Reactor surface passivation through chemical deactivation
First Claim
1. A method of operating a deposition reactor having a reaction space, the method comprising:
- contacting a reaction space surface of the reactor with a treatment chemical, thereby forming a protective layer over the reaction space surface;
loading a substrate into the reaction space;
flowing a deposition reactant gas over the protective layer and the substrate; and
preferentially reacting the reactant gas with the substrate as compared to the protective layer, thereby selectively depositing a layer on the substrate;
wherein contacting comprises an ex situ treatment of reactor parts prior to assembly of the reaction space and wherein the treatment chemical is an organic molecule and the protective layer is a self-assembled monolayer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Protective layers are formed on a surface of an atomic layer deposition (ALD) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor. Parts defining a reaction space for an ALD or CVD reactor can be treated, in situ or ex situ, with chemicals that deactivate reactive sites on the reaction space surface(s). A pre-treatment step can maximize the available reactive sites prior to the treatment step. With reactive sites deactivated by adsorbed treatment reactant, during subsequent processing the reactant gases have reduced reactivity or deposition upon these treated surfaces. Accordingly, purge steps can be greatly shortened and a greater number of runs can be conducted between cleaning steps to remove built-up deposition on the reactor walls.
130 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of operating a deposition reactor having a reaction space, the method comprising:
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contacting a reaction space surface of the reactor with a treatment chemical, thereby forming a protective layer over the reaction space surface; loading a substrate into the reaction space; flowing a deposition reactant gas over the protective layer and the substrate; and preferentially reacting the reactant gas with the substrate as compared to the protective layer, thereby selectively depositing a layer on the substrate; wherein contacting comprises an ex situ treatment of reactor parts prior to assembly of the reaction space and wherein the treatment chemical is an organic molecule and the protective layer is a self-assembled monolayer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of deposition with reduced coating on portions of a reaction space, the method comprising:
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applying a treatment chemical to one or more portions of the reaction space; loading a substrate into the reaction space; conducting a plurality of cycles of atomic layer deposition reactions, each cycle comprising; introducing a first reactant into the reaction space, at least a portion of the first reactant adsorbing on the substrate, removing excess first reactant from the reaction space, introducing a second reactant gas into the reaction space, and forming a first monolayer of a material on the surface of the substrate from the second reactant gas and the adsorbed portion of the first reactant gas; removing excess second reactant from the reaction space; removing the substrate from the reactor wherein the treatment chemical deactivates the portion of the reaction space to the atomic layer deposition reactions and wherein the treatment chemical comprises octadecyltrichlorosilane. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of operating a deposition reactor having a reaction space, the method comprising:
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contacting a reaction space surface of the reactor with a treatment chemical, thereby forming a protective layer over the reaction space surface; loading a substrate into the reaction space; flowing a deposition reactant gas over the protective layer and the substrate; and preferentially reacting the reactant gas with the substrate as compared to the protective layer, thereby selectively depositing a layer on the substrate; wherein contacting comprises an in situ treatment of reactor parts after assembly of the reaction space and wherein the treatment chemical is an organic molecule and the protective layer is a self-assembled monolayer. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification