RADICAL-ENHANCED ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION SYSTEM AND METHOD
First Claim
1. A method for depositing a thin film on a substrate, comprising:
- establishing a continuous flow of a purge gas through a reaction chamber;
maintaining a gaseous radical species in a radicals zone within the reaction chamber while introducing a precursor gas into a precursor zone within the reaction chamber, the precursor zone being spaced apart from the radicals zone to define a radical deactivation zone therebetween, the purge gas flowing through the radicals zone, the deactivation zone, and the precursor zone such that flow and pressure conditions within the reaction chamber substantially prevent the precursor gas from flowing into the radicals zone; and
alternately transporting a substrate between the radicals zone and the precursor zone repeatedly to thereby alternately expose the substrate to the radical species and the precursor gas multiple times, each exposure of the substrate to the precursor gas resulting in some of the precursor gas adsorbing on the substrate as an adsorbed precursor, and each subsequent exposure of the substrate to the radical species resulting in some of the radicals converting at least a portion of the adsorbed precursor to an element or compound, whereby a thin film is formed on the substrate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A radical-enhanced atomic layer deposition (REALD) system and method involves moving a substrate along a circulating or reciprocating transport path between zones that provide alternating exposure to a precursor gas and a gaseous radical species. The radical species may be generated in-situ within a reaction chamber by an excitation source such as plasma generator or ultraviolet radiation (UV), for example. The gaseous radical species is maintained in a radicals zone within the reaction chamber while a precursor gas is introduced into a precursor zone. The precursor zone is spaced apart from the radicals zone to define a radical deactivation zone therebetween. Purge gas flowing through the various zones may provide flow and pressure conditions that substantially prevent the precursor gas from flowing into the radicals zone. In some embodiments, the system includes a partition having one or more flow-restricting passageways though which the substrate is transported.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method for depositing a thin film on a substrate, comprising:
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establishing a continuous flow of a purge gas through a reaction chamber; maintaining a gaseous radical species in a radicals zone within the reaction chamber while introducing a precursor gas into a precursor zone within the reaction chamber, the precursor zone being spaced apart from the radicals zone to define a radical deactivation zone therebetween, the purge gas flowing through the radicals zone, the deactivation zone, and the precursor zone such that flow and pressure conditions within the reaction chamber substantially prevent the precursor gas from flowing into the radicals zone; and alternately transporting a substrate between the radicals zone and the precursor zone repeatedly to thereby alternately expose the substrate to the radical species and the precursor gas multiple times, each exposure of the substrate to the precursor gas resulting in some of the precursor gas adsorbing on the substrate as an adsorbed precursor, and each subsequent exposure of the substrate to the radical species resulting in some of the radicals converting at least a portion of the adsorbed precursor to an element or compound, whereby a thin film is formed on the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A system for depositing a thin film on a substrate, comprising:
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a reaction chamber, including an inlet for introducing a purge gas into the reaction chamber and an outlet spaced apart from the inlet, the outlet adapted to be coupled to a pump for pumping a continuous flow of the purge gas through the reaction chamber along a flow path from the inlet to the outlet; a radical generator positioned along the flow path for maintaining a radical species in a radicals zone within the reaction chamber; a precursor injector spaced apart from the radical generator and located downstream in the flow path of the purge gas relative to the radicals zone for injecting a precursor into a precursor zone; a radical deactivation zone interposed between the radicals zone and the precursor zone; and a carriage for transporting a substrate between the radicals zone and the precursor zone multiple times for alternately exposing the substrate to the radical species and the precursor gas to thereby deposit a thin film on the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification