Very low temperature CVD process with independently variable conformality, stress and composition of the CVD layer

A low temperature process for depositing a coating containing any of a semiconductor element, nitrogen, hydrogen or oxygen on a workpiece, said process comprising:

• placing the workpiece in a reactor chamber facing a processing region of the chamber;
• introducing a process gas containing any of a semiconductor element, nitrogen, hydrogen or oxygen into the reactor chamber;
• generating a torroidal RF plasma current in a reentrant path through the processing region by applying RF plasma source power at a first frequency to a portion of a reentrant conduit external of the chamber and forming a portion of the reentrant path;
• and
• maintaining the temperature of the workpiece under about 100 degrees C.

A method of forming device enhancing coatings on a workpiece having complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices consisting of a set of N-channel devices and a set of P-channel devices, said method comprising:

• successively masking with photoresist each one of the sets of N-channel and P-channel devices while unmasking or leaving unmasked the other set, and after each step of successively masking one of the sets of devices, carrying out the following deposition steps:
• placing the workpiece in a reactor chamber facing a processing region of the chamber;
• introducing a process gas containing any of a semiconductor element, nitrogen, hydrogen or oxygen into the reactor chamber;
• generating a torroidal RF plasma current in a reentrant path through the processing region by applying RF plasma source power at a first frequency to a region of a reentrant conduit external of the chamber and forming a portion of the reentrant path;
• applying an RF plasma bias voltage at a second frequency to the workpiece;
• maintaining the temperature of the workpiece below a threshold photoresist removal temperature;
• setting said RF plasma source power at a level at which the coating is deposited non-conformally;
• and
• setting said RF bias voltage at a level at which the coating is deposited with a first stress when the unmasked set consists of the P-channel devices and with a second stress when the unmasked set consists of N-channel devices.

A method of forming device enhancing coatings on a workpiece having complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices consisting of a set of N-channel devices and a set of P-channel devices, said method comprising:

• placing a first photoresist mask over one of the sets of N-channel and P-channel devices while leaving the other set exposed,
• placing the workpiece in a reactor chamber facing a processing region of the chamber;
• introducing a process gas containing any of a semiconductor element, nitrogen, hydrogen or oxygen into the reactor chamber;
• generating a torroidal RF plasma current in a reentrant path through the processing region by applying RF plasma source power at a first frequency to a portion of an external conduit forming a portion of the reentrant path;
• applying an RF plasma bias voltage at a second frequency to the workpiece;
• maintaining the temperature of the workpiece under a threshold temperature below which the photoresist mask is not destroyed;
• setting said RF plasma source power at a level at which the coating is deposited with a first value of conformality lying in a range between maximum conformality and maximum non-conformality;
• setting said RF bias voltage at a level at which the coating is deposited with a first stress if the one set consists of the P-channel devices and with a second stress if the one set consists of N-channel devices;
• removing the first photoresist mask and placing a second photoresist mask over the other of the sets of N-channel and P-channel devices,
• setting said RF plasma source power at a level at which the coating is deposited with a second value of conformality lying in a the range between minimum conformality and maximum non-conformality;
• setting said RF bias voltage at a level at which the coating is deposited with a first stress if the other set consists of the P-channel devices and with a second stress if the other set consists of N-channel devices.

A method of forming a device enhancing coating on a workpiece having complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices consisting of a set of N-channel devices and a set of P-channel devices, said method comprising:

• placing the workpiece in a reactor chamber facing a processing region of the chamber;
• introducing a process gas containing any of a semiconductor element, nitrogen, hydrogen or oxygen into the reactor chamber;
• generating a torroidal RF plasma current in a reentrant path through the processing region by applying RF plasma source power at a first frequency to a portion of an external conduit forming a portion of the reentrant path;
• applying an RF plasma bias voltage at a second frequency to the workpiece;
• maintaining the temperature of the workpiece under a threshold temperature below which the photoresist mask is not destroyed;
• setting said RF bias voltage at a level lying within a range including zero volts at which the coating is deposited with one of:
• (a) compressive stress, (b) tensile stress;
• placing a photoresist mask over one of (a) the N-channel devices, (b) the P-channel devices, respectively,
• ion implanting into the exposed portion of the coating at least one of hydrogen and helium with sufficient bias voltage and implant dose to transform the stress in said exposed portion from one of (a) compressive, (b) tensile, to the other.

A process for depositing a coating containing any of a semiconductor element, nitrogen, hydrogen or oxygen on a workpiece, said process comprising:

• placing the workpiece in a reactor chamber facing a processing region of the chamber;
• introducing a process gas containing any of a semiconductor element, nitrogen, hydrogen or oxygen into the reactor chamber;
• generating a torroidal RF plasma current in a reentrant path passing outside of said chamber and across the processing region by applying RF plasma source power at a first frequency to a portion of a reentrant conduit external of the chamber and forming a portion of the reentrant path;
• restricting a cross-sectional area of the portion of said reentrant path within said processing region relative to the remaining portion of said reentrant path.