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AssigneeLam Research Corporation
InventorsLudan Huang, Richard K. Lyons, Shantinath Ghonghadi, Tighe A. Spurlin, Edward C. Opocensky
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Method and apparatus for characterizing metal oxide reduction using metal oxide films formed by exposure to an oxygen plasma are disclosed. A substrate including a metal seed layer is exposed to the oxygen plasma to form a metal oxide of the metal seed layer, where the exposure can take place at a low temperature and low pressure. Oxidized substrates formed in this manner provide metal oxides that are repeatable, uniform, and stable. The oxidized substrates can be stored for later use or exposed to a reducing treatment to the metal oxide to metal. In some implementations, exposure to the reducing treatment includes exposure to plasma of a reducing gas species, where the plasma of the reducing gas species and the oxygen plasma can both be produced in a remote plasma source.
A method of characterizing metal oxide reduction, the method comprising:
An apparatus for characterizing metal oxide reduction, the apparatus comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.