Semiconductor device fabrication method and fabrication apparatus

• US 20060093731A1
• Filed: 10/28/2005
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Inumiya, Seiji, Sekine, Katsuyuki, Sato, Motoyuki, Kaneko, Akio, Eguchi, Kazuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,427,518 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/8
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32935 Monitoring and controlling tubes by information coming from the object and/or discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67069 for drying etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67253 Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/14 for electrical parameters, e.g. resistance, deep-levels, CV, diffusions by electrical means

Abstract

According to the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor device fabrication method comprising: measuring light emission intensity of at least one type of wavelength contained in light emitted from a plasma, when one of nitriding, oxidation, and impurity doping is to be performed on a surface of a semiconductor substrate in a processing vessel by using the plasma; calculating, for each semiconductor substrate, an exposure time during which the semiconductor substrate is exposed to the plasma, on the basis of the measured light emission intensity; and exposing each semiconductor substrate to the plasma on the basis of the calculated exposure time, thereby performing one of the nitriding, oxidation, and impurity doping.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device fabrication method comprising:

measuring light emission intensity of at least one type of wavelength contained in light emitted from a plasma, when one of nitriding, oxidation, and impurity doping is to be performed on a surface of a semiconductor substrate in a processing vessel by using the plasma;

calculating, for each semiconductor substrate, an exposure time during which the semiconductor substrate is exposed to the plasma, on the basis of the measured light emission intensity; and

exposing each semiconductor substrate to the plasma on the basis of the calculated exposure time, thereby performing one of the nitriding, oxidation, and impurity doping.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein when the exposure time is to be calculated on the basis of the light emission intensity, the exposure time is calculated such that a product of the measured light emission intensity and a square root of the exposure time is constant for individual semiconductor substrates.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein when the light emission intensity is measured, light emission intensity of an N²⁺ ion is measured when nitriding is to be performed.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein when the light emission intensity is measured, light emission intensity caused by NH is measured when nitriding is to be performed by using NH₃ gas as a nitrogen source.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein when the light emission intensity is measured, light emission intensity of an oxygen radical is measured when oxidation is to be performed.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein when the light emission intensity is measured, light emission intensity of an impurity is measured when the impurity is to be doped.

7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising, measuring a tuner position for adjusting a state of the plasma, in addition to the light emission intensity of at least one type of wavelength contained in the light emitted from the plasma, when one of the nitriding, oxidation, and impurity doping is to be performed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate in the processing vessel by using the plasma,

wherein when the exposure time during which each semiconductor substrate is exposed to the plasma is to be calculated, the exposure time is calculated on the basis of the measured light emission intensity, and the exposure time is adjusted for each semiconductor substrate on the basis of the tuner position.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein when the exposure time is to be calculated on the basis of the light emission intensity, the exposure time is calculated such that a product of the measured light emission intensity and a square root of the exposure time is constant for individual semiconductor substrates.

9. A method according to claim 7, wherein when the exposure time is to be adjusted on the basis of the tuner position, if the tuner position indicates that a density of the plasma is relatively lower than the exposure time calculated on the basis of the light emission intensity, the exposure time is adjusted to be longer.

10. A method according to claim 7, wherein when the light emission intensity is measured, light emission intensity of an N²⁺ ion is measured when nitriding is to be performed.

11. A method according to claim 7, wherein when the light emission intensity is measured, light emission intensity caused by NH is measured when nitriding is to be performed by using NH₃ gas as a nitrogen source.

12. A method according to claim 7, wherein when the light emission intensity is measured, light emission intensity of an oxygen radical is measured when oxidation is to be performed.

13. A method according to claim 7, wherein when the light emission intensity is measured, light emission intensity of an impurity is measured when the impurity is to be doped.

14. A method according to claim 1, further comprising, measuring an incident power which is incident to the processing vessel in order to generate the plasma and a reflected power which is reflected from the processing vessel, in addition to the light emission intensity of at least one type of wavelength contained in the light emitted from the plasma, when one of the nitriding, oxidation, and impurity doping is to be performed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate in the processing vessel by using the plasma,

wherein an operating state of an apparatus which generates a plasma is checked on the basis of the measured light emission intensity, incident power, and reflected power.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein when the exposure time is to be calculated on the basis of the light emission intensity, the exposure time is calculated such that a product of the measured light emission intensity and a square root of the exposure time is constant for individual semiconductor substrates.

16. A semiconductor device fabrication apparatus comprising:

a processing vessel which accommodates a semiconductor substrate;

a plasma generator which generates a plasma in said processing vessel;

a light emission intensity sensor which measures light emission intensity of at least one type of wavelength contained in light emitted from the plasma generated in said processing vessel;

a calculator which, when each semiconductor substrate is to be processed, calculates an exposure time during which the semiconductor substrate is exposed to the plasma, on the basis of the measured light emission intensity; and

a gas supply unit which supplies, into said processing vessel, a gas for performing one of nitriding, oxidation, and impurity doping by exposing each semiconductor substrate to the plasma, on the basis of the calculated exposure time.

17. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said calculator calculates the exposure time for each semiconductor substrate, such that a product of the measured light emission intensity and a square root of the exposure time is constant.

18. A semiconductor device fabrication apparatus comprising:

a processing vessel which accommodates a semiconductor substrate;

a plasma generator which generates a plasma in said processing vessel;

a light emission intensity sensor which measures light emission intensity of at least one type of wavelength contained in light emitted from the plasma generated in said processing vessel;

a tuner having a tuner position which reflects a state of the plasma generated by said plasma generator;

a calculator which, when each semiconductor substrate is to be processed, calculates an exposure time during which the semiconductor substrate is exposed to the plasma, on the basis of the measured light emission intensity, and adjusts the exposure time on the basis of the tuner position; and

a gas supply unit which supplies, into said processing vessel, a gas for performing one of nitriding, oxidation, and impurity doping by exposing each semiconductor substrate to the plasma, on the basis of the calculated exposure time.

19. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said calculator calculates the exposure time for each semiconductor substrate, such that a product of the measured light emission intensity and a square root of the exposure time is constant.