Apparatus for producing thin films by low temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using a rotating susceptor reactor

An apparatus for depositing a titanium-containing film on a substrate by chemical vapor deposition utilizing an upstream microwave plasma comprising:

• a reaction chamber for receiving a substrate;
• a remote first gas supply containing a first gas including at least one of hydrogen and nitrogen;
• a passage for connecting the remote first gas supply to the reaction chamber, the passage defining an outlet which directs the first gas in said passage proximate to a substrate in the reaction chamber;
• an energy source coupled to said connecting passage upstream of said passage outlet for creating a plasma-generating region in the passage, the passage plasma-generating region operable to excite the first gas and form activated radicals of the first gas, the activated radicals having a tendency to recombine with each other within the plasma to form stable molecules and thereby having a limited active life;
• a rotating susceptor within the reaction chamber for supporting a substrate, the susceptor operable to rotate the substrate and reduce recombinations of the activated first gas radicals by drawing the first gas radicals through the passage and out of the passage outlet to produce a laminar flow of the first gas radicals proximate the substrate, the susceptor further operable to rotate the substrate and draw a sufficient number of activated first gas radicals to the substrate surface before they recombine so that they are available to provide energy to a reaction at the surface and reduce the amount of thermal energy necessary for the surface reaction;
• a heating device coupled to the susceptor for heating a substrate thereon in the range of approximately 200.degree. C. to 800.degree. C.;
• a second gas supply containing a titanium tetrahalide coupled to the deposition chamber to direct said titanium tetrahalide gas below said outlet and proximate the substrate and above said rotating susceptor, the rotating susceptor further operable to draw said titanium tetrahalide gas to the substrate surface in a laminar flow to mix with said sufficient number of unrecombined first gas activated radicals and then operable to draw the mixture downward over the substrate surface such that the titanium-containing gas chemically reacts with the unrecombined radicals at the substrate surface and the radicals provide energy to the chemical reaction to deposit a titanium-containing film on the substrate surface at the desired temperature range.