US6867152B1
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Properties of a silica thin film produced by a rapid vapor deposition (RVD) process
Assignee: Novellus Systems Inc
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Filing: 2003-09-26
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Granted: 2005-03-15
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Expires: 2023-09-26
Abstract
Abstract A rapid vapor deposition (RVD) method conformally deposits a dielectric material on small features of a substrate surface. The resulting dielectric film has a low dielectric constant, low wet etch rate, low film shrinkage and low stress hysteresis, appropriate for various integrated circuit dielectric gap fill applications such as shallow trench isolation. The method includes the following two principal operations: depositing a thin conformal and saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor over some or all of the substrate surface; and exposing the saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor to a silicon-containing precursor gas to form a dielectric layer. In some cases, the substrate temperatures during contact with silicon-containing precursor are greater than about 250 degree Celsius to produce an improved film. In other cases, post-deposition anneal process may be used to improve properties of the film. Generally an inert gas purge is employed between the introduction of reactant gases to remove byproducts and unused reactants. These operations can be repeated to deposit multiple layers of dielectric material until a desired dielectric thickness is achieved.
Inventors
- 👤 Dennis M. Hausmann
- 👤 Adrianne K. Tipton
- 👤 Patrick A. Van Cleemput
- 👤 Bunsen Nie
- 👤 Francisco J. Juarez
- 👤 Teresa Pong
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-10 01:59
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10P; H10P14/00; H10P14/60; H10P14/63; H10P14/6326; H10P14/6328; H10P14/6334; H10P14/6339; C; C23; C23C; C23C16/00; C23C16/22; C23C16/30; C23C16/40; C23C16/401; C23C16/44; C23C16/455; C23C16/45523; C23C16/45525; C23C16/45527; C23C16/45534; C23C16/45553; H10P14/65; H10P14/6516; H10P14/6529; H10P14/66; H10P14/668; H10P14/6681; H10P14/6682; H10P14/69; H10P14/692; H10P14/6921; H10P14/6928; H10P14/6929; H10W; H10W20/00; H10W20/01; H10W20/071; H10W20/093; H10W20/097; H10W20/098; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S438/00; Y10S438/909; Y10S438/935
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 33
Claim 1
Independent Claim
68 words
A method of depositing a dielectric film on a partially fabricated semiconductor device, the method comprising: exposing the partially fabricated semiconductor device to an aluminum-containing precursor gas to form a saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor on the partially fabricated semiconductor device; and exposing the saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor to a silicon-containing precursor gas at substrate temperatures greater than about 250 degrees Celsius to form the dielectric film.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
68 words
A method of depositing a dielectric film on a partially fabricated semiconductor device, the method comprising: exposing the partially fabricated semiconductor device to an aluminum-containing precursor gas to form a saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor on the partially fabricated semiconductor device; and exposing the saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor to a silicon-containing precursor gas at substrate temperatures greater than about 250 degrees Celsius to form the dielectric film.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the silicon-containing precursor further comprises oxygen.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric film has a dielectric constant (k) of less than about 6.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric film has a wet etch rate ratio (WERR) of less than about 5.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric film has a post-anneal shrinkage percentage of about 5%.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric film has a post-anneal compressive film stress of less than about 0.5 Gdyne/cm 2 .
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method in claim 1 , wherein the dielectric film is deposited over gaps in the partially fabricated semiconductor device.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method in claim 7 , wherein the dielectric film is deposited over shallow trench isolation (STI) features in the partially fabricated semiconductor device.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the aluminum-containing precursor is at least one of hexakis(dimethylamino) aluminum and trimethyl aluminum.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 1 , after exposing the partially fabricated semiconductor device to the aluminum-containing precursor gas, further comprising purging with an inert gas before contacting the saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor with a silicon-containing precursor gas.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein exposing the partially fabricated semiconductor device to the aluminum-containing precursor gas occurs at substrate temperatures between about 250 and 300 degrees Celsius.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein contacting the saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor with a silicon-containing precursor gas occurs at substrate temperatures between about 250 and 300 degrees Celsius.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the silicon-containing precursor is at least one of a silanol and a silanediol.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the silicon-containing precursor is at least one of tris(tert-butoxy)silanol ((C 4 H 9 O) 3 SiOH) and tris(tert-pentoxy)silanol((C 5 H 11 O) 3 SiOH).
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 1 , after exposing the saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor to a silicon-containing precursor gas at substrate temperatures greater than about 250 degrees Celsius, further comprising purging with an inert gas and exposing again the saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor to a silicon-containing precursor gas at substrate temperatures greater than about 250 degrees Celsius to form an additional layer of dielectric film.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising purging with an inert gas and repeating exposing the partially fabricated semiconductor device to an aluminum-containing precursor gas and exposing the saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor to a silicon-containing precursor gas to form an additional layer of dielectric film.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein exposing the partially fabricated semiconductor device to an aluminum-containing precursor gas and exposing the saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor with a silicon-containing precursor gas occur in the same reaction chamber.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein exposing the partially fabricated semiconductor device to an aluminum-containing precursor gas and exposing the saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor with a silicon-containing precursor gas occur in different reaction chambers in a multi-chamber apparatus.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 1 , after exposing the saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor with a silicon-containing precursor gas to form the dielectric film, further comprising a performing post-deposition thermal anneal.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 19 , wherein the post-deposition thermal anneal comprises using substrate temperatures of between about 400 and 1000 degrees Celsius.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 20 , wherein the post-deposition thermal anneal comprises using substrate temperatures greater than 600 degrees Celsius.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 19 , wherein exposing the saturated layer of aluminum-containing precursor to a silicon-containing precursor gas and the post-deposition thermal anneal occur in different reaction chambers separate reaction chambers in individual apparatuses or in separate chambers as part of a multi-chamber apparatus.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the flow rate of aluminum-containing precursor gas range between about 100 and 400 sccm.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the flow rate of silicon-containing precursor gas range between about 200 and 1000 seem.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
62 words
A method of forming a dielectric film on a substrate, the method comprising: depositing an aluminum-containing precursor gas to form a saturated layer of the aluminum-containing precursor on the partially fabricated semiconductor device; exposing the aluminum-containing precursor of the saturated layer to a silicon-containing precursor gas to form the dielectric film; and after forming the dielectric film, performing a post-deposition thermal anneal.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
62 words
A method of forming a dielectric film on a substrate, the method comprising: depositing an aluminum-containing precursor gas to form a saturated layer of the aluminum-containing precursor on the partially fabricated semiconductor device; exposing the aluminum-containing precursor of the saturated layer to a silicon-containing precursor gas to form the dielectric film; and after forming the dielectric film, performing a post-deposition thermal anneal.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 25 , wherein the post-deposition thermal anneal comprises using substrate temperatures between about 400 and 1000 degrees Celsius.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 26 , wherein the post-deposition thermal anneal comprises using substrate temperatures greater than 600 degrees Celsius.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 25 , wherein forming the dielectric film and performing the post-deposition thermal anneal the dielectric film occur in different reaction chambers.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 25 , wherein contacting the aluminum-containing precursor of the saturated layer with a silicon-containing precursor gas occurs at temperatures greater than about 200 degrees Celsius.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 25 , wherein contacting the aluminum-containing precursor of the saturated layer with a silicon-containing precursor gas occurs at temperatures greater than about 250 degrees Celsius.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 25 , wherein contacting the aluminum-containing precursor of the saturated layer with a silicon-containing precursor gas occurs at temperatures between about 250 and 300 degrees Celsius.
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