VAPOR BASED COMBINATORIAL PROCESSING

• US 20090061083A1
• Filed: 01/14/2008
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intermolecular Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Intermolecular Incorporated
• Inventors: Lang, Chi-I, Chiang, Tony P., Shanker, Sunil
• Granted Patent: US 8,440,259 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/248.100
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45544 characterized by the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45548 having arrangements for gas injection at different locations of the reactor for each ALD half-reaction
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45574 Nozzles for more than one gas

Abstract

A combinatorial processing chamber and method are provided. In the method a fluid volume flows over a surface of a substrate with differing portions of the fluid volume having different constituent components to concurrently expose segregated regions of the substrate to a mixture of the constituent components that differ from constituent components to which adjacent regions are exposed. Differently processed segregated regions are generated through the multiple flowings.

Claims

1. A method of combinatorially processing a substrate, the method comprising:

flowing a fluid volume over a surface of the substrate with differing portions of the fluid volume having different constituent components to concurrently expose segregated regions of the substrate to a mixture of the constituent components that differ from constituent components to which adjacent regions are exposed; and

generating differently processed segregated regions through multiple flowings.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating establishes conditions in an atmosphere proximate to the surface of at least one of the segregated regions to generate a material during a plurality of the flowings.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the fluid is one of a vapor or gas.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method incorporates one of atomic layer deposition (ALD) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

5. The method as recited in claim 1 further including sequentially exposing the segregated regions to processing and purge fluids.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the processing fluids contain at least one precursor and the purge fluid is a carrier gas and wherein one of the segregated regions is exposed to one or more precursors during the flowing.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 further including segregating adjacent portions of the differing portions with one of a physical barrier or flows of a fluid.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the segregating adjacent portions allows for interdiffusion of adjacent differing portions along peripheral edges shared between the adjacent portions and a remainder of the segregated adjacent portions are substantially uniformly processed.

9. The method as recited in claim 1 further including substantially equilibrating a pressure of each of the differing portions of the fluid volume to maintain segregation of the differing portions and,

flowing the fluid volume during non-processing time periods.

10. The method as recited in claim 1 further including isolating adjacent portions of the differing portions through flow velocities to substantially equilibrate a pressure in the differing portions.

11. The method as recited in claim 1 further including rotating of the substrate between selected multiple flowings.

12. The method as recited in claim 1 further including evacuating the fluid flows to create a unidirectional movement for each fluid flow of the fluid toward and radially across the surface of the substrate.

13. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein flowing further includes directing, toward the surface, a first flow of a carrier fluid and a second flow of a precursor fluid with relative flow rates of the first and second flows being established to substantially equilibrate pressure of respective differing portions in the fluid volume.

14. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein a central portion of the substrate is radially symmetrically disposed about an axis and flowing further includes directing the fluid volume to be radially symmetrically disposed about the axis.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein a conductance of a channel to a vacuum source is greater than a conductance of a channel defined around a periphery of the substrate.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the fluid flows across the surface of the substrate from a first peripheral edge to a second peripheral edge.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

exhausting excess fluid volume flows from below the surface of the substrate.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising;

varying a spatial orientation between the differing portions of the fluid volume and the segregated regions of the substrate; and

repeating the flowing and the generating.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the varying includes

sequentially changing a relative angular position between the differing portions of the fluid volume and the segregated regions of the substrate multiple times, wherein each sequential relative angular position between the differing portions of the fluid volume and the segregated regions of the substrate is maintained for a predetermined time.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the varying includes one of manipulating valving, rotating a showerhead, or rotating the substrate to change the fluid flow constituents in each differing portion.

21. A method of depositing material on a substrate, the method comprising:

flowing process fluids past opposed surfaces of the substrate so as to expose segregated regions of one of the opposed surfaces to a mixture of constituent components of the process fluids that differs from constituent components of the process fluids to which adjacent regions of the one of the opposed surfaces are exposed; and

establishing conditions in an atmosphere proximate to the surface of ate least one of the regions to generate, from the process fluids, the material.

22. The method as recited in claim 21 further including sequentially exposing the segregated regions to deposition and purge fluids.

23. The method as recited in claim 21 further including isolating flows of process fluids onto adjacent regions using flow velocities and pressure equilibration between portions of the process fluid having different constituent components.

24. The method as recited in claim 21 further including rotating the substrate between flowings of the process fluids.

25. The method as recited in claim 21 wherein flowing further includes directing, toward the one of the opposed surfaces, a first flow of a carrier gas and a second flow containing a precursor with respective pressures being substantially equal between the first and second flows to maintain isolation of the process fluids containing different constituent components proximate to the one of the opposed surfaces.

26. The method as recited in claim 21, further including evacuating the process fluids from a side corresponding to another of the one of the opposed surfaces, wherein the conductance for the evacuating from the side is greater than the conductance over the one of the opposed surfaces and the establishing creates a flow velocity that maintains isolation of flows of the process fluids.

27. The method as recited in claim 21 wherein a central portion of the substrate is radially symmetrically disposed about an axis and flowing further includes directing the fluid volume to be radially symmetrically disposed about the axis.

28. A chamber for combinatorially processing a substrate, comprising;

a showerhead in flow communication with a fluid source, the showerhead having multiple inlets for receiving fluid flows having different constituent components and a fluid separation mechanism for maintaining segregation of the fluid flows;

a substrate support; and

a vacuum source having a higher conductance relative to an upstream region between the showerhead and the substrate support to maintain directional fluid flow toward and radially across an area defined by the substrate support.

29. The chamber of claim 28 further comprising:

a substrate disposed on the substrate support, wherein differing portions of the fluid volume having different constituent components concurrently expose segregated regions of the substrate to a mixture of the constituent components that differ from constituent components to which adjacent regions are exposed.

30. The chamber of claim 29, further comprising:

a fluid delivery system coupled to the chamber capable of equalizing respective pressures of the fluid flows provided to the showerhead, such that the segregation of the fluid flows to which the adjacent regions of the substrate are exposed are maintained.

31. The system of claim 28 wherein an inlet to the vacuum source is located below the substrate support.

32. The system of claim 28 wherein an inlet to the vacuum source is located proximate to an edge of the substrate.

33. The system of claim 28, wherein the showerhead wherein the fluid separation mechanism extends radially outward across a surface of the showerhead.

34. The system of claim 28, wherein the fluid separation mechanism is one of a wall within the showerhead, a wall extending into the chamber from the showerhead, concentric ports, or a set of radially aligned injection ports.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the wall within the showerhead provides one of complete separation of sectors within the showerhead or partial physical separation capable of maintaining fluid separation between the sectors within the showerhead.

36. A system for performing combinatorial processing in a processing chamber, comprising:

means for supplying multiple fluid inlets of the system with corresponding fluid flows such that different flows contain different constituent components;

a substrate support;

means for distributing the fluid flows from the multiple fluid inlets such that the different fluid flows remain segregated between the means for distributing and the substrate support; and

means for evacuating the chamber to maintain segregation of the different flows over a region defined by the substrate support to effect combinatorial processing.

37. The system of claim 36, further comprising:

a substrate disposed on the substrate support, wherein adjacent regions of the substrate are exposed to different constituent components of the different fluid flows.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein the means for distributing the fluid includes means for maintaining separation of the fluid flows from the multiple fluid inlets.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein the means for evacuating has a conductance at an inlet for the means for evacuating the processing chamber that is greater than a conductance of a region defined around a peripheral edge of the substrate support.

40. The system of claim 36, wherein the means for distributing the fluid include means to expose a sector of the region to one or more precursors during the flowing.

41. A semiconductor processing system, comprising:

a fluid supply containing a plurality of components, including carrier fluids and precursors, the fluid supply configured to store and deliver different mixtures of the plurality of components;

a chamber attached to a central frame about which multiple other chambers are oriented, the chamber comprising;

a showerhead in flow communication with the fluid supply, the showerhead configured to receive fluid flows having different constituent components and maintain a separation of the components;

a substrate support capable of supporting a substrate;

a vacuum inlet coupled to a vacuum mechanism, the vacuum inlet having a greater conductance than a conductance proximate to a peripheral region of the substrate support, wherein the fluid supply provides different flows with substantially equal respective pressures and the vacuum mechanism enables fluid flow velocities to maintain the fluid flows separate in a region proximate to the substrate support.

42. The semiconductor processing system of claim 41, wherein one of the other chambers is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) module.

43. The semiconductor processing system of claim 42, wherein the PVD module is configured to combinatorially process the substrate.

44. The semiconductor processing system of claim 41, wherein the chamber is in flow communication with a vacuum source for exhausting excess fluid volume of the fluid flows, wherein an inlet to the vacuum source is separate from the showerhead.

45. The semiconductor processing system of claim 44 wherein a conductance of the inlet to the vacuum source is greater that a conductance of a channel defined around a periphery of the substrate support through which excess fluid volume flows to the inlet of the vacuum source.

46. The semiconductor processing system of claim 41, wherein the showerhead includes a fluid separation mechanism extending radially outward across a surface of the showerhead.

47. The semiconductor processing system of claim 46, wherein the fluid separation mechanism is a set of injection ports.