FORMATION OF SILICON OXIDE USING NON-CARBON FLOWABLE CVD PROCESSES

• US 20110034039A1
• Filed: 07/21/2010
• Published: 02/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Inventors: Venkataraman, Shankar, Ingle, Nitin K., Liang, Jingmei
• Granted Patent: US 8,741,788 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 438/788
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/401 containing silicon
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/452 by activating reactive gas streams before their introduction into the reaction chamber, e.g. by ionisation or addition of reactive species
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/56 After-treatment
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02164 the material being a silicon oxide, e.g. SiO2
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0217 the material being a silicon nitride not containing oxygen, e.g. SixNy or SixByNz H01L21/02126 and H01L21/0214 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02274 in the presence of a plasma [PECVD]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0228 deposition by cyclic CVD, e.g. ALD, ALE, pulsed CVD
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02304 formation of intermediate layers, e.g. buffer layers, layers to improve adhesion, lattice match or diffusion barriers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02326 into a nitride layer, e.g. changing SiN to SiON
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02362 formation of intermediate layers, e.g. capping layers or diffusion barriers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/31608 Deposition of SiO2 H01L21/31625, H01L21/31629 and H01L21/31633 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/3185 of siliconnitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/762 Dielectric regions , e.g. EPIC dielectric isolation, LOCOS; Trench refilling techniques, SOI technology, use of channel stoppers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76837 Filling up the space between adjacent conductive structures; Gap-filling properties of dielectrics

Abstract

A method of forming a silicon oxide layer is described. The method may include the steps of mixing a carbon-free silicon-and-nitrogen containing precursor with a radical precursor, and depositing a silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer on a substrate. The silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer is then converted to the silicon oxide layer.

Claims

1. A method of forming a silicon oxide layer, the method comprising:

mixing a carbon-free silicon-and-nitrogen containing precursor with a radical precursor;

depositing a silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer on a substrate; and

converting the silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer to the silicon oxide layer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the radical precursor is a radical-nitrogen precursor.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the radical precursor comprises hydrogen but essentially no nitrogen.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the carbon-free silicon-and-nitrogen containing precursor comprises a silyl-amine.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the silyl-amine comprises N(SiH₃)₃.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the radical precursor is generated from a nitrogen-and-hydrogen containing gas using a plasma before being mixed with the carbon-free silicon-and-nitrogen containing precursor.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the nitrogen-and-hydrogen containing gas comprises a gas selected from the group consisting of hydrazine, ammonia, N₂ and H₂.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer comprises a carbon-free Si—

N—

H layer.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer is converted to the silicon oxide layer by exposing the silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer to an oxygen-containing atmosphere.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the oxygen-containing atmosphere comprises one or more gases selected from the group consisting of oxygen, ozone, and steam.

11. A method of forming a silicon oxide layer with reduced volume shrinkage, the method comprising:

providing a substrate containing a least one gap;

depositing a carbon-free silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer on the substrate; and

heating the substrate in an oxygen-containing atmosphere to convert the carbon-free silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer to the silicon oxide layer, wherein the silicon oxide layer retains a volume of about 85% or more of the carbon-free silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer deposited in the gap.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the carbon-free silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer is deposited on the substrate by the reaction of a silicon-and-nitrogen precursor with a radical precursor.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the silicon-and-nitrogen precursor comprises N(SiH₃)₃ and the radical precursor is formed from plasma-activated NH₃.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the oxygen-containing atmosphere comprises O₂, O₃, or H₂O.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the carbon-free silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer comprises a Si—

N—

H layer.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the substrate gap has a width of about 50 nm or less.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein the silicon oxide layer in the gap is substantially void-free.

18. A plasma chemical vapor deposition method of forming a silicon oxide layer, the method comprising:

introducing a carbon-free silicon-and-nitrogen containing precursor, and a radical precursor to a reaction chamber containing a substrate;

forming a plasma from a mixture comprising the carbon-free silicon-and-nitrogen containing precursor and the radical precursor;

depositing a silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer on the substrate from the plasma; and

converting the silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer into the silicon oxide layer.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the radical precursor is generated in a remote plasma system before being introduced to the reaction chamber.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the radical precursor is generated from a plasma formed from a gas comprising at least one of hydrazine NH₃, N₂ and H₂.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein the carbon-free silicon-and-nitrogen containing precursor comprises N(SiH₃)₃.

22. The method of claim 18 wherein the silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer comprises a carbon-free Si—

N—

H layer.

23. The method of claim 18 wherein the silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer is converted to the silicon oxide layer by heating the silicon-and-nitrogen containing layer in an oxygen-containing atmosphere.