Method of avoiding plasma arcing during RIE etching
First Claim
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1. A method for avoiding plasma arcing during a reactive ion etching (RIE) process comprising:
- providing a semiconductor wafer comprising a process surface for depositing a dielectric insulating layer;
depositing at least a portion of the dielectric insulating layer according to plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, the dielectric insulating layer comprising an electrical charge imbalance, said dielectric insulating layer selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide, carbon doped oxide (C-oxide), organo-silicate glass (OSG), and undoped silicate glass (USG);
treating the dielectric insulating layer surface according to a hydrogen containing plasma treatment consisting of hydrogen gas and an inert gas, said plasma treatment further comprising a biasing power to reduce the electrical charge imbalance; and
,carrying out a subsequent reactive ion etching process to etch openings in the dielectric insulating layer.
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Abstract
A method for avoiding plasma arcing during a reactive ion etching (RIE) process including providing a semiconductor wafer having a process surface for depositing a dielectric insulating layer; depositing at least a portion of a dielectric insulating layer to form a deposition layer according to plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process; treating the deposition layer portion with a hydrogen plasma treatment to reduce an electrical charge nonuniformity of the deposition layer including applying a biasing power to the semiconductor wafer; and, carrying out a subsequent reactive ion etching process.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for avoiding plasma arcing during a reactive ion etching (RIE) process comprising:
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providing a semiconductor wafer comprising a process surface for depositing a dielectric insulating layer; depositing at least a portion of the dielectric insulating layer according to plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, the dielectric insulating layer comprising an electrical charge imbalance, said dielectric insulating layer selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide, carbon doped oxide (C-oxide), organo-silicate glass (OSG), and undoped silicate glass (USG); treating the dielectric insulating layer surface according to a hydrogen containing plasma treatment consisting of hydrogen gas and an inert gas, said plasma treatment further comprising a biasing power to reduce the electrical charge imbalance; and
,carrying out a subsequent reactive ion etching process to etch openings in the dielectric insulating layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 17)
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10. A method for avoiding plasma arcing during a reactive ion etching (RIE) process comprising:
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providing a semiconductor wafer comprising a process surface for depositing a dielectric insulating layer; depositing at least a portion of the dielectric insulating layer to form a deposition layer according to plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, the dielectric insulating layer comprising an electrical charge imbalance, said dielectric layer comprising carbon doped oxide; treating the deposition layer surface portion with a hydrogen containing plasma treatment to reduce the electrical charge imbalance wherein said hydrogen containing plasma treatment comprises hydrogen gas and an inert gas; and
,carrying out a subsequent reactive ion etching process on the deposition layer. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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18. A method for avoiding plasma arcing during a reactive ion etching (RIE) process comprising:
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providing a semiconductor wafer comprising a process surface for depositing a dielectric insulating layer; depositing at least a portion of the dielectric insulating layer to form a deposition layer according to plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, the dielectric insulating layer comprising a negatively charged electrical charge imbalance; treating the deposition layer surface portion with a hydrogen containing plasma treatment comprising hydrogen gas and an inert gas to reduce the electrical charge imbalance wherein said hydrogen containing plasma treatment comprises a bias power; wherein the steps of depositing and treating are sequentially performed more than once to complete formation of a final thickness of the dielectric insulating layer; and
,carrying out a subsequent reactive ion etching process on the deposition layer.
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Specification