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Method for forming conformal nitrided, oxidized, or carbonized dielectric film by atomic layer deposition

  • US 10,179,947 B2
  • Filed: 11/26/2013
  • Issued: 01/15/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2013
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method for forming a film on a patterned surface of a substrate by atomic layer deposition (ALD) processing, said surface being patterned with a recess having side walls and a bottom, said ALD processing being constituted by a plurality of atomic layer deposition cycles, each cycle comprising in the following sequence of steps (i) to (iii) using a first precursor containing silicon in its molecule, a second precursor containing no silicon in its molecule, and a reactant for nitriding the precursors, said reactant being neither first nor second precursor, being nitriding gas selected from the group consisting of NH3, NxHy, and NxHyCz (x, y, and z are integers) excluding N2, and having a smaller molecular size than the second precursor, each cycle being defined as a cycle forming a monolayer using the first precursor and a monolayer using the second precursor, wherein the reactant is continuously supplied to the reaction space throughout steps (i) to (iii):

  • (i) adsorbing a non-excited gas of the first precursor onto a patterned surface of a substrate in a reaction space by feeding the first precursor to the reaction space in a pulse;

    (ia) purging the reaction space between steps (i) and (ib) to purge therefrom the first precursor present in the reaction space;

    (ib) applying RF power to the reaction space between steps (ia) and (ii) to excite the reactant to conduct nitridization of the first precursor;

    (ii) adsorbing a non-excited gas of the second precursor onto the first-precursor-adsorbed surface of the substrate in the reaction space by feeding the second precursor to the reaction space in a pulse so as to form Si—

    N—

    X (X represents an element other than silicon and metal in the second precursor);

    (iia) purging the reaction space between steps (ii) and (iii) to purge therefrom the second precursor present in the reaction space where the first precursor is already purged;

    (iii) applying RF power to the reaction space between steps (iia) and (iv) to expose the non-excited second-precursor-adsorbed surface of the substrate to an excited gas of the reactant to nitride the precursors adsorbed on the surface of the substrate;

    said ALD processing further comprising (iv) repeating the cycle constituted by steps (i) to (iii) to form a film on the patterned surface of the substrate, step (iv) further comprising purging the reaction space between steps (iii) and (i) when repeating the cycle.

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