METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DEPOSITING SILICON CARBIDE FILM USING A GAS CLUSTER ION BEAM

• US 20090233004A1
• Filed: 03/17/2008
• Published: 09/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: TEL Epion Inc. (Tokyo Electron Limited)
• Original Assignee: TEL Epion Inc. (Tokyo Electron Limited)
• Inventors: Tetreault, Thomas G., Hautala, John J., Tabat, Martin D., Russell, Noel, Sherman, Steven
• Application Number:
  US12/049,583
• Publication Number:
  US 20090233004A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/527
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/0635 Carbides
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/221 Ion beam deposition C23C14/46, C23C14/48 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/325 Silicon carbide
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/452 by activating reactive gas streams before their introduction into the reaction chamber, e.g. by ionisation or addition of reactive species
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/513 using plasma jets
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/0812 Ionized cluster beam [ICB] sources
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/08 Ion sources; Ion guns
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3178 for applying thin layers on objects

Abstract

A method for depositing material on a substrate is described. The method comprises maintaining a reduced-pressure environment around a substrate holder for holding a substrate having a surface, and holding the substrate securely within the reduced-pressure environment. Additionally, the method comprises forming a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) from a pressurized gas comprising a compound having silicon (Si) and carbon (C), accelerating the GCIB to the reduced-pressure environment, and irradiating the accelerated GCIB onto at least a portion of the surface of the substrate to form a thin film containing silicon and carbon, wherein the carbon content is greater than or equal to about 10%. Further the compound may possess a Si—C bond.

Claims

1. A method for depositing a thin film at a surface on a substrate, comprising:

maintaining a reduced-pressure environment around a substrate holder for holding a substrate having a surface;

holding said substrate securely within said reduced-pressure environment;

forming a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) from a pressurized gas comprising a compound having silicon (Si) and carbon (C);

accelerating said GCIB to said reduced-pressure environment; and

irradiating said accelerated GCIB onto at least a portion of said surface of said substrate to form a thin film containing silicon and carbon, wherein the carbon content is greater than or equal to about 10%.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said compound further comprises a Si—

C bond.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said compound having silicon (Si), carbon (C) and a Si—

C bond comprises an alkyl silane.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said compound having silicon (Si), carbon (C) and a Si—

C bond comprises an alkane silane, an alkene silane, or an alkyne silane.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said compound having silicon (Si), carbon (C) and a Si—

C bond comprises methylsilane, dimethylsilane, trimethylsilane, tetramethylsilane, ethylsilane, diethylsilane, triethylsilane, or tetraethylsilane.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein said compound having silicon (Si), carbon (C) and a Si—

C bond consists of methylsilane.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the carbon content is greater than or equal to about 20%.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the carbon content is greater than or equal to about 30%.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said pressurized gas further comprises a nitrogen-containing gas.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said pressurized gas further comprises N₂, NH₃, NF₃, NO, N₂O, or NO₂, or a combination of two or more thereof.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said pressurized gas further comprises a noble gas.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said pressurized gas further comprises another carbon-containing gas.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said another carbon-containing gas comprises CO, CO₂, a hydrocarbon-containing gas, a fluorocarbon-containing gas, or a hydrofluorocarbon-containing gas, or any combination of two or more thereof.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

annealing said thin film.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the gas-clusters of said GCIB are accelerated by an acceleration voltage between about 1 and 70 keV.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

filtering said GCIB to substantially reduce the number of clusters having 100 or less atoms or molecules or both.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the thickness of said thin film that is formed on said surface is achieved by selecting a GCIB dose.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said irradiating comprises:

scanning said accelerated GCIB onto at least a portion of said surface of said substrate; and

adjusting the GCIB dose as a function of position on said surface of said substrate in order to vary the thickness of said thin film formed on said surface of said substrate.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting the orientation of said surface of said substrate relative to said GCIB.

20. A computer readable medium containing program instructions for execution on a GCIB processing system, which when executed by the GCIB processing system, cause the GCIB processing system to perform the steps of:

maintaining a reduced-pressure environment around a substrate holder for holding a substrate having a surface;

holding said substrate securely within said reduced-pressure environment;

forming a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) from a pressurized gas comprising a compound having silicon (Si) and carbon (C);

accelerating said GCIB to said reduced-pressure environment; and

irradiating said accelerated GCIB onto at least a portion of said surface of said substrate to form a thin film containing silicon and carbon, wherein the carbon content is greater than or equal to about 10%.