Plasma doping using a solid dopant source
First Claim
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1. A method of depositing a dopant species on a workpiece, comprising:
- performing a conditioning process, the conditioning process comprising;
introducing a conditioning gas into a plasma chamber of an ion source, the conditioning gas comprising a dopant species; and
ionizing the conditioning gas in said plasma chamber so as to form a coating, which comprises the dopant species in solid form, on interior surfaces of the plasma chamber; and
performing a deposition process after the conditioning process, the deposition process comprising;
introducing a working gas into the plasma chamber after the coating is formed, wherein the working gas does not comprise the dopant species; and
ionizing the working gas in said plasma chamber to create ions and sputter the coating, such that the dopant species is deposited on the workpiece, wherein the workpiece is disposed in the plasma chamber during the deposition process.
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Abstract
A method of processing a workpiece is disclosed, where the interior surfaces of the plasma chamber are first coated using a conditioning gas that contains the desired dopant species. A working gas, which does not contain the desired dopant species, is then introduced and energized to form a plasma. This plasma is used to sputter the desired dopant species from the interior surfaces. This dopant species is deposited on the workpiece. A subsequent implant process may then be performed to implant the dopant into the workpiece. The implant process may include a thermal treatment, a knock in mechanism, or both.
8 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of depositing a dopant species on a workpiece, comprising:
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performing a conditioning process, the conditioning process comprising; introducing a conditioning gas into a plasma chamber of an ion source, the conditioning gas comprising a dopant species; and ionizing the conditioning gas in said plasma chamber so as to form a coating, which comprises the dopant species in solid form, on interior surfaces of the plasma chamber; and performing a deposition process after the conditioning process, the deposition process comprising; introducing a working gas into the plasma chamber after the coating is formed, wherein the working gas does not comprise the dopant species; and ionizing the working gas in said plasma chamber to create ions and sputter the coating, such that the dopant species is deposited on the workpiece, wherein the workpiece is disposed in the plasma chamber during the deposition process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of implanting a dopant species in a workpiece, comprising:
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performing a conditioning process, the conditioning process comprising; introducing a conditioning gas into a plasma chamber of an ion source, the conditioning gas comprising a dopant species; and ionizing the conditioning gas in said plasma chamber so as to form a coating, which comprises the dopant species in solid form, on interior surfaces of the plasma chamber; depositing the dopant species on the workpiece by sputtering the coating, wherein the workpiece is disposed in the plasma chamber during the depositing and the workpiece is not negatively biased during the depositing; and implanting the dopant species that is deposited on the workpiece into the workpiece. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of processing a workpiece, comprising:
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placing a workpiece in a plasma chamber; and creating a plasma by energizing a working gas in the plasma chamber while the workpiece is disposed in the plasma chamber; and performing a deposition process, wherein the plasma causes dopant species that coated interior surfaces of the plasma chamber to sputter and deposit on the workpiece, wherein the working gas does not comprise the dopant species and the workpiece is not negatively biased during the deposition process. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification