Back to results
US 6,562,720 B2Granted
Apparatus and method for surface finishing a silicon film
AssigneesApplied Materials, Inc., Silicon Genesis Corporation
InventorsAnna Lena Thilderkvist, Paul Comita, Lance Scudder, Norma Riley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of smoothing a silicon surface formed on a substrate. According to the present invention a substrate having a silicon surface is placed into a chamber and heated to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C. While the substrate is heated to a temperature between 1000°-1300° C., the silicon surface is exposed to a gas mix comprising H2 and HCl in the chamber to smooth the silicon surface.
Claims20
A substrate processing system comprising:
- a chamber;
- a substrate holder, located within the chamber, that holds a substrate having a silicon or silicon alloy surface during substrate processing;
- a gas delivery system for introducing a process gas mix into said chamber;
- a heat source for heating said substrate;
- a controller for controlling said gas delivery system and said heat source;
- a memory coupled to said controller comprising a computer readable medium having a computer readable program and body therein for directing operation of said substrate processing system, said computer readable program comprising:
- instructions for controlling said heat source to heat said substrate to a temperature of between 1000°-3000° C., and instructions for controlling said gas delivery systems to introduce a process gas including HCl while heating said substrate to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C.
4 more elements
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
- a chamber;
- a substrate holder located within the chamber for holding a substrate;
- a first gas source containing a first gas comprising HCl;
- a gas delivery system for introducing the first gas into the chamber, wherein the gas delivery system comprises a plurality of zones and the flow rate of gas through each zone is independently controllable;
- a heat source for heating the substrate;
- a controller for controlling the gas delivery system and the heat source;
- a memory coupled to the controller, the memory comprising a computer readable medium;
- and
- a computer readable program resident within the memory, the computer readable program comprising instructions for controlling the heat source to heat the substrate to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C., and instructions for controlling the gas delivery system to introduce the first gas into the chamber while heating the substrate to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C.
6 more elements
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
- a chamber;
- a substrate holder located within the chamber for holding a substrate;
- a first gas source containing a first gas comprising HCl and H2;
- a second gas source containing a second gas comprising HCl and H2;
- a gas delivery system for introducing the first gas and the second gas into the chamber, wherein the gas delivery system comprises a plurality of zones and the flow rate of gas through each zone is independently controllable;
- a heat source for heating the substrate;
- a controller for controlling the gas delivery system and the heat source;
- a memory coupled to the controller, the memory comprising a computer readable medium;
- and
- a computer readable program resident within the memory, the computer readable program comprising instructions for controlling the heat source to heat the substrate to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C., and instructions for controlling the gas delivery system to introduce the first gas and the second gas into the chamber while heating the substrate to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C.
7 more elements
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
- a chamber;
- a substrate holder located within the chamber for holding a substrate;
- a first gas source containing a first gas comprising HCl and H2;
- a second gas source containing a second gas comprising HCl and H2 wherein the second gas has a lower molecular concentration ratio of HCl to H2 than said first gas;
- a gas delivery system for introducing the first gas and the second gas into the chamber;
- a heat source for heating the substrate;
- a controller for controlling the gas delivery system and the heat source;
- a memory coupled to the controller, the memory comprising a computer readable medium;
- and
- a computer readable program resident within the memory, the computer readable program comprising instructions for controlling the heat source to heat the substrate to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C., and instructions for controlling the gas delivery system to introduce the first gas and the second gas into the chamber while heating the substrate to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C.
7 more elements
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
- a chamber;
- a substrate holder located within the chamber for holding a substrate;
- a first gas source containing a first gas comprising HCl;
- a gas delivery system for introducing the first gas into the chamber, wherein the gas delivery system comprises a plurality of zones and the flow rate of gas through each zone is independently controllable;
- a heat source for heating the substrate;
- a controller for controlling the gas delivery system and the heat source;
- a memory coupled to the controller, the memory comprising a computer readable medium;
- and
- a computer readable program resident within the memory, the computer readable program comprising instructions for controlling the heat source to heat the substrate to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C., and instructions for controlling the gas delivery system to introduce the first gas into the chamber such that the pressure within the chamber is approximately atmospheric pressure.
6 more elements
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
- a chamber;
- a substrate holder located within the chamber for holding a substrate;
- a first gas source containing a first gas comprising HCl and H2, wherein the first gas has a molecular concentration ratio of HCl to H2 of between 1:100 to 1:1000;
- a gas delivery system for introducing the first gas into the chamber;
- a heat source for heating the substrate;
- a controller for controlling the gas delivery system and the heat source;
- a memory coupled to the controller, the memory comprising a computer readable medium;
- and
- a computer readable program resident within the memory, the computer readable program comprising instructions for controlling the heat source to heat the substrate to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C., and instructions for controlling the gas delivery system to introduce the first gas into the chamber while heating the substrate to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C.
6 more elements
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
- a chamber;
- a substrate holder located within the chamber for holding a substrate;
- a first gas source containing a first gas comprising HCl;
- a second gas source containing a second gas comprising silicon;
- a gas delivery system for introducing the first gas and the second gas into the chamber, wherein the gas delivery system comprises a plurality of zones and the flow rate of gas through each zone is independently controllable;
- a heat source for heating the substrate;
- a controller for controlling the gas delivery system and the heat source;
- a memory coupled to the controller, the memory comprising a computer readable medium;
- and
- a computer readable program resident within the memory, the computer readable program comprising instructions for controlling the heat source to heat the substrate to a temperature of between 1000°-1300° C. while controlling the gas delivery system to introduce the first gas into the chamber, and instructions for controlling the heat source to heat the substrate to a temperature of between 800°-1200° C. while controlling the gas delivery system to introduce the second gas into the chamber.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.