PLASMA TREATMENT METHOD FOR PREVENTING DEFECTS IN DOPED SILICON OXIDE SURFACES DURING EXPOSURE TO ATMOSPHERE
First Claim
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1. A method of fabricating an integrated circuit on a semiconductor wafer, comprising:
- forming a thin film device structure on the wafer including semiconductor elements;
covering said thin film device structure with a doped glass layer comprising silicon, oxygen and at least one of boron or phosphorus;
forming openings through said doped glass layer to expose a surface of each of said semiconductor elements;
performing an etch step by generating a plasma from a process gas comprising fluorine species and hydrogen species and exposing said wafer to by-products of said plasma;
converting boron and/or phosphorus materials separated from silicon near the surface of said doped glass layer to gas phase compounds.
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Abstract
Formation of BPSG surface defects upon exposure to atmosphere is prevented by a plasma treatment method for converting boron and/or phosphorus materials separated from silicon near the surface of the doped glass layer to gas phase compounds. The treatment plasma is generated from a treatment process gas containing one of (a) a fluorine compound or (b) a hydrogen compound.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating an integrated circuit on a semiconductor wafer, comprising:
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forming a thin film device structure on the wafer including semiconductor elements; covering said thin film device structure with a doped glass layer comprising silicon, oxygen and at least one of boron or phosphorus; forming openings through said doped glass layer to expose a surface of each of said semiconductor elements; performing an etch step by generating a plasma from a process gas comprising fluorine species and hydrogen species and exposing said wafer to by-products of said plasma; converting boron and/or phosphorus materials separated from silicon near the surface of said doped glass layer to gas phase compounds. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20)
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13. A method of fabricating an integrated circuit on a semiconductor wafer, comprising:
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forming a thin film device structure on the wafer including semiconductor elements; covering said thin film device structure with a doped glass layer comprising silicon, oxygen and at least one of boron or phosphorus; forming openings through said doped glass layer to expose a surface of each of said semiconductor elements; performing an etch step by generating a plasma from a process gas comprising fluorine species and hydrogen species and exposing said wafer to by-products of said plasma; generating a treatment plasma from a treatment process gas containing one of (a) a fluorine compound or (b) a hydrogen compound so as to produce plasma treatment by-products from said plasma; exposing said wafer to said plasma treatment by-products. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification