FILM DEPOSITION APPARATUS, FILM DEPOSITION METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20110159188A1
• Filed: 12/20/2010
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Narushima, Kensaku, Nishimori, Takashi, Kumagai, Takeshi, Otani, Muneyuki, Kato, Hitoshi, Kikuchi, Hiroyuki, Orito, Kohichi
• Application Number:
  US12/972,599
• Publication Number:
  US 20110159188A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/255.394
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/34 Nitrides C23C16/303 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4412 Details relating to the exhausts, e.g. pumps, filters, scrubbers, particle traps
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45519 Inert gas curtains
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45523 Pulsed gas flow or change of composition over time
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45591 Fixed means, e.g. wings, baffles
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4584 the substrate being rotated
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4585 Devices at or outside the perimeter of the substrate support, e.g. clamping rings, shrouds
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/50 using electric discharges generation and control of plasma in discharge tubes for surface treatment H01J37/32, H01J37/34
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/52 Controlling or regulating the coating process C23C16/45557, C23C16/279 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/28556 by chemical means, e.g. CVD, LPCVD, PECVD, laser CVD H01L21/28518 - H01L21/28537 and H01L21/28568 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76843 formed in openings in a dielectric

Abstract

A film deposition apparatus rotates a turntable and each gas nozzle relatively to each other at a rotational speed of 100 rpm or higher when depositing a titanium nitride film, to speed up a reaction gas supply cycle or a film deposition cycle of a reaction product. A next film of the reaction product is deposited before the grain size of the reaction product already generated on a substrate surface begins to grow due to crystallization of the already generated reaction product.

Claims

1. A film deposition apparatus comprising;

a table, provided inside a vacuum chamber, and having a substrate placing region on which a substrate is placed;

a first reaction gas supply unit and a second reaction gas supply unit provided at separate locations along a circumferential direction of the vacuum chamber, and configured to supply a first reaction gas including titanium (Ti) and a second reaction gas including nitrogen (N) to the substrate on the table, respectively;

a separation region provided between a first process region supplied with the first reaction gas and a second process region supplied with the second reaction gas, and configured to separate the first and second reaction gases;

a rotating mechanism configured to rotate one of the table and the first and second reaction gas supply units relative to each other along the circumferential direction of the vacuum chamber so that the substrate passes the first process region and the second process region in this order;

a vacuum exhaust unit configured to exhaust the inside of the vacuum chamber to vacuum; and

a control unit configured to rotate one of the table and the first and second reaction gas supply units relative to each other via the rotating mechanism at a rotational speed of 100 rpm or higher when depositing a film on the substrate,

wherein a titanium nitride film is formed on the substrate by sequentially supplying the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas to a surface of the substrate inside the vacuum chamber.

2. The film deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

an activation gas injector configured to supply at least one of ammonia (NH₃) gas and hydrogen (H₂) gas with respect to the substrate on the table,

wherein the activation gas injector is rotated by the rotating mechanism together with one of the table and the first and second reaction gas supply units in order to rotate relative to each other, and the activation gas injector is arranged to supply the plasma to the substrate between the first process region and the second process region during the relative rotation thereof.

3. The film deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a separation gas supply unit configured to supply a separation gas to the separation region.

4. The film deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the separation region is formed by the separation gas supply unit and a ceiling surface located on both sides of the separation gas supply unit along the circumferential direction, and a narrow space is formed between the ceiling surface and the table to flow the separation gas from the separation region towards one of the first and second process regions.

5. The film deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second reaction gas supply units are respectively provided in a vicinity of the substrate but separated from a ceiling surface in the first and second process regions, and are configured to respectively supply the first and second reaction gases towards the substrate.

6. A film deposition method for sequentially supplying a first reaction gas including titanium (Ti) and a second reaction gas including nitrogen (N) to a surface of a substrate inside a vacuum chamber in order to form a titanium nitride film, comprising:

supplying the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas from a first reaction gas supply unit and a second reaction gas supply unit that are provided at separate locations along a circumferential direction of the vacuum chamber, with respect to a surface of a table that includes a substrate placing region in which the substrate is placed;

separating the first and second reaction gases in a separation region provided between a first process region supplied with the first reaction gas and a second process region supplied with the second reaction gas;

rotating one of the table and the first and second reaction gas supply units relative to each other along the circumferential direction of the vacuum chamber at a rotational speed of 100 rpm or higher so that the substrate passes the first process region and the second process region in this order; and

exhausting the inside of the vacuum chamber to vacuum.

7. The film deposition method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

supplying at least one of ammonia (NH₃) gas and hydrogen (H₂) gas with respect to the substrate on the table from an activation gas injector,

wherein the rotating rotates the activation gas injector together with one of the table and the first and second reaction gas supply units in order to rotate relative to each other, so that the activation gas injector supplies the plasma to the substrate between the first process region and the second process region during the relative rotation thereof.

8. The film deposition method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the separating supplies a separation gas to the separation region from a separation gas supply unit.

9. The film deposition method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the separation gas is supplied from the separation gas supply unit to a narrow space formed between the table and a ceiling surface located on both sides of the separation gas supply unit along the circumferential direction so that the separation gas flows from the separation region towards one of the first and second process regions.

10. The film deposition method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the supplying supplies the first and second reaction gases towards the substrate from the first and second reaction gas supply units that are respectively provided in a vicinity of the substrate but separated from a ceiling surface in the first and second process regions.

11. A tangible computer-readable storage medium which stores a program which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform a process of a film deposition apparatus that sequentially supplies a first reaction gas including titanium (Ti) and a second reaction gas including nitrogen (N) to a surface of a substrate inside a vacuum chamber in order to form a titanium nitride film, said process comprising:

a supplying procedure causing the computer to supply the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas from a first reaction gas supply unit and a second reaction gas supply unit that are provided at separate locations along a circumferential direction of the vacuum chamber, with respect to a surface of a table that includes a substrate placing region in which the substrate is placed;

a separating procedure causing the computer to separate the first and second reaction gases in a separation region provided between a first process region supplied with the first reaction gas and a second process region supplied with the second reaction gas;

a rotating procedure causing the computer to rotate one of the table and the first and second reaction gas supply units relative to each other along the circumferential direction of the vacuum chamber at a rotational speed of 100 rpm or higher so that the substrate passes the first process region and the second process region in this order; and

an exhausting procedure causing the computer to exhaust the inside of the vacuum chamber to vacuum.

12. The tangible computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 11, wherein said process further comprises:

a procedure causing the computer to supply at least one of ammonia (NH₃) gas and hydrogen (H₂) gas with respect to the substrate on the table from an activation gas injector,

wherein the rotating procedure causes the computer to rotate the activation gas injector together with one of the table and the first and second reaction gas supply units in order to rotate relative to each other, so that the activation gas injector supplies the plasma to the substrate between the first process region and the second process region during the relative rotation thereof.

13. The tangible computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 11, wherein the separating procedure causes the computer to supply a separation gas to the separation region from a separation gas supply unit.

14. The tangible computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 13, wherein the separation gas is supplied from the separation gas supply unit to a narrow space formed between the table and a ceiling surface located on both sides of the separation gas supply unit along the circumferential direction so that the separation gas flows from the separation region towards one of the first and second process regions.

15. The tangible computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 11, wherein the supplying procedure causes the computer to supply the first and second reaction gases towards the substrate from the first and second reaction gas supply units that are respectively provided in a vicinity of the substrate but separated from a ceiling surface in the first and second process regions.