Method of post-deposition treatment for silicon oxide film
AssigneeASM IP Holding B.V.
InventorToshiya Suzuki
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of post-deposition treatment for silicon oxide film includes: providing in a reaction space a substrate having a recess pattern on which a silicon oxide film is deposited; supplying a reforming gas for reforming the silicon oxide film to the reaction space in the absence of a film-forming precursor, said reforming gas being composed primarily of He and/or H2; and irradiating the reforming gas with microwaves in the reaction space having a pressure of 200 Pa or less to generate a direct microwave plasma to which the substrate is exposed, thereby reforming the silicon oxide film.
Claims20
A method of post-deposition treatment for silicon oxide film, which is conducted only after stopping all deposition processes of the silicon oxide film and comprises:
- (i) providing in a reaction space a substrate on which the silicon oxide film is deposited;
- (ii) supplying a reforming gas for reforming the silicon oxide film to the reaction space in the absence of a film-forming precursor, said reforming gas being composed primarily of He and/or H2;
- and
- (iii) irradiating the reforming gas with microwaves for 1 to 10 minutes in the reaction space having a pressure of 30 Pa or less and a temperature of 300° C. or lower to generate a direct microwave plasma to which the substrate is exposed, thereby reforming the silicon oxide film in depth within a range from its surface to 5 nm, wherein the microwaves have a frequency of 800 MHz or higher,
- wherein step (iii) continues until hydrogen is desorbed and released from the silicon oxide film, without additional annealing and without increasing a thickness of the oxide film, to a desired depth of the oxide film.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.