US 7,125,758 B2Granted

Controlling the properties and uniformity of a silicon nitride film by controlling the film forming precursors

AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.

InventorsSoo Young Choi, Tae Kyung Won, Gaku Furuta, Qunhua Wang, John M. White, Beom Soo Park

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

We have developed a method of PECVD depositing a-SiNx:H films which are useful in a TFT device as gate dielectric and passivation layers, when a series of TFT devices are arrayed over a substrate having a surface area larger than about 1 m2, which may be in the range of about 4.1 m2, and even as large as 9 m2. The a-SiNx:H films provide a uniformity of film thickness and uniformity of film properties, including chemical composition, which are necessary over such large substrate surface areas. The films produced by the method are useful for both liquid crystal active matrix displays and for organic light emitting diode control.

Claims23

Dependent claims

A method of PECVD depositing an a-SiNx:H dielectric film useful in a TFT device as gate dielectric, when a series of TFT devices are arrayed over a substrate having a surface area larger than about 1 m2, said method comprising:

depositing said a-SiNx:H dielectric film over a substrate which is at a temperature ranging from about 120° C. to about 340° C.;
depositing said a-SiNx:H dielectric film at a process pressure which ranges between about 1.0 Torr to about 2.0 Torr;
depositing said a-SiNx:H dielectric film from precursors including N2, NH3, and SiH 4, and wherein a component ratio of NH3/SiH4 ranges from about 5.3 to about 10.0, a component ratio of N2/SiH4 ranges from about 5.5 to about 18.7, and a component ratio of N2/NH3 ranges from about 0.6 to about 2.3;
and
applying a plasma to a mixture of said precursors, so that the plasma density in a process chamber in which said a-SiNx:H dielectric film is deposited ranges between about 0.2 W/cm2 and about 0.6 W/cm2.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/829,016Filed 20 Apr 2004
Published: US 2005/0233595 A120 Oct 2005
Granted: 24 Oct 2006
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

H10P 14/69433
Containing silicon: the material being a silicon nitride not containing oxygen, e.g. SixNy or SixByNz
C23C 16/345
Nitrides: silicon nitride
H10D 30/0316
Characterised by the gate electrodes: of lateral bottom-gate TFTs comprising only a single gate
H10D 30/0321
Of thin-film transistors [TFT]: comprising silicon, e.g. amorphous silicon or polysilicon