Method of Forming Insulation Film Using Plasma Treatment Cycles

• US 20100124618A1
• Filed: 11/13/2009
• Published: 05/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ASM Japan K.K. (ASM International NV)
• Original Assignee: ASM Japan K.K. (ASM International NV)
• Inventors: Hong, Kuo-wei, Shimizu, Akira, Kobayashi, Akiko, Kobayashi, Nobuyoshi, Fukazawa, Atsuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,647,722 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/535
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/345 Silicon nitride
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45542 Plasma being used non-continuously during the ALD reactions
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/56 After-treatment

Abstract

A film forming cycle based on pulse CVD or ALD is repeated multiple times to form a single layer of insulation film, while a reforming cycle is implemented in the aforementioned process, either once or multiple times per each film forming cycle, by treating the surface of formed film using a treating gas that has been activated by a plasma.

Claims

1. A method of forming a film, comprising:

forming a layer of insulation film composed of multiple sub-layers of film on a substrate, each sub-layer being formed by a film-forming cycle based on plasma enhanced CVD, thermal ALD, or plasma enhanced ALD; and

treating a surface of one or more of the multiple sub-layers of film on the substrate by a reforming cycle using a reforming gas excited by a plasma, wherein the reforming cycle is implemented between consecutive film-forming cycles either once or multiple times until the layer of insulation film is formed.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a purge cycle is provided between the film forming cycle and the reforming cycle in sequence.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a duration of each reforming cycle is 1 to 10 seconds.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the reforming cycle, substantially no film is formed on the sub-layer.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reforming gas is constituted by one or more types of gases selected from the group consisting of H₂, NH₃, O₂, N₂O, CO₂, Ar, Xe, and N₂.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the insulation film is constituted by a silicon compound.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the insulation film is SiO, SiN, SiCN, SiC, SiON, SiOCN, SiCN, SiBN or SiBO.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein a precursor supplied in the film-forming cycle for forming the sub-layers is one or more types of material selected from the group consisting of aminosilane compounds and organic silane compounds.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the film-forming cycle is plasma enhanced CVD or plasma enhanced ALD, and a plasma is generated in the reforming cycle through application of radio frequency waves to a gap between capacitively-coupled parallel plate electrodes.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the plasma is generated, in the film-forming cycle and the reforming cycle, through the application of radio frequency waves to a shower head that serves as an upper electrode of the capacitively-coupled parallel plate electrodes and supplies gas.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein two different radio frequencies are applied in the film-forming cycle and/or the reforming cycle.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the film-forming cycle is based on plasma ALD.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the film-forming cycle is based on thermal ALD.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the film-forming cycle is based on plasma enhanced CVD.