MODULATED ION-INDUCED ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION (MII-ALD)

• US 20100055342A1
• Filed: 07/28/2009
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Novellus Systems Incorporated (LAM Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Novellus Systems Incorporated (LAM Research Corporation)
• Inventors: Chiang, Tony P., Leeser, Karl
• Granted Patent: US 9,255,329 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/535
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/06 characterised by the deposition of metallic material
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/22 characterised by the deposition of inorganic material, other than metallic material
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45534 Use of auxiliary reactants other than used for contributing to the composition of the main film, e.g. catalysts, activators or scavengers
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45536 Use of plasma, radiation or electromagnetic fields
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45538 Plasma being used continuously during the ALD cycle
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/463 Cooling of the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/28562 Selective deposition
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76843 formed in openings in a dielectric

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cyclic deposition process suitable for depositing an elemental film. The process employs an enhanced atomic layer deposition technique.

Claims

1. A method for forming an elemental film on a substrate in a chamber comprising:

introducing a reactant gas into the chamber, the reactant gas forming an adsorbed layer of the reactant gas on the substrate;

introducing at least one ion generating feed gas into the chamber;

generating a plasma from the ion generating feed gas to form ions;

exposing the substrate to the ions;

modulating the ions; and

reacting the adsorbed reactant gas with the ions to form the elemental film.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the modulating step is accomplished by modulating an ion flux or modulating an ion energy.

2. A method for depositing an elemental film onto a substrate in a chamber comprising:

introducing a reactant gas into the chamber, the reactant gas forming an adsorbed layer of the reactant gas on the substrate;

removing any excess reactant gas from the chamber;

introducing at least one ion generating feed gas into the chamber;

generating a plasma from the ion generating feed gas to form ions;

exposing the substrate to the ions;

modulating the ions; and

reacting the adsorbed reactant gas with the ions to form the elemental film.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein adsorption of the reactant gas on the substrate occurs via chemisorption.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the method is repeated until the film achieves a desired thickness.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the reacting step occurs in a reducing environment.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the removal of the reactant gas is achieved by evacuating or purging the chamber.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the ion generating feed gas is selected from a group consisting of argon, krypton, neon, helium, and xenon.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the generated ions are selected from a group consisting of Ar⁺, Kr⁺, Ne⁺, He⁺, and Xe⁺.

10. The method of claim 2, further including maintaining the substrate at a temperature of between about 25°

C. and 400°

C.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the adsorbed reactant gas is reduced to its elemental state by an ion-induced surface reaction.

12. A method for depositing an elemental film onto a substrate in a chamber comprising:

introducing a reactant gas into the chamber, the reactant gas forming an adsorbed layer of the reactant gas on the substrate;

removing any excess reactant gas from the chamber;

introducing at least one ion generating feed gas into the chamber;

introducing at least one radical generating feed gas into the chamber;

generating a plasma from the ion generating feed gas and the radical generating feed gas to form ions and radicals;

exposing the substrate to the ions and radicals;

modulating the ions; and

reacting the adsorbed reactant gas with the ions and radicals to form the elemental film wherein the radicals are not incorporated into the film.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the substrate is simultaneously exposed to the ions and the radicals.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the substrate is exposed to the ions after exposure to the radicals.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising electrically biasing the substrate to a negative potential relative to ground.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the radical generating feed gas is selected from the group consisting of H₂, N₂, and NH₃ vapor.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the generated radicals are selected from a group consisting of hydrogen atoms, nitrogen atoms and NH molecules.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the method is repeated until the film achieves a desired thickness.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the removal of the reactant gas is achieved by evacuating or purging the chamber.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the adsorbed reactant is reduced to its elemental state by an ion-induced surface reaction.

21. A method for forming an elemental film on a substrate comprising:

introducing a reactant gas into a chamber, the reactant gas forming an adsorbed layer of the reactant gas on the substrate;

introducing at least one ion generating feed gas into the chamber;

generating a plasma from the ion generating feed gas to form ions;

exposing the substrate to the ions;

modulating the ions; and

reacting the adsorbed reactant gas with the ions to form the elemental film on the substrate without first having formed an intermediate film on the substrate.