Ultrathin atomic layer deposition film accuracy thickness control
First Claim
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1. A method for depositing silicon oxide films by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition on semiconductor substrates, the method comprising:
- (a) inserting a first semiconductor substrate into a chamber;
(b) after inserting the first semiconductor substrate into the chamber and prior to performing a first cycle of plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) at a deposition temperature, raising the first semiconductor substrate'"'"'s temperature to about the deposition temperature by exposing the first semiconductor substrate to a helium-free soak gas for a duration of about 500 seconds or less to reduce wafer-to-wafer variation compared to semiconductor substrates processed using a helium-containing soak gas prior to performing the PEALD on a first semiconductor substrate;
(c) performing the PEALD to deposit a first silicon oxide film on the first semiconductor substrate; and
(d) after depositing the first silicon oxide film on the first semiconductor substrate, performing the PEALD in one or more cycles to deposit a second silicon oxide film on a second semiconductor substrate,wherein a cycle of the PEALD comprisesexposing the substrate to a silicon-containing precursor in a non-plasma environment for a duration sufficient to substantially adsorb the silicon-containing precursor to a surface of the substrate andexposing the substrate to reactant gases comprising an inert gas and an oxidant in a plasma environment to form at least a portion of the silicon oxide film,wherein the soak gas contains the reactant gases,wherein the inert gas is selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, argon, and combinations thereof,wherein the oxidant selected from the group consisting of oxygen and nitrous oxide, and combinations thereof, andwherein the first silicon oxide film is deposited to a thickness of less than about 5 nm.
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Abstract
Methods for depositing ultrathin films by atomic layer deposition with reduced wafer-to-wafer variation are provided. Methods involve exposing the substrate to soak gases including one or more gases used during a plasma exposure operation of an atomic layer deposition cycle prior to the first atomic layer deposition cycle to heat the substrate to the deposition temperature.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for depositing silicon oxide films by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition on semiconductor substrates, the method comprising:
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(a) inserting a first semiconductor substrate into a chamber; (b) after inserting the first semiconductor substrate into the chamber and prior to performing a first cycle of plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) at a deposition temperature, raising the first semiconductor substrate'"'"'s temperature to about the deposition temperature by exposing the first semiconductor substrate to a helium-free soak gas for a duration of about 500 seconds or less to reduce wafer-to-wafer variation compared to semiconductor substrates processed using a helium-containing soak gas prior to performing the PEALD on a first semiconductor substrate; (c) performing the PEALD to deposit a first silicon oxide film on the first semiconductor substrate; and (d) after depositing the first silicon oxide film on the first semiconductor substrate, performing the PEALD in one or more cycles to deposit a second silicon oxide film on a second semiconductor substrate, wherein a cycle of the PEALD comprises exposing the substrate to a silicon-containing precursor in a non-plasma environment for a duration sufficient to substantially adsorb the silicon-containing precursor to a surface of the substrate and exposing the substrate to reactant gases comprising an inert gas and an oxidant in a plasma environment to form at least a portion of the silicon oxide film, wherein the soak gas contains the reactant gases, wherein the inert gas is selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, argon, and combinations thereof, wherein the oxidant selected from the group consisting of oxygen and nitrous oxide, and combinations thereof, and wherein the first silicon oxide film is deposited to a thickness of less than about 5 nm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for depositing a film by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition on semiconductor substrates, the method comprising:
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(a) inserting a first semiconductor substrate into a chamber; and (b) after inserting the first semiconductor substrate into the chamber and prior to performing a first cycle of plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) at a deposition temperature, raising the first semiconductor substrate'"'"'s temperature to about the deposition temperature by exposing the first semiconductor substrate to a helium-free soak gas for a duration of about 500 seconds or less to reduce wafer-to-wafer variation compared to semiconductor substrates processed using a helium-containing soak gas prior to performing the PEALD on a first semiconductor substrate; (c) performing the PEALD to deposit a first film on the first semiconductor substrate; and (d) after depositing the first film on the first semiconductor substrate, performing the PEALD in one or more cycles to deposit a second film on a second semiconductor substrate, wherein a cycle of the PEALD comprises exposing the substrate to a precursor in a non-plasma environment for a duration sufficient to substantially adsorb the precursor to a surface of the substrate, exposing the substrate to a second reactant comprising an inert gas and oxygen-containing gas in a plasma environment to form at least a portion of the film, wherein the soak gas contains the second reactant wherein the inert gas is selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, argon, and combinations thereof, wherein the oxygen-containing gas is selected from the group consisting of oxygen and nitrous oxide, and combinations thereof, and wherein the first film is deposited to a thickness of less than about 5 nm. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for depositing silicon oxide films by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition on three or more semiconductor substrates, the method comprising:
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(a) inserting a first semiconductor substrate into a chamber; (b) after inserting the first semiconductor substrate into the chamber and prior to performing a first cycle of plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) on the first semiconductor substrate at a deposition temperature, raising the first semiconductor substrate'"'"'s temperature to about the deposition temperature by exposing the first semiconductor substrate to a helium-free soak gas for a duration of about 500 seconds or less; (c) performing n cycles of the PEALD to deposit a first silicon oxide film on the first semiconductor substrate; (d) after removing the first semiconductor substrate having the first silicon oxide film from the chamber and inserting a second semiconductor substrate into the chamber, performing the n cycles of the PEALD on the second semiconductor substrate to deposit a second silicon oxide film; and (f) after removing the second semiconductor substrate having the second silicon oxide film from the chamber and inserting a third semiconductor substrate into the chamber, performing the n cycles of the PEALD on the third semiconductor substrate to deposit a third silicon oxide film, wherein each of the n cycles of the PEALD comprises exposing the semiconductor substrate to a silicon-containing precursor in a non-plasma environment for a duration sufficient to substantially adsorb the silicon-containing precursor to a surface of the semiconductor substrate and exposing the semiconductor substrate to an oxidant in a plasma environment to form at least a portion of the silicon oxide film, wherein the helium-free soak gas contains one or more gases of the oxidant used when exposing the first semiconductor substrate to the oxidant in the plasma environment during the cycle of the PEALD, wherein the n cycles of PEALD are performed to deposit less than about 5 nm of silicon oxide on the second and third semiconductor substrates, and wherein wafer-to-wafer variation of an average thickness of the first, second, and third silicon oxide films deposited on the three or more semiconductor substrates is less than about ±
2 Å
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Specification