# US 2021/0280428 A1 · System and method for radical and thermal processing of substrates

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- Number: US 2021/0280428 A1
- Document ID: US20210280428A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 17/174,395
- Filed: 2021-02-12
- Published: 2021-09-09
- Earliest claimed: 2020-03-06
- Assignees: Applied Materials, Inc.
- Applicants: Applied Materials, Inc.
- Inventors: Xinming ZHANG; Abhilash J. MAYUR; Shashank SHARMA; Norman L. TAM; Matthew SPULLER
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210280428A1

## CPC

- H10P 14/3802: {Crystallisation or recrystallisation of non-monocrystalline semiconductor materials, e.g. regrowth}
- H10B 41/27: the channels comprising vertical portions, e.g. U-shaped channels
- H10P 14/6308: {of Group IV semiconductors}
- H10P 14/6309: {of silicon in uncombined form, i.e. pure silicon}
- H10P 14/6319: {Formation by plasma treatments, e.g. plasma oxidation of the substrate}
- H10P 14/6322: {Formation by thermal treatments (formation by plasma treatment H10P14/6319)}
- H10P 72/0432: {mainly by conduction}
- H10P 72/7621: {characterised by supporting two or more semiconductor substrates}
- H10P 95/94: {Hydrogenation or deuterisation, e.g. using atomic hydrogen from a plasma}
- H10B 43/27: the channels comprising vertical portions, e.g. U-shaped channels
- H10P 14/3404: {being Group IVA materials}
- H10P 14/3411: {Silicon, silicon germanium or germanium}
- H10P 14/6532: {by exposure to a plasma}
- H10P 14/6539: {by exposure to corpuscular radiation, e.g. exposure to electrons, alpha-particles, protons or ions}
- H10P 14/69215: {the material being a silicon oxide, e.g. SiO2}
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H10B: ELECTRONIC MEMORY DEVICES

## Abstract

The present disclosure provides systems and methods for processing channel structures of substrates that include positioning the substrate in a first processing chamber having a first processing volume. The substrate includes a channel structure with high aspect ratio features having aspect ratios greater than about 20:1. The method includes forming a silicon-containing layer over the channel structure to a hydrogen-or-deuterium plasma in the first processing volume at a flow rate of about 10 sccm to about 5000 sccm. The substrate is maintained at a temperature of about 100° C. to about 1100° C. during the exposing, the exposing forming a nucleated substrate. Subsequent to the exposing a thermal anneal operation is performed on the substrate.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of processing a substrate, comprising:
positioning the substrate in a first processing chamber comprising a first processing volume, the substrate comprising a channel structure having an aspect ratio greater than about 20:1;
exposing a silicon-containing layer of the channel structure to a hydrogen-or-deuterium plasma in the first processing volume at a flow rate of about 10 sccm to about 5000 sccm, the substrate maintained at a temperature of about 100° C. to about 1100° C. during the exposing, the exposing forming a nucleated substrate;
subsequent to the exposing, performing a thermal anneal operation on the substrate.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the hydrogen-or-deuterium plasma is formed from a hydrogen-or-deuterium containing gas in a remote plasma source.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein:
the hydrogen-or-deuterium containing gas comprises a He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, N2, or a combination thereof; and
H2, D2, NH3, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising positioning the nucleated substrate in a second processing chamber comprising a second processing volume; and
performing the thermal anneal operation on the substrate.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein performing the thermal anneal operation comprises a temperature of about 400° C. to about 1100° C. for about 10 minutes to about 2 hours, at a pressure of about 1 Torr to about 3800 Torr.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, exposing the silicon-containing layer to the hydrogen-or-deuterium plasma in the first processing volume comprises flowing the hydrogen-or-deuterium plasma into the first processing volume at a flow rate of about 100 sccm to about 1500 sccm.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the exposing the substrate in the first processing volume occurs for about 1 minute to about 30 minutes, at a pressure of about 10 mTorr to about 530 Torr.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the hydrogen-or-deuterium plasma is formed using an inductively coupled plasma source.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

A system comprising an algorithm stored in a memory of the system, wherein the algorithm comprises a number of instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes the method of claim 1 to be performed.

### Claim 10

A method of making a memory device on a substrate comprising:
forming a channel structure in a film stack by etching a channel in the film stack and placing a channel layer at a bottom and in an inner surface of the channel, the channel structure in the film stack having aspect ratios greater than about 20:1;
exposing the channel structure with hydrogen radicals in a first processing volume of a first processing chamber; and
heating the channel structure at a temperature of about 100° C. to about 1100° C.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein exposing the channel structure to hydrogen radicals and heating the channel structure comprises heating the channel structure in the first processing volume at a temperature of about 400° C. to about 1100° C. for about 1 minute to about 30 minutes.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising heating the channel structure at a temperature of about 400° C. to about 1100° C. in a second process volume.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein the film stack is a 3D NAND film stack, and the channel layer is an amorphous or polycrystalline layer comprising from about 0 wt. % to about 100 wt. % of silicon and about 0 wt. % to about 100 wt. % of a group III, IV and V element.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising forming the film stack, wherein forming the film stack comprises depositing alternating oxide layers and nitride layers, or alternating oxide layers and polysilicon layers.

### Claim 15

A method of processing a substrate comprising:
forming an amorphous silicon-containing layer over a bottom and inner surface of a channel formed in a film stack of the substrate, the film stack comprising alternating oxide and nitride layers (ON) or of alternating oxide and polysilicon layers (OP);
exposing the amorphous silicon-containing layer to hydrogen radicals;
heating the substrate at a first temperature of about 100° C. to about 1100° C. to form a nucleated silicon-containing layer of the substrate; and
heating the nucleated silicon-containing layer at a second temperature different from the first temperature.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, wherein the silicon-containing layer and channel of the substrate form high aspect ratio features having aspect ratios greater than about 20:1.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, wherein the substrate is heated at the first temperature in a first process volume of a first process chamber and the nucleated silicon-containing layer of the substrate is heated to the second temperature in a second process volume of a second process chamber.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein a flow rate of the hydrogen radicals into the first process volume is from about 10 sccm to about 5000 sccm.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, further comprising heating the substrate in the first process volume at a temperature of about 400° C. to about 1100° C., for about 1 minute to about 30 minutes.

### Claim 20 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, further comprising heating the nucleated silicon-containing layer of the substrate at a temperature of about 400° C. to about 1100° C. for about 10 minutes to about 2 hours and a pressure of about 1 Torr to about 3800 Torr.