Methods and apparatuses for flowable gap fill
AssigneeASM IP Holding B.V.
InventorsShinya Yoshimoto, Makoto Igarashi, Ranjit Borude
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Abstract
In accordance with some embodiments herein, methods and apparatuses for flowable deposition of thin films are described. Some embodiments relate to cyclical processes for gap-fill in which deposition is followed by a microwave plasma curing treatment and repeated. In some embodiments, the deposition and microwave plasma curing treatment are carried out in separate stations. In some embodiments, a second station is heated to a higher temperature than a first station. In some embodiments, a separate module is used for high temperature curing.
Claims34
A method for flowable gap-fill deposition, the method comprising:
- (a) placing a substrate in a first station;
- (b) depositing a flowable material on the substrate in the first station by a vapor deposition process at a first temperature;
- (c) placing the substrate in a second station;
- (d) heating a surface of the substrate to a second temperature in the second station and exposing the substrate to a microwave plasma generated from a plasma gas source;
- and
- repeating (a)-(d) in a cycle until a film of desired thickness is deposited on the substrate.
A semiconductor processing apparatus comprising:
- one or more process chambers, each process chamber comprising two or more stations, each station comprising an upper compartment and a lower compartment,
- wherein the upper compartment is configured to contain a substrate during processing of the substrate;
- wherein the lower compartment comprises a shared intermediate space between the two or more stations;
- a first transfer system configured to move a substrate from a first process chamber to a second process chamber in a wafer handling chamber;
- a second transfer system configured to move the substrate from a first station to a second station within the shared intermediate space of a process chamber;
- a first heating unit configured to control a first station temperature independently of a second station temperature;
- a pressure system comprising a pump and exhaust, the pressure system configured to maintain a common process chamber pressure in the two or more stations;
- and
- a controller comprising a processor that provides instructions to the apparatus to control a cycle of:
- (a) placing a substrate in a first station;
- (b) depositing a flowable material on the substrate in the first station by a vapor deposition process at a first temperature, wherein the first temperature is less than 150° C.;
- (c) after depositing the flowable material on the substrate, placing the first substrate in the second station;
- (d) heating a surface of the substrate to a second temperature in the second station and exposing the substrate to a microwave plasma generated from a plasma gas source;
- and
- repeating (a)-(d) in a cycle until a film of desired thickness is deposited on the substrate.
A method of processing a substrate having gaps, comprising:
- providing a substrate to a reactor,
- forming a SiN film by supplying a silicon-containing precursor with fluidity and a nitrogen-containing gas to the reactor;
- and
- performing post-treatment for treating the SiN film,
- wherein post-treatment comprises a first treatment step and a second treatment step.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.