US5759262A
Expired / Lapsed
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Method of forming hemispherical grained silicon
Assignee: AG Associates Israel Ltd
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Filing: 1997-04-02
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Granted: 1998-06-02
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Expires: 2017-04-02
Abstract
Abstract A method of forming HSG is disclosed, in which a layer of starting material is formed on a wafer, the layer of starting material is seeded with a species and the seeded layer is annealed. The seeding and annealing steps can be performed under different conditions and can be varied independently of each other.
Inventors
- 👤 Ronald A. Weimer
- 👤 Randhir P. S. Thakur
- 👤 Avishai Kepten
- 👤 Michael Sendler
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 10:44
CPC Classifications
C; C30; C30B; C30B29/00; C30B29/02; C30B29/06; C30B25/00; C30B25/02; C30B25/18; H; H10; H10D; H10D1/00; H10D1/60; H10D1/68; H10D1/692; H10D1/711; H10D1/712; H10D1/716; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S438/00; Y10S438/964
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
65 words
A method of forming HSG, comprising the following steps: forming a layer of starting material on a wafer; seeding the layer of starting material with a species, the seeding step being performed under a first value for a process parameter; and annealing the seeded layer, the annealing step being performed under a second value for the process parameter, wherein the first and second values differ.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
65 words
A method of forming HSG, comprising the following steps: forming a layer of starting material on a wafer; seeding the layer of starting material with a species, the seeding step being performed under a first value for a process parameter; and annealing the seeded layer, the annealing step being performed under a second value for the process parameter, wherein the first and second values differ.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the seeding step is performed under a first range of values for the process parameter and the annealing step is performed under a second range values for the process parameter, wherein the first and second ranges differ.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the layer of starting material has a substantially uniform thickness over a significant area of the wafer.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the starting material is deposited using a method selected from the group consisting of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, low pressure chemical vapor deposition and rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the layer of starting material comprises amorphous silicon.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 5 wherein the layer of starting material comprises doped amorphous silicon.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the seeding step is performed in a first chamber, the layer of starting material is formed in a second chamber and the first and second chambers are different chambers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the seeding step comprises irradiating the layer of starting material with the species.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 8 wherein the seeding step is performed at a temperature of approximately 100 to 1000 degrees Celsius.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 8 wherein the seeding step is performed at a pressure of less than approximately 200 torr.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 8 wherein the seeding step is performed at a flow rate of approximately 1 to 500 sccm.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 8 wherein the seeding step is performed for a time period of approximately 1 second to 60 minutes.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 8 wherein the species is selected from the group consisting of SiH 2 , Si 2 H 6 , SiH 2 Cl 2 and all other silicon hydrides.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 8 wherein the species is an undiluted hydride.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 8 wherein the species is selected from the group consisting of Group IV elements and Group III-V compounds.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method of claim 8 wherein the seeding step is performed at a temperature of approximately 500 to 700 degrees Celsius with a flow rate of approximately 10 to 100 sccm and the annealing step is performed at a temperature of approximately 500 to 800 degrees Celsius for a time period of approximately 5 to 100 seconds.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the seeding step comprises doping the layer of starting material with the species.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the doping comprises ion implantation.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the doping comprises vapor phase doping.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the dopant is selected from the group consisting of Group III and Group V elements.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the annealing step is performed at a temperature of approximately 200 to 1500 degrees Celsius.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the annealing step is performed at a pressure of less than approximately 1 atm.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the annealing step is performed for a time period of approximately 1 second to 5 hours.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the annealing step is performed in a first chamber, the seeding step is performed in a second chamber and the first and second chambers are different chambers.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of forming a layer of dielectric above the annealed layer.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 25 wherein the dielectric layer is formed in a first chamber, the annealing step is performed in a second chamber and the first and second chambers are different chambers.
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