INTEGRATED PROCESS SYSTEM AND PROCESS SEQUENCE FOR PRODUCTION OF THIN FILM TRANSISTOR ARRAYS USING DOPED OR COMPOUNDED METAL OXIDE SEMICONDUCTOR
First Claim
1. A thin film transistor fabrication method, comprising:
- disposing a first substrate into a first processing chamber, the first substrate having a gate electrode disposed thereon;
depositing a gate dielectric layer over the first substrate using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process;
withdrawing the first substrate from the first processing chamber into a transfer chamber coupled thereto;
disposing the first substrate into a second processing chamber coupled with the transfer chamber;
depositing a semiconductor layer over the gate dielectric layer by a physical vapor deposition process, the semiconductor layer comprising oxygen, nitrogen, and one or more elements selected from the group consisting of zinc, tin, gallium, cadmium, and indium;
withdrawing the first substrate from the second processing chamber into the transfer chamber;
disposing the first substrate into a third processing chamber coupled with the transfer chamber; and
depositing an etch stop layer on the semiconductor layer using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention generally relates to an integrated processing system and process sequence that may be used for thin film transistor (TFT) fabrication. In fabricating TFTs, numerous processes may be performed on a substrate to ultimately produce the desired TFT. These processes may be performed in numerous processing chambers that may be coupled to a common transfer chamber. The arrangement of the processing chambers and the sequence in which the substrate may pass through the processing chambers may affect the device performance. By placing specific processing chambers around a common transfer chamber, multiple processes may be performed without undue exposure of the TFT to atmosphere. Alternatively, by passing the substrate sequentially through specific processing chambers, multiple processes may be performed without undue exposure of the TFT to atmosphere.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A thin film transistor fabrication method, comprising:
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disposing a first substrate into a first processing chamber, the first substrate having a gate electrode disposed thereon; depositing a gate dielectric layer over the first substrate using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process; withdrawing the first substrate from the first processing chamber into a transfer chamber coupled thereto; disposing the first substrate into a second processing chamber coupled with the transfer chamber; depositing a semiconductor layer over the gate dielectric layer by a physical vapor deposition process, the semiconductor layer comprising oxygen, nitrogen, and one or more elements selected from the group consisting of zinc, tin, gallium, cadmium, and indium; withdrawing the first substrate from the second processing chamber into the transfer chamber; disposing the first substrate into a third processing chamber coupled with the transfer chamber; and depositing an etch stop layer on the semiconductor layer using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A thin film transistor fabrication method, comprising:
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disposing a first substrate into a first processing chamber, the first substrate having a gate electrode disposed thereon; depositing a gate dielectric layer over the first substrate; withdrawing the first substrate from the first processing chamber into a transfer chamber coupled thereto; disposing the first substrate into a second processing chamber coupled with the transfer chamber; depositing a semiconductor layer over the gate dielectric layer, the semiconductor layer comprising oxygen, nitrogen, and one or more elements selected from the group consisting of zinc, tin, gallium, cadmium, and indium; withdrawing the first substrate from the second processing chamber into the transfer chamber; disposing the first substrate into a third processing chamber coupled with the transfer chamber; and depositing a conductive layer over the semiconductor layer. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A thin film transistor fabrication method, comprising:
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disposing a substrate into a first processing chamber, the substrate having a semiconductor layer and a conductive layer disposed thereover, the semiconductor layer comprising oxygen, nitrogen, and one or more elements selected from the group consisting of zinc, indium, gallium, tin, and cadmium; etching the conductive layer to expose at least a portion of the semiconductor layer, the etching defining a source electrode and drain electrode; withdrawing the substrate from the first processing chamber into a transfer chamber coupled with the first processing chamber; disposing the substrate into a second processing chamber coupled with the transfer chamber; and etching the semiconductor layer. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification