Semiconductor device using a thermal treatment of the device in a pressurized steam ambient as a planarization technique
AssigneeNEC Corporation
InventorHiraku Ishikawa
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Abstract
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprises forming a silicon nitride film, a BPSG film, and a SOG silicon oxide film containing boron or phosphorous on a transistor element, thermally treating the resultant wafer in a pressurized steam ambient, and thermally treating the wafer in an inactive gas ambient. The first thermal treatment causes hydrolysis of the SOG film to form a gel state of the SOG film, whereas the second thermal treatment hardens the SOG film by removing H2O content in the SOG film. The phosphorous or boron in the SOG film weakens the bonds in —Si—O—Si— chains in the SOG film to assist the separation of the —Si—O—Si— chains and the planarization of the SOG film.
Claims19
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including the consecutive steps of forming consecutively on a semiconductor substrate a semiconductor element, a first insulating film, a second insulating film containing at least one of phosphorus and boron, and a cured spin-on-glass (SOG) third insulating film containing at least one of phosphorus and boron to thereby obtain a first wafer, thermal treating the first wafer in a pressurized steam ambient causing hydrolysis of at least a portion of the cured SOG third insulating film changing the portion of the SOG third insulating film to a gel state, thermal treating the first wafer in an inactive gas ambient to at least partially densify the portion of the SOG third insulating film, and forming an interconnect layer on the third insulating film.
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising:
- forming on the semiconductor device a cured spin-on-glass film containing at least one of:
- phosphorus and boron;
- changing at least a portion of the cured spin-on-glass film to a gel state by exposing the cured spin-on-glass film to an ambient pressurized steam causing hydrolysis of the portion of the cured spin-on-glass film to the gel state;
- and
- hardening the spin-on-glass film in an inactive gas ambient.
A semiconductor device, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a semiconductor element formed on said substrate;
- and
- a planarized insulating portion formed on said semiconductor element and including a cured spin-on-glass film with at least one of:
- phosphorus and boron, at least a portion of the cured spin-on-glass being first changed to a gel state by exposing the cured spin-on-glass film to an ambient pressurized steam causing hydrolysis of at least said portion of the spin-on-glass film to the gel state and then hardened the insulating portion in an inactive gas ambient.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.