TEOS based plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process for deposition of silicon dioxide films.

Claim 2

A semiconductor processing reactor comprising: a housing defining a chamber for mounting a wafer horizontally and including a horizontal, inlet gas manifold over the wafer mounting position for supplying reactant gases to a wafer at the mounting position; a gas distributor plate mounted peripherally about the wafer mounting position within the chamber, the plate including a circular array of exhaust holes therein; a vacuum exhaust pumps means; and wherein the housing also includes a circular channel beneath and communicating with the hole array and having an exhaust port connected to the vacuum exhaust pump means for flowing said gases radially across the wafer through the exhaust port, the channel volume providing conductance sufficient to enable controlled radial gas flow across the wafer to the exhaust holes.

Claim 3

A semiconductor processing reactor comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein for mounting a wafer horizontally; vacuum exhaust pumping means communicating with the chamber; a horizontal inlet gas manifold oriented horizontally over the wafer mounting position for supplying reactant gases to a wafer at the mounting position; the manifold also comprising a first central array of holes for dispensing the reactant gas downward to the wafer and a second peripheral array of holes for directing purging gas downward to the periphery of the wafer, the first and second arrays of holes each comprising a number of generally concentric rings with the first central array having random within-ring hole spacing for controlling the number of radially aligned holes and the second peripheral array having a radially staggered pattern to ensure no ring-to-ring alignment of holes.

Claim 4

A semiconductor processing reactor comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein for mounting a wafer horizontally; vacuum exhaust pumping means communicating with the chamber; a horizontal inlet gas manifold oriented horizontally over the wafer mounting position for supplying reactant gases to a wafer at the mounting position; the manifold also comprising a first central array of holes for dispensing the reactant gas downward to the wafer and a second peripheral array of holes for directing purging gas downward to the periphery of the wafer, the first and second arrays of holes each comprising a number of generally concentric rings with the first central array having random within-ring hole spacing for controlling the number of radially aligned holes and the second peripheral array having a radially staggered pattern to ensure no ring-to-ring alignment of holes.

Claim 5

The reactor of Claim 2, the manifold further comprising an internal plate for directing internal flow radially inwardly to the first, central array of holes.

Claim 6

The reactor of Claim 2, including means for circulating cooling fluid within the manifold for maintaining the internal surfaces within a selected temperature range and for maintaining the external wafer-adjacent surface above a selected temperature range.

Claim 7

A semiconductor processing reactor comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein including a horizontal inlet gas manifold oriented horizontally for supplying reactant gases to process a wafer within the chamber; the housing further including a susceptor for supporting a wafer; susceptor support means for mounting the susceptor in a horizontal position; and means for selectively moving the wafer support means vertically for positioning the susceptor and wafer parallel to the gas manifold at selected positions closely adjacent the gas manifold.

Claim 8

A semiconductor processing reactor comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein including a horizontal inlet gas manifold oriented horizontally for supplying reactant gases to process a wafer within the chamber; the housing further including a susceptor for supporting a wafer; susceptor support means for mounting the susceptor in a horizontal position; and means for selectively moving the wafer support means vertically for positioning the susceptor and wafer parallel to the gas manifold at selected positions closely adjacent the gas manifold.

Claim 9

The reactor of Claim 5, wherein the parallel spacing between the gas manifold and the susceptor and wafer is less than about one centimeter.

Claim 10

A semiconductor processing reactor adapted for single step and in-situ multiple step processing sequences selected from thermal chemical vapor deposition, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, plasma-assisted etchback, plasma self-cleaning and topography modification by sputtering with uniform wafer processing over a wide range of high pressure ≦ one atmosphere, comprising: a housing defining a chamber for mounting a wafer for processing at a selected position therein; a first gas inlet manifold positioned above the wafer mounting position, the manifold having a center gas outlet region adapted for directing reactant gases downwardly to the wafer and an outer peripheral region adapted for directing purging gas toward the wafer periphery; a second gas inlet manifold located at the bottom of the chamber and adapted for directing purging gas upwardly across and across the wafer; means for circulating fluid at a controlled temperature within the first gas inlet manifold for maintaining the internal surfaces within a selected temperature range for preventing condensation, decomposition and reaction of said gases therein and for maintaining the external wafer adjacent surface above a selected temperature range for suppressing unwanted deposition thereon; a radial gas flow pumping means comprising vacuum exhaust pump means gas distributor plate mounted peripherally about the wafer mounting position within the chamber, the plate including a circular array of exhaust holes therein; a circular channel formed on the chamber communicating with the exhaust holes and having an exhaust port connected to the vacuum exhaust pump means for flowing said undeposited deposition gases radially across the wafer through the exhaust port, said channel volume providing conductance sufficient to enable controlled radial gas flow across the wafer to the exhaust holes; a thin high emissivity susceptor; movable susceptor support means mounting the susceptor in a horizontal position and adapted for moving vertically for selectively positioning the susceptor and wafer positioned thereon parallel to the gas manifold at selected positions closely adjacent the gas manifold; a transparent window forming the bottom of the chamber; radiant heating means mounted to the housing beneath the window comprising near-infrared lamps and a circular reflector module mounting the lamps in a circular array for directing a collimated beam of radiant energy through the quartz window onto the susceptor with an incident power density substantially higher at the edge of the susceptor than at the center thereof; and a gas feed-through device connected to the first manifold, comprising tube means having inlet and outlet ends and being adapted for providing coaxial flow of deposition gas on the inside thereof and purge gas on the outside thereof into the first manifold, the tube means being adapted for connection to ground at an inlet end and to an RF power supply at the outlet or manifold end for supplying RF power to the gas inlet manifold, and the tube means also having a controlled electrical impedance along its length for establishing a constant voltage gradient along said length to prevent breakdown of the gas therein.

Claim 11

A semiconductor processing reactor adapted for single step and in-situ multiple step processing sequences selected from thermal chemical vapor deposition, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, plasma-assisted etchback, plasma self-cleaning and topography modification by sputtering with uniform wafer processing over a wide range of high pressure ≦ one atmosphere, comprising: a housing defining a chamber for mounting a wafer for processing at a selected position therein; a first gas inlet manifold positioned above the wafer mounting position, the manifold having a center gas outlet region adapted for directing reactant gases downwardly to the wafer and an outer peripheral region adapted for directing purging gas toward the wafer periphery; a second gas inlet manifold located at the bottom of the chamber and adapted for directing purging gas upwardly across and across the wafer; means for circulating fluid at a controlled temperature within the first gas inlet manifold for maintaining the internal surfaces within a selected temperature range for preventing condensation, decomposition and reaction of said gases therein and for maintaining the external wafer adjacent surface above a selected temperature range for suppressing unwanted deposition thereon; a radial gas flow pumping means comprising vacuum exhaust pump means gas distributor plate mounted peripherally about the wafer mounting position within the chamber, the plate including a circular array of exhaust holes therein; a circular channel formed on the chamber communicating with the exhaust holes and having an exhaust port connected to the vacuum exhaust pump means for flowing said undeposited deposition gases radially across the wafer through the exhaust port, said channel volume providing conductance sufficient to enable controlled radial gas flow across the wafer to the exhaust holes; a thin high emissivity susceptor; movable susceptor support means mounting the susceptor in a horizontal position and adapted for moving vertically for selectively positioning the susceptor and wafer positioned thereon parallel to the gas manifold at selected positions closely adjacent the gas manifold; a transparent window forming the bottom of the chamber; radiant heating means mounted to the housing beneath the window comprising near-infrared lamps and a circular reflector module mounting the lamps in a circular array for directing a collimated beam of radiant energy through the quartz window onto the susceptor with an incident power density substantially higher at the edge of the susceptor than at the center thereof; and a gas feed-through device connected to the first manifold, comprising tube means having inlet and outlet ends and being adapted for providing coaxial flow of deposition gas on the inside thereof and purge gas on the outside thereof into the first manifold, the tube means being adapted for connection to ground at an inlet end and to an RF power supply at the outlet or manifold end for supplying RF power to the gas inlet manifold, and the tube means also having a controlled electrical impedance along its length for establishing a constant voltage gradient along said length to prevent breakdown of the gas therein.

Claim 12

A semiconductor processing reactor comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein adapted for the gas chemistry processing of a wafer within the chamber; a transparent window forming the bottom of the chamber; and a thin, high emissivity susceptor positioned within said chamber for supporting a wafer; said housing further comprising: radiant heating means mounted to the housing beneath the window, comprising: a circular array of lamps and a reflector module having an annular reflecting channel therein aligned with the periphery of the susceptor, the reflector module mounting the lamps in a general vertical orientation in a circular array within the channel for directing a substantially collimated beam of radiant energy from the lamps through the quartz window onto the susceptor with an incident power density substantially higher at the edge of the susceptor than at the center thereof.

Claim 13

A semiconductor processing reactor comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein adapted for the gas chemistry processing of a wafer within the chamber; a transparent window forming the bottom of the chamber; and a thin, high emissivity susceptor positioned within said chamber for supporting a wafer; said housing further comprising: radiant heating means mounted to the housing beneath the window, comprising: a circular array of lamps and a reflector module having an annular reflecting channel therein aligned with the periphery of the susceptor, the reflector module mounting the lamps in a general vertical orientation in a circular array within the channel for directing a substantially collimated beam of radiant energy from the lamps through the quartz window onto the susceptor with an incident power density substantially higher at the edge of the susceptor than at the center thereof.

Claim 14

The reactor of Claim 8, the radiant energy supplied by the lamps being concentrated substantially in the wavelength range of about 0.7 to 2.5 microns.

Claim 15

The reactor of Claim 9, the radiant energy supplied by the lamps being concentrated at a peak emission wavelength of approximately 0.9 to 1.5 microns.

Claim 16

The reactor of Claim 9, wherein the susceptor is selected from graphite, aluminum, ceramic and composites thereof.

Claim 17

A semiconductor processing reactor comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein adapted for the gas chemistry processing of a wafer within the chamber; said housing further including: a first gas inlet manifold positioned above the wafer and a second gas inlet manifold located at the bottom of the chamber, the first manifold having a center region adapted for directing deposition gas downwardly to the wafer and an outer peripheral region adapted for directing purging gas downwardly to the wafer periphery, and the second manifold being adapted for directing purging gas upwardly to the wafer periphery; and means for exhausting undeposited gases radially away from the wafer.

Claim 18

A semiconductor processing reactor comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein adapted for the gas chemistry processing of a wafer within the chamber; said housing further including: a first gas inlet manifold positioned above the wafer and a second gas inlet manifold located at the bottom of the chamber, the first manifold having a center region adapted for directing deposition gas downwardly to the wafer and an outer peripheral region adapted for directing purging gas downwardly to the wafer periphery, and the second manifold being adapted for directing purging gas upwardly to the wafer periphery; and means for exhausting undeposited gases radially away from the wafer.

Claim 19

The reactor of Claim 11, the reactor being adapted for operation at pressure of ≦ 760 torr.

Claim 20

The chemical vapor deposition reactor of Claim 12, adapted for operation at a pressure of 0.1 to 200 torr.

Claim 21

The reactor of Claim 12 or 13, the first gas inlet manifold having temperature controlled inner and outer surfaces for enhancing control of deposition within the chamber and preventing deposition within the manifold.

Claim 22

A chemical vapor deposition reactor, comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein adapted for the chemical vapor deposition of a wafer within the chamber; a gas inlet manifold for supplying at least deposition gas to the chamber, the gas inlet manifold comprising temperature controlled inner and outer surfaces for enhancing control of deposition within the chamber and preventing deposition within the manifold.

Claim 23

A chemical vapor deposition reactor, comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein adapted for the chemical vapor deposition of a wafer within the chamber; a gas inlet manifold for supplying at least deposition gas to the chamber, the gas inlet manifold comprising temperature controlled inner and outer surfaces for enhancing control of deposition within the chamber and preventing deposition within the manifold.

Claim 24

A chemical vapor deposition reactor, comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein and being adapted for the chemical vapor deposition of a layer on a wafer within the chamber, and including a gas inlet manifold for supplying deposition gases to the chamber and an RF power supply and matching for forming a deposition gas plasma within the chamber to deposit the layer on the wafer; and the housing further including a combined RF/gas feed-through device connected to the gas inlet manifold and comprising: tube means having inlet and outlet ends and being adapted for providing co-axial flow of deposition gas on the inside thereof and purge gas on the outside thereof into the gas inlet manifold, the tube means being adapted for connection to ground at the inlet end and to an RF power supply at the outlet or manifold end, and the tube means also having a controlled electrical impedance along its length for establishing a constant voltage gradient along said length to prevent breakdown of the gas.

Claim 25

A chemical vapor deposition reactor, comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein and being adapted for the chemical vapor deposition of a layer on a wafer within the chamber, and including a gas inlet manifold for supplying deposition gases to the chamber and an RF power supply and matching for forming a deposition gas plasma within the chamber to deposit the layer on the wafer; and the housing further including a combined RF/gas feed-through device connected to the gas inlet manifold and comprising: tube means having inlet and outlet ends and being adapted for providing co-axial flow of deposition gas on the inside thereof and purge gas on the outside thereof into the gas inlet manifold, the tube means being adapted for connection to ground at the inlet end and to an RF power supply at the outlet or manifold end, and the tube means also having a controlled electrical impedance along its length for establishing a constant voltage gradient along said length to prevent breakdown of the gas.

Claim 26

The chemical vapor deposition reactor of Claim 17, the gas inlet manifold having temperature controlled inner and outer surfaces suppressing unwanted deposition on the outer surfaces and preventing condensation and deposition within the manifold.

Claim 27

The chemical vapor deposition reactor of Claim 17 or 18, said gas inlet manifold having a center region adapted for directing deposition gas downwardly to the wafer and an outer peripheral region adapted for directing purging gas downwardly to the wafer periphery; and said adaptation further including: a second gas manifold adapted for directing purging gas upwardly to the wafer periphery; and means for exhausting said combined purging and undeposited process gases radially away from said wafer periphery.

Claim 28

The chemical vapor deposition reactor of Claim 17, 18 or 19: a transparent window forming the bottom of the chamber; a thin, high emissivity susceptor positioned within the chamber for supporting a wafer; radiant heating mounted to the housing beneath the window, comprising: a circular array of lamps and a reflector module having an annular reflecting channel therein aligned with the periphery of the susceptor, the reflector module mounting said lamps in a general vertical orientation in a circular array within the channel for directing a substantially collimated beam of radiant energy from the lamps through the quartz window onto the susceptor with an incident power density substantially higher at the edge of the susceptor than at the center thereof; and means for internally cooling the reflector module.

Claim 29

A semiconductor processing reactor comprising a housing defining a vacuum chamber therein adapted for the chemical vapor deposition of a layer on a wafer positioned within the chamber, the housing having a closable opening therein for receiving a wafer-holder blade to insert the wafer into the chamber and remove the wafer from the chamber; said adaptation further comprising: a first, vertically movable, generally circular horizontal array of fingers adapted for holding the wafer; a second, vertically movable, generally circular horizontal array of fingers interdigitated with the first fingers, the second fingers being adapted for holding a thin generally circular susceptor in a horizontal orientation; a first vertically movable elevator mechanism mounting the first fingers and for moving the first fingers (a) upwardly to lift the wafer off the blade preparatory to lifting movement of the second fingers into a processing position and (b) downwardly to return the wafer to the blade; and a second, vertically movable elevator mechanism mounting the second fingers for moving the second fingers (c) upwardly past the first fingers to lift the wafer therefrom and onto the susceptor and into the said processing position, and (d) downwardly for depositing the processed wafer onto the first fingers preparatory to return by the first fingers to the blade.

Claim 30

A semiconductor processing reactor comprising a housing defining a vacuum chamber therein adapted for the chemical vapor deposition of a layer on a wafer positioned within the chamber, the housing having a closable opening therein for receiving a wafer-holder blade to insert the wafer into the chamber and remove the wafer from the chamber; said adaptation further comprising: a first, vertically movable, generally circular horizontal array of fingers adapted for holding the wafer; a second, vertically movable, generally circular horizontal array of fingers interdigitated with the first fingers, the second fingers being adapted for holding a thin generally circular susceptor in a horizontal orientation; a first vertically movable elevator mechanism mounting the first fingers and for moving the first fingers (a) upwardly to lift the wafer off the blade preparatory to lifting movement of the second fingers into a processing position and (b) downwardly to return the wafer to the blade; and a second, vertically movable elevator mechanism mounting the second fingers for moving the second fingers (c) upwardly past the first fingers to lift the wafer therefrom and onto the susceptor and into the said processing position, and (d) downwardly for depositing the processed wafer onto the first fingers preparatory to return by the first fingers to the blade.

Claim 31

A chemical vapor deposition reactor system, comprising: a housing forming a vacuum chamber, said housing having a first horizontal gas manifold adapted for introducing reaction gas into the chamber; a first, vertically movable elevator mechanism; a first, vertically movable, generally circular horizontal array of fingers adapted for holding the wafer; a second, vertically movable elevator mechanism; a second, vertically movable, generally circular horizontal array of fingers interdigitated with the first fingers, the second fingers being adapted for holding a thin generally circular susceptor in a horizontal orientation; a first vertically movable elevator mechanism mounting the first fingers for moving the first fingers (a) upwardly to lift the wafer off the blade preparatory to lifting movement of the second fingers into a processing position and (b) downwardly to return the wafer to the blade; and a second, vertically movable elevator mechanism mounting the second fingers for moving the second fingers (c) upwardly past the first fingers to lift the wafer therefrom and onto the susceptor and into the said processing position, and (d) downwardly for depositing the processed wafer onto the first fingers preparatory to return by the first fingers to the blade; the bottom of said chamber comprising a transparent quartz window; radiant heating means mounted to the housing beneath the window and comprising a circular array of quartz-tungsten-halogen lamps and a reflector module having an annular reflecting channel therein aligned with the periphery of the horizontal susceptor, the reflector module mounting the lamps in a general vertical orientation in a circular array within the channel, for directing a substantially-collimated beam of near-IR radiant energy from the lamps through the quartz window onto the susceptor with a power density substantially higher at the edge of the susceptor than at the center thereof; the manifold comprising a first central array of holes for dispensing deposition gas, and further comprising a second peripheral array of holes for directing purging gas downward to the periphery of the wafer; the first and second arrays of holes each comprising a number of generally concentric rings with the first central array having random hole spacing within each ring for controlling the number of radially aligned holes; and the second peripheral array having an approximately equal number of holes in each ring arranged in a radially staggered pattern free of ring-to-ring radial alignment of holes; an annular second inlet manifold positioned around the bottom of the chamber adjacent the quartz window for directing purge gas into the chamber; an annular exhaust channel defined within the housing about the periphery of the wafer deposition position; vacuum mean couples to the annular exhaust chamber for applying a vacuum to the chamber, whereby application of said vacuum and application of purge gas to the first and second manifolds causes a first purge gas flow downwardly from the first manifold to the outer periphery of the wafer and a second purge gas flow from the second manifold sweeping across the quartz window, then upwardly past the bottom edge of the wafer, said two flows merging and flowing out of the chamber, thereby removing spent deposition gas and entrained products; the susceptor being connected to ground; and the reactor also comprising a deposition gas feed-through device connected to the first manifold, comprising: tube means having inlet and outlet ends and being adapted for providing co-axial flow of deposition gas on the inside thereof and purge gas on the outside thereof into the first manifold, the tube means being adapted for connection to ground at the inlet end and to an RF supply at the outlet or manifold end, and the tube means also having a controlled electrical impedance along its length for establishing a constant voltage gradient along said length to prevent breakdown of the gas therein.

Claim 32

A chemical vapor deposition reactor system, comprising: a housing forming a vacuum chamber, said housing having a first horizontal gas manifold adapted for introducing reaction gas into the chamber; a first, vertically movable elevator mechanism; a first, vertically movable, generally circular horizontal array of fingers adapted for holding the wafer; a second, vertically movable elevator mechanism; a second, vertically movable, generally circular horizontal array of fingers interdigitated with the first fingers, the second fingers being adapted for holding a thin generally circular susceptor in a horizontal orientation; a first vertically movable elevator mechanism mounting the first fingers for moving the first fingers (a) upwardly to lift the wafer off the blade preparatory to lifting movement of the second fingers into a processing position and (b) downwardly to return the wafer to the blade; and a second, vertically movable elevator mechanism mounting the second fingers for moving the second fingers (c) upwardly past the first fingers to lift the wafer therefrom and onto the susceptor and into the said processing position, and (d) downwardly for depositing the processed wafer onto the first fingers preparatory to return by the first fingers to the blade; the bottom of said chamber comprising a transparent quartz window; radiant heating means mounted to the housing beneath the window and comprising a circular array of quartz-tungsten-halogen lamps and a reflector module having an annular reflecting channel therein aligned with the periphery of the horizontal susceptor, the reflector module mounting the lamps in a general vertical orientation in a circular array within the channel, for directing a substantially-collimated beam of near-IR radiant energy from the lamps through the quartz window onto the susceptor with a power density substantially higher at the edge of the susceptor than at the center thereof; the manifold comprising a first central array of holes for dispensing deposition gas, and further comprising a second peripheral array of holes for directing purging gas downward to the periphery of the wafer; the first and second arrays of holes each comprising a number of generally concentric rings with the first central array having random hole spacing within each ring for controlling the number of radially aligned holes; and the second peripheral array having an approximately equal number of holes in each ring arranged in a radially staggered pattern free of ring-to-ring radial alignment of holes; an annular second inlet manifold positioned around the bottom of the chamber adjacent the quartz window for directing purge gas into the chamber; an annular exhaust channel defined within the housing about the periphery of the wafer deposition position; vacuum mean couples to the annular exhaust chamber for applying a vacuum to the chamber, whereby application of said vacuum and application of purge gas to the first and second manifolds causes a first purge gas flow downwardly from the first manifold to the outer periphery of the wafer and a second purge gas flow from the second manifold sweeping across the quartz window, then upwardly past the bottom edge of the wafer, said two flows merging and flowing out of the chamber, thereby removing spent deposition gas and entrained products; the susceptor being connected to ground; and the reactor also comprising a deposition gas feed-through device connected to the first manifold, comprising: tube means having inlet and outlet ends and being adapted for providing co-axial flow of deposition gas on the inside thereof and purge gas on the outside thereof into the first manifold, the tube means being adapted for connection to ground at the inlet end and to an RF supply at the outlet or manifold end, and the tube means also having a controlled electrical impedance along its length for establishing a constant voltage gradient along said length to prevent breakdown of the gas therein.

Claim 35

The method of Claim 23, further comprising the steps of removing the wafer from the chamber by lowering the susceptor support fingers to deposit the wafer onto the wafer support finger; inserting the wafer support blade into the chamber to the selected positions; lowering the wafer support fingers to deposit the wafer onto the wafer blade; and retracting the wafer support blade with the wafer thereon from the chamber.

Claim 36

The method of Claim 24, the wafer support fingers and susceptor support fingers being automatically left in position for the next wafer insertion sequence.

Claim 41

The method of Claim 27, the substrate temperature being about 375°C.

Claim 42

The method of Claim 27 or 28, the chamber pressure being approximately 40 torr to 120 torr.

Claim 43

The method of Claim 27, further comprising applying purging gas flow to the chamber to confine the deposition plasma to the substrate.

Claim 44

The method of Claim 27, further comprising applying purging gas flow upwardly and downwardly toward the substrate and then radially outwardly for confining the deposition plasma to the substrate.

Claim 45

In a method for depositing silicon dioxide onto a substrate by exposing the substrate to a plasma formed from the gas flow of tetraethylorthosilicate, oxygen, a carrier gas, the improvement comprising the step of exposing said substrate to said plasma in a chamber wherein the total gas pressure is in the range of about 1 to 50 torr, the temperature is in the range of about 200°C to 500°C and the flow path of said plasma in the chamber to the surface of said substrate is less than about 1 centimeter.

Claim 46

In a method for depositing silicon dioxide onto a substrate by exposing the substrate to a plasma formed from the gas flow of tetraethylorthosilicate, oxygen, a carrier gas, the improvement comprising the step of exposing said substrate to said plasma in a chamber wherein the total gas pressure is in the range of about 1 to 50 torr, the temperature is in the range of about 200°C to 500°C and the flow path of said plasma in the chamber to the surface of said substrate is less than about 1 centimeter.

Claim 47

The method of Claim 32, the gas flow further comprising a diluent gas such as helium.

Claim 48

The method of Claim 32, the pressure being about 8-12 torr and the substrate temperature being about 375°C ± 20°C.

Claim 49

The method of Claim 32, further comprising applying purging gas flow to the chamber to confine the deposition plasma to the substrate.

Claim 50

The method of Claim 32, further comprising applying purging gas flow upwardly and downwardly toward the substrate and then radially outwardly for confining the deposition plasma to the substrate.

Claim 53

The method of Claim 37, the chamber pressure being within the range of about 200 mT to 20 torr.

Claim 54

The method of Claim 38, the chamber pressure being within the range 500 mT to 10 torr.

Claim 57

The method of Claim 40, the substrate temperature being about 375°C ± 20°C and the chamber pressure being 40-120 torr.

Claim 58

The method of Claim 40 or 41, wherein the underlying coating is selected from silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride and polysilicon.

Claim 59

The method of Claim 40 or 41, wherein the underlying coating is silicon dioxide.

Claim 66

The method of Claim 46, wherein the first step uses a chamber pressure of about 8-10 torr and a substrate temperature of about 375°C ± 20°C.

Claim 67

The method of Claim 46 or 47, wherein the second step uses a chamber pressure of about 40 torr to 120 torr and a substrate temperature of about 375°C ± 20°C.

Claim 68

The process of Claim 48, wherein the third step uses a chamber pressure of about 500 millitorr to 10 torr and a substrate temperature of about 375°C ± 20°C.

Claim 69

The method of Claim 46, further comprising: prior to the first step of Claim 18, depositing on the substrate a relatively thin protective silicon dioxide layer by exposing the substrate to a reactive species formed from tetraethylorthosilicate, ozone, oxygen and a carrier gas in said chamber at a total pressure within the range of about 10 torr to 200 torr and a temperature in the range of about 200°C to 500°C; and between said second and third steps of Claim 18, depositing a relatively thick layer of silicon dioxide onto the conformal oxide formed during the second step of Claim 18 by exposing the deposit to a plasma formed from tetraethylorthosilicate, oxygen and a carrier gas in a chamber wherein the total gas pressure is in the range of about 1 torr to 50 torr and the temperature is in the range of about 200°C to 500°C.

Claim 70

The method of Claim 45, further comprising the third step of forming a layer of silicon dioxide onto the deposit resulting from Claim 17 by exposing to a plasma formed from tetraethylorthosilicate, oxygen and a carrier gas in a chamber wherein the total gas pressure is in the range of about 1 torr to 50 torr and the temperature is in the range of about 200°C to 500°C.

Claim 73

The method of Claim 28, 33 or 38, further comprising the step of self-cleaning the chamber comprising applying etching gas to the chamber at a pressure of about 50 mT to 10 torr and RF power density of about 1 to 2 watts/cm² applied between the gas manifold and wafer support.