METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVING POLYMER FROM A SUBSTRATE

• US 20090277874A1
• Filed: 04/30/2009
• Published: 11/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Inventors: Yousif, Imad, Hoffman, Daniel, Rui, Ying
• Application Number:
  US12/433,465
• Publication Number:
  US 20090277874A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 216/67
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/427 using plasma means only
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32357 Generation remote from the workpiece, e.g. down-stream
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32495 Means for protecting the vessel against plasma
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3266 Magnetic control means
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02057 Cleaning during device manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0206 during, before or after processing of insulating layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02087 Cleaning of wafer edges
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0209 Cleaning of wafer backside
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/31138 by dry-etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67207 comprising a chamber adapted to a particular process

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for removing polymer from a substrate are provided. In one embodiment, an apparatus utilized to remove polymer from a substrate includes a processing chamber having a chamber wall and a chamber lid defining a process volume, a substrate support assembly disposed in the processing chamber, a remote plasma source coupled to the processing chamber through an outlet port formed through the processing chamber, the outlet port having an opening pointing toward an periphery region of a substrate disposed on the substrate support assembly, and a substrate supporting surface of the substrate support assembly that substantially electrically floats the substrate disposed thereon relative to the substrate support assembly.

Claims

1. An apparatus utilized to remove polymer from a substrate, comprising:

a processing chamber having a chamber wall and a chamber lid defining a process volume;

a substrate support assembly disposed in the processing chamber;

a remote plasma source coupled to the processing chamber through an outlet port formed through the processing chamber, the outlet port having an opening pointing toward an periphery region of a substrate disposed on the substrate support assembly; and

a substrate supporting surface of the substrate support assembly that substantially electrically floats the substrate disposed thereon relative to the substrate support assembly.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a B-field generator configured to provide a B-field at the outlet port that reduces the number of ions touching an edge of a substrate disposed on the substrate support assembly.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a conducting mesh supported between the substrate support assembly and the chamber lid to ground ions in the plasma disposed in the chamber.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the B-field generator is a magnet or electrical coil.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate supporting surface is a silicon wafer.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate supporting surface is fabricated by Al₂O₃, AlN, Y₂O₃, Si, or SiC anodized Al₂O₃.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprises:

a step formed on periphery region of the substrate support assembly, the step sized to allow the substrate to extend thereover.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the outlet port is positioned in the sidewall and directs gases from the remote plasma source in a substantially horizontal direction, wherein an elevation of the substrate support assembly is adjustable relative to the outlet port, wherein the substrate support assembly rotates within the process volume.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gas supplied from the remote plasma source is a hydrogen containing gas.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the hydrogen containing gas includes at least one of H₂, water vapor (H₂O) or NH₃.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the remote plasma source includes a toroidal processing chamber.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the toroidal chamber is fabricated from or coated with a hydrogen resistant material selected, wherein the hydrogen resistant material is selected from a group consisting of bare aluminum Al, yttrium (Y) containing material, palladium (Pd) containing material, zirconium (Zr) containing material, hafnium (Hf) containing material, and niobium (Nb) containing material.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the toroidal chamber is fabricated from a plastic coated with a hydrogen resistant material.

14. A substrate processing system, comprising:

a vacuum transfer chamber having a robot,

an etch reactor coupled to the transfer chamber and configured to etch a dielectric material disposed on the substrate, wherein the dielectric material is selected from at least one of silicon oxide and silicon oxycarbide;

a polymer removal chamber coupled to the transfer chamber, the robot configured to transfer a substrate between the polymer removal chamber and the etch reactor, the polymer removal chamber having a remote plasma source providing reactive species to an interior of the polymer removal chamber through an outlet port; and

a B-field generator disposed in the polymer removal chamber, wherein the B-field generator is configured to provide a B-field at the outlet port that reduces the number of ions touching an edge of a substrate disposed on the substrate support assembly.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the outlet port disposed in the polymer removal chamber has an opening pointing toward a periphery region of the substrate disposed on a substrate support assembly.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

a conducting mesh supported between the substrate support assembly and a chamber lid of the polymer removal chamber to ground ions in the plasma disposed in the polymer removal chamber.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the substrate support assembly has a substrate support surface that substantially electrically floats the substrate disposed thereon relative to the substrate support assembly.

18. A method for removing polymer from a substrate, comprising:

etching a material layer disposed on a substrate in an etch reactor;

transferring the etched substrate to polymer removal chamber;

supplying an inert gas to a front side of the substrate through a center region disposed in the polymer removal chamber;

supplying a hydrogen containing gas from a remote plasma source coupled to the polymer removal chamber through a nozzle to an periphery region of the substrate; and

electrically floating the substrate disposed on a substrate supporting surface of a substrate support assembly disposed in the polymer removal chamber relative to substrate support assembly.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein etching the material layer further comprises:

etching the material layer by a carbon fluorine gas, wherein the material layer is a silicon oxycarbide layer.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein hydrogen containing gas is H₂O.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein etching the material layer further comprises:

etching the material layer by a halogen containing gas, wherein the material layer is a silicon oxide layer, wherein the hydrogen containing gas is NF₃.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

removing a photoresist layer from the front side of the substrate.

23. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

generating a B-field at the nozzle that reduces the number of ions touching an edge of the substrate disposed on a substrate supporting surface of the substrate support assembly disposed in the polymer removal chamber.

24. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

grounding ions in a plasma disposed between a chamber lid and a substrate support assembly of the polymer removal chamber with a conducting mesh, the conductive mesh supported between the substrate support assembly and the chamber lid.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein the substrate supporting surface is fabricated by Al₂O₃, AlN, Y₂O₃, Si, or SiC anodized Al₂O₃