EP0303508A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Inlet manifold and methods for increasing gas dissociation and for PECVD of dielectric films
Assignee: Applied Materials Inc
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Filing: 1988-08-12
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2008-08-12
Abstract
Abstract An inlet gas manifold (11) for a vacuum deposition chamber (10) incorporates inlet apertures (31) which increase in diameter or cross-section transverse to the direction of gas flow (22). The aperture configuration increases the dissociation gases such as nitrogen and, thus increases the rate of silicon nitride deposition provided by nitrogen gas chemistry, without requiring the use of reactants such as ammonia. While one could use ammonia in the deposition gas chemistry if desired, the process provides the option of completely eliminating ammonia The inlet manifold (11) containing the increasing-diameter gas inlet holes (31) provides enhanced control of the process and the deposited film, and is also useful for forming other dielectrics such as silicon oxide and silicon oxynitride. In particular, silicon oxynitride films are characterized by low hydrogen content and by compositional uniformity.
Inventors
- 👤 Mei Chang
- 👤 John M. White
- 👤 David Nin-Kou Wang
- 👤 Dan Maydan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 20:32
CPC Classifications
C; C23; C23C; C23C16/00; C23C16/44; C23C16/455; C23C16/45563; C23C16/45565; C23C16/22; C23C16/30; C23C16/34; C23C16/345; C23C16/50; C23C16/505; C23C16/509; C23C16/5096
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
62 words
In an RF vacuum deposition chamber system, a gas inlet manifold having a face plate having a plurality of holes therein, characterized by each hole comprising an outlet at the processing side of the face plate and an inlet spaced from the processing side, said outlet being larger than said inlet, for increasing the dissociation of the gas passing through the aperture.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
62 words
In an RF vacuum deposition chamber system, a gas inlet manifold having a face plate having a plurality of holes therein, characterized by each hole comprising an outlet at the processing side of the face plate and an inlet spaced from the processing side, said outlet being larger than said inlet, for increasing the dissociation of the gas passing through the aperture.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
118 words
An improved process for depositing a material on a substrate, within an RF vacuum chamber, characterized by the material being selected from silicon oxide, silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride and comprising providing a gas manifold closely adjacent said substrate, said manifold having holes formed therein having a gas inlet end and also a gas outlet end opening into said chamber, said outlet end being larger than said inlet end; and applying RF energy to the chamber at the face plate while communicating a reactant gas flow comprising gases selected from SiH₄, N₂ and N₂O to the inlet hole to form a plasma at the chamber side of the face plate for depositing said selected material on the substrate.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
118 words
An improved process for depositing a material on a substrate, within an RF vacuum chamber, characterized by the material being selected from silicon oxide, silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride and comprising providing a gas manifold closely adjacent said substrate, said manifold having holes formed therein having a gas inlet end and also a gas outlet end opening into said chamber, said outlet end being larger than said inlet end; and applying RF energy to the chamber at the face plate while communicating a reactant gas flow comprising gases selected from SiH₄, N₂ and N₂O to the inlet hole to form a plasma at the chamber side of the face plate for depositing said selected material on the substrate.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
The invention of Claim 1 or 2, wherein the cross-section of the hole is conical.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
15 words
The invention of Claim 1 or 2, wherein the cross-section of the hole is concave.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
The invention of Claim 1 or 2, wherein the hole cross-section is selected from parabolic and hyperbolic.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
34 words
The invention of Claim 1 or 2, wherein the holes are conical and lines connecting the opposite sides of the inlet to the corresponding location of the outlet subtend an angle of about 15-60°.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
The invention of Claim 6, wherein the sides of the hole subtend an angle of about 30°.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
49 words
The RF vacuum chamber of Claim 1, 6 or 7, wherein the holes are formed in the manifold face plate in a pattern of face centered hexagons in which the individual holes define an edge of one associated hexagon and are at the center of a second associated hexagon.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
12 words
The RF vacuum chamber of Claim 1, wherein the gas is nitrogen.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
44 words
The process of Claim 2, wherein the deposited material is selected from nitride and oxynitride, and further comprising at least one of (1) varying the silane, SiH₄, flow and (2) adding ammonia, NH₃, to control the type of hydrogen bonding within the deposited film.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
31 words
The process of Claim 2, wherein the deposited material is selected from nitride and oxynitride, and further comprising varying the nitrogen flow rate to control the stress of the deposited film.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
43 words
The process of Claim 2, wherein the deposited material is selected from nitride and oxynitride, and further comprising doping the reactant gas flow with nitrogen trifluoride, NF₃, to control at least one of deposited film deposition rate and stress and total hydrogen content.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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