US5314839A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Solid state device fabrication method including a surface treatment step with a neutral particle beam with an energy between 10ev and 100ev
Assignee: Hitachi Ltd
•
Filing: 1991-09-06
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Granted: 1994-05-24
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Expires: 2011-09-06
Abstract
Abstract To improve the characteristics of oxides and other insulators formed by conventional techniques, particularly to improve its density, relative dielectric constant, resistance to acid, resistance to reduction and other characteristics, and to provide solid state devices or socharacteristics, the surfaces of the silicon oxide insulator, or the like, is irradiated with electrically neutral particles.
Inventors
- 👤 Tatsumi Mizutani
- 👤 Takashi Yunogami
- 👤 Kenetsu Yokokawa
- 👤 Nobuyoshi Kobayashi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 04:00
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10P; H10P14/00; H10P14/60; H10P14/69; H10P14/692; H10P14/6921; H10P14/69215; H10P14/63; H10P14/6302; H10P14/6322; H10P14/6326; H10P14/6328; H10P14/6334; H10P14/65; H10P14/6516; H10P14/6536; H10P14/6539; H10P72/00; H10P72/04; H10P72/0442; H10P95/00; H10P14/6304; H10P14/6306; H10P14/6308; H10P14/6309; H10P14/6319; H10P14/6922; H10P14/6927; H10P14/6938; H10P14/6939; H10P14/69391; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S148/00; Y10S148/076
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 48
Claim 1
Independent Claim
56 words
A surface treatment method, comprising: projecting a neutral particle beam having kinetic energy of at least 10 eV and no more than 100 eV onto the surface of an oxide or fluoride sufficiently to enhance at least one of surface layer density, surface layer refractive index, surface layer dielectric constant, and surface layer resistance to reduction.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
56 words
A surface treatment method, comprising: projecting a neutral particle beam having kinetic energy of at least 10 eV and no more than 100 eV onto the surface of an oxide or fluoride sufficiently to enhance at least one of surface layer density, surface layer refractive index, surface layer dielectric constant, and surface layer resistance to reduction.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
A surface treatment method according to claim 1, including forming the neutral particle beam from one of a charge exchange reaction and a McIlraith-type ion source.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
86 words
A method of fabricating an electronic device, comprising: providing a substrate; forming and stacking thin films of semiconductor material, conducting metal and insulators in stacked relationship and in fine patterns to form an integrated circuit; and prior to forming and stacking a film on an insulator film, irradiating the insulator film with a neutral particle beam having kinetic energy of at least 10 eV and no more than 100 eV sufficiently to alter density of the insulator film to a depth of at least 4 nm.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
86 words
A method of fabricating an electronic device, comprising: providing a substrate; forming and stacking thin films of semiconductor material, conducting metal and insulators in stacked relationship and in fine patterns to form an integrated circuit; and prior to forming and stacking a film on an insulator film, irradiating the insulator film with a neutral particle beam having kinetic energy of at least 10 eV and no more than 100 eV sufficiently to alter density of the insulator film to a depth of at least 4 nm.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
A surface treatment method according to claim 3, including forming the neutral particle beam from one of a charge exchange reaction and a McIlraith-type ion source.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 3, including stacking the irradiated insulator film between electrode films to form a capacitor of a memory cell of a memory integrated circuit.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 3, including stacking the irradiated insulator film as a gate insulator film for forming a MOS type transistor.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 3, including forming the insulator film of a silicon oxide prior to said step of irradiating.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 3, wherein said insulator film is formed to a thickness of not more than about 1 μm.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 3, wherein said forming includes chemical vapor deposition of silicon.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 3, wherein said forming includes plasma chemical vapor deposition of silicon.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 3, wherein said forming includes sputtering deposition of silicon.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 3, wherein said step of irradiating is conducted entirely in a vacuum chamber while evacuating to remove suspended materials, and said evacuating is continued at least until said step of stacking covers the irradiated surface of the insulator film with a film.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 3, wherein said step of forming forms the insulator film as a silicon oxide film by thermal oxidation with a density of approximately 2.2-2.3 g/cm 3 and said step of irradiating densifies the silicon oxide film to a surface density of at least 2.4 g/cm 3 .
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of claim 3, wherein said step of forming forms the insulator film as a SiO 2 film by silicon thermal oxidation to have a relative dielectric constant of approximately 3.9-4.0 and wherein said step of irradiating changes the relative dielectric constant at least at the surface of the insulator film.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 3, further including heating the irradiated surface of the insulator film during said step of irradiating to a temperature of at least 100° C.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
65 words
The method of claim 3, wherein said step of forming forms the insulator film as a silicon oxide film by thermal oxidation of silicon; and said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy, to increase the refractive index of the irradiated surface of the insulator film to a depth of at least 5 nm by at least 0.14.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method of claim 3, wherein said step of forming forms the insulator film as a silicon oxide film by thermal oxidation of silicon; and said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy, that the etching rate of the insulator film is reduced by at least one third.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method of claim 3, wherein said step of forming forms the insulator film as a silicon oxide film by thermal oxidation of silicon; and said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy, that the dielectric constant of the insulator film is increased by at least 1.5 times.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
68 words
The method of claim 3, further including forming the insulator film as a silicon oxide film on an electrically conductive film prior to said step of irradiating; forming a fine via hole in and through the silicon oxide film to the electrically conductive metal film; thereafter conducting said step of irradiating; and thereafter selectively depositing tungsten metal on the electrically conductive metal and in the fine via hole.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 3, including forming by thermal oxidation the insulated film as a silicon oxide gate of a silicon MOS type transistor; and thereafter conducting said step of irradiating sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy that the resistivity of the insulator film to an insulator breakdown field is increased by at least 1.5 times.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
98 words
The method of claim 3, including forming the insulator film as a silicon oxide capacitor insulator film on a polycrystalline silicon film by oxidizing the surface of the polycrystalline silicon film; thereafter conducting said step of irradiating; thereafter depositing a polycrystalline silicon film on the irradiated surface of the insulator film to form a capacitor of a memory cell of an integrated circuit memory; and wherein said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy of the neutral particle beam, to increase the capacitance of the capacitor by at least 1.5 times.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
64 words
The method of claim 3, further including forming the insulator film of silicon dioxide; and conducting said step of irradiating sufficiently, with respect to at least time, density and energy of the neutral particle beam, so that spectra of the insulator film corresponding to SiOx (x being <2) and Si is reduced to at least a depth of 4 nm in the irradiated surface.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
64 words
The method of claim 3, further including forming the insulator film of silicon dioxide; and conducting said step of irradiating sufficiently, with respect to at least time, density and energy of the neutral particle beam, so that spectra of the insulator film corresponding to SiOx (x being <2) and Si is reduced to at least a depth of 12 nm in the irradiated surface.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
105 words
A method of fabricating an electronic device, comprising: providing a substrate; forming and stacking thin films of semiconductor material, conducting metal and insulators in stacked relationship and in fine patterns to form an integrated circuit, an wherein said forming forms a silicon oxide insulator film to a thickness of not more than 1 μm; and prior to forming and stacking a film on an insulator film, irradiating the insulator film with a neutral particle beam having kinetic energy of at least 10 eV and no more than 100 eV sufficiently to increase density of the insulator film to a depth of at least 4 nm.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
105 words
A method of fabricating an electronic device, comprising: providing a substrate; forming and stacking thin films of semiconductor material, conducting metal and insulators in stacked relationship and in fine patterns to form an integrated circuit, an wherein said forming forms a silicon oxide insulator film to a thickness of not more than 1 μm; and prior to forming and stacking a film on an insulator film, irradiating the insulator film with a neutral particle beam having kinetic energy of at least 10 eV and no more than 100 eV sufficiently to increase density of the insulator film to a depth of at least 4 nm.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 24, including stacking the irradiated insulator film between electrode films to form a capacitor of a memory cell of a memory integrated circuit.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 24, including stacking the irradiated insulator film as a gate insulator film for forming a MOS type transistor.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 24, wherein said step of irradiating is conducted entirely in a vacuum chamber while evacuating to remove suspended materials, and said evacuating is continued at least until said step of stacking covers the irradiated surface of the insulator film with a film.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 27, further including heating the irradiated surface of the insulator film during said step of irradiating to a temperature of at least 100° C.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 28, wherein said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy, that the etching rate of the insulator film is reduced by at least one third.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
71 words
The method of claim 29, wherein said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy, that the dielectric constant of the insulator film is increased by at least 1.5 times; and including conducting said step of irradiating sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy that the resistivity of the insulator film to an insulator breakdown field is increased by at least 1.5 times.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
91 words
The method of claim 29, including forming the insulator film on a polycrystalline silicon film by oxidizing the surface of the polycrystalline silicon film; thereafter conducting said step of irradiating; thereafter depositing a polycrystalline silicon film on the irradiated surface of the insulator film to form a capacitor of a memory cell of an integrated circuit memory; and wherein said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy of the neutral particle beam, to increase the capacitance of the capacitor by at least 1.5 times.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method of claim 28, further including conducting said step of irradiating sufficiently, with respect to at least time, density and energy of the neutral particle beam, so that spectra of the insulator film corresponding to SiOx (x being <2) and Si is reduced to at least a depth of 4 nm in the irradiated surface.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 32, wherein said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time an energy, that the etching rate of the insulator film is reduced by at least one third.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
71 words
The method of claim 33, wherein said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy, that the dielectric constant of the insulator film is increased by at least 1.5 times; and including conducting said step of irradiating sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy that the resistivity of the insulator film to an insulator breakdown field is increased by at least 1.5 times.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
91 words
The method of claim 33, including forming the insulator film on a polycrystalline silicon film by oxidizing the surface of the polycrystalline silicon film; thereafter conducting said step of irradiating; thereafter depositing a polycrystalline silicon film on the irradiated surface of the insulator film to form a capacitor of a memory cell of an integrated circuit memory; and wherein said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy of the neutral particle beam, to increase the capacitance of the capacitor by at least 1.5 times.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 24, wherein said step of forming forms the insulator film with a density of approximately 2.2-2.3 g/cm 3 and said step of irradiating densifies the insulator film to a surface density of at least 2.4 g/cm 3 .
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 24, further including heating the irradiated surface of the insulator film during said step of irradiating to a temperature of at least 100° C.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 24, wherein said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy, to increase the refractive index of the irradiated surface of the insulator film to a depth of at least 5 nm by at lest 0.14.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 24, wherein said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy, that the etching rate of the insulator film is reduced by at least one third.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 24, wherein said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy, that the dielectric constant of the insulator film is increased by at least 1.5 times.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 24, further including forming a fine via hole in and through the insulator film to an electrically conductive metal film; thereafter conducting said step of irradiating; and thereafter selectively depositing tungsten metal on the electrically conductive metal and in the fine via hole.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 24, including conducting said step of irradiating sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy that the resistivity of the insulator film to an insulator breakdown field is increased by at least 1.5 times.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
91 words
The method of claim 24, including forming the insulator film on a polycrystalline silicon film by oxidizing the surface of the polycrystalline silicon film; thereafter conducting said step of irradiating; thereafter depositing a polycrystalline silicon film on the irradiated surface of the insulator film to form a capacitor of a memory cell of an integrated circuit memory; and wherein said step of irradiating is conducted sufficiently, with respect to at least time and energy of the neutral particle beam, to increase the capacitance of the capacitor by at least 1.5 times.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method of claim 24, further including conducting said step of irradiating sufficiently, with respect to at least time, density and energy of the neutral particle beam, so that spectra of the insulator film corresponding to SiOx (x being <2) and Si is reduced to at least a depth of 4 nm in the irradiated surface.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 44, wherein said step of irradiating reduces the spectra to at least a depth of 12 nm in the irradiated surface.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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