example, the oxygen containing gas can comprise O2, CO, NO, N2O, or CO2, or a combination of two or more thereof, and the flow rate can range from approximately 0.0 sccm to approximately 10000 sccm. The inert gas can comprise argon, helium, or nitrogen, or a combination of two or more thereof, and the flow rate for the inert gas can range from approximately 0 sccm to approximately 10000 sccm. Furthermore, the chamber pressure and substrate temperature can be controlled when oxidizing the features of a TERA layer. For example, the chamber pressure can range from approximately 0.1 mTorr to approximately 100.0 Torr, and the substrate temperature can range from approximately 0° C. to approximately 500° C. - Although only certain embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention.
- Thus, the description is not intended to limit the invention and the configuration, operation, and behavior of the present invention has been described with the understanding that modifications and variations of the embodiments are possible, given the level of detail present herein. Accordingly, the preceding detailed description is not meant or intended to, in any way, limit the invention—rather the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. Moreover, where list are provided herein, those lists are intended to be exemplary only. Being open-ended, the list is not meant to limit the scope of the invention solely to the specific embodiments enumerated. To the contrary, as should be appreciated by those skilled in the art, further components, stages, arrangements, etc. may be easily added or substituted without departing from the intended scope of the invention.
Claims (10)
1. A system for processing a Tunable Etch Rate ARC (TERA) layer on a substrate, comprising:
a processing subsystem for depositing the TERA layer on the substrate using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system;
a processing subsystem for creating features in the TERA layer using an etching system; and
a processing subsystem for reducing the size of the features in the TERA layer.
2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a substrate holder in a processing chamber in the PECVD system; and
means for providing a process gas to the processing chamber, wherein the process gas comprises an inert gas and a silicon-containing precursor, or a carbon-containing precursor, or a combination thereof.
3. The system of claim 2 , further comprising:
an upper electrode coupled to the processing chamber; and
a translation device coupled to the substrate holder for establishing a gap between an upper electrode surface and a surface of the substrate holder.
4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the gap ranges from approximately 10 mm to approximately 200 mm.
5. The system of claim 2 , further comprising:
a first RF source coupled to the upper electrode, wherein the first RF source operates in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. and operates in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 10000 watts.
6. The system of claim 5 , further comprising:
a second RF source coupled to the substrate holder, wherein the second RF source operates in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. and operates in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 10000 watts.
7. The system of claim 2 , further comprising:
an RF source coupled to the substrate holder, wherein the RF source operates in a frequency range from approximately 0.1 MHz. to approximately 200 MHz. and operates in a power range from approximately 10 watts to approximately 10000 watts.
8. The system of claim 2 , wherein the silicon-containing precursor comprises monosilane (SiH4), tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), monomethylsilane (1 MS), dimethylsilane (2MS), trimethylsilane (3MS), tetramethylsilane (4MS), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (OMCTS), dimethyldimethoxysilane (DMDMOS), or tetramethylcyclotetrasilane (TMCTS), or a combination of two or more thereof.
9. The system of claim 2 , wherein the carbon-containing precursor comprises CH4, C2H4, C2H2, C6H6, or C6H5OH, or a combination of two or more thereof.
10. The system of claim 2 , wherein the first process gas includes an inert gas comprising argon, helium, or and nitrogen, or a combination of two or more thereof.
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US7097779B2 (en) | 2006-08-29 |
KR20070032938A (en) | 2007-03-23 |
JP2008506255A (en) | 2008-02-28 |
KR101114615B1 (en) | 2012-03-05 |
JP4842263B2 (en) | 2011-12-21 |
CN1973358B (en) | 2010-05-12 |
WO2006014193A1 (en) | 2006-02-09 |
CN1973358A (en) | 2007-05-30 |
TWI278018B (en) | 2007-04-01 |
US20060006136A1 (en) | 2006-01-12 |
TW200616039A (en) | 2006-05-16 |
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