Sequential pulse deposition

• US 7,910,177 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management)
• Original Assignee: MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management)
• Inventors: Li, Weimin
• Primary Examiner(s): Sefer; A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Parker; Allen L
• Application Number:
  US11/496,093
• Publication Number:
  US 20060265100A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,695 Days
• Field of Search: 427/509, 427/585, 427/588, 427/96.8, 438/758
• US Class Current: 427/585
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4408 by purging residual gases from the reaction chamber or gas lines
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45523 Pulsed gas flow or change of composition over time
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45527 characterized by the ALD cycle, e.g. different flows or temperatures during half-reactions, unusual pulsing sequence, use of precursor mixtures or auxiliary reactants or activations
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/52 Controlling or regulating the coating process C23C16/45557, C23C16/279 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/28506 of conductive layers

Abstract

A method for growing films on substrates using sequentially pulsed precursors and reactants, system and devices for performing the method, semiconductor devices so produced, and machine readable media containing the method.

Claims

1. A non-transitory machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon, comprising:

first instructions for causing a chemical vapor deposition reactor to initiate depositing a film on a substrate by injecting a pulse of precursor gas into a reaction chamber;

second instructions for injecting a purge gas flow to the chemical vapor deposition reactor; and

third instructions

for determining a reactant gas pulse time,

the reactant gas pulse time being

after the pulse of precursor gas has been injected into the reaction chamber and

prior to complete purge of the precursor gas, and

for causing the reactor to inject a pulse of reactant gas into the reaction chamber at the reactant gas pulse time.

2. The machine readable medium of claim 1, further comprising:

further instructions for causing the reactor to continue sequentially injecting pulses of precursor gas and reactant gas until the deposited film has attained a selected thickness.

3. The machine readable medium of claim 2, wherein the third instructions include a delay during which neither the precursor gas nor the reactant gas are injected into the reaction chamber.

4. The machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first instructions further comprise:

instructions for ending the pulse of precursor gas prior to proceeding to the second instructions.

5. The machine readable medium of claim 1, further comprising:

fourth instructions for holding the chamber at approximately a constant pressure.

6. The machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first instructions cause the chemical vapor deposition reactor to inject a precursor gas having a metal constituent that will be deposited on the substrate.

7. The machine readable medium of claim 1, further comprising:

fourth instructions for heating the reaction chamber above approximately 300 degrees C.

8. The machine readable medium of claim 1,

wherein the instructions stored on the machine readable medium are such that the second instructions issue before the first instructions.

9. A non-transitory machine readable medium that provides instructions that are executable by a processor, comprising:

first instructions for providing a precursor gas to a reaction chamber that contains a semiconductor substrate;

second instructions for providing a purge gas flow to the reaction chamber; and

third instructions

for determining a reactant gas pulse time,

the reactant gas pulse time being

after the precursor gas has been provided to the reaction chamber and

prior to complete purge of the precursor gas, and

for providing a reactant gas after the precursor gas has been provided to the reaction chamber at the reactant gas pulse time,

wherein the precursor gas and the reactant gas are sequentially provided to the reaction chamber until a predetermined thickness of a selected material is deposited on the semiconductor substrate.

10. The machine readable medium of claim 9, wherein the second instructions further comprise:

instructions for introducing at least one of helium, argon and nitrogen as a purge flow gas.

11. The machine readable medium of claim 9, further comprising:

fourth instructions for controlling an elapsed time for providing at least one of the precursor gas and the reactant gas to the reaction chamber.

12. The machine readable medium of claim 9, further comprising:

fourth instructions for controlling at least one of an energy transfer to the reaction chamber, a pressure within the reaction chamber, and a temperature within the reaction chamber.

13. The machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the fourth instructions further comprise:

instructions for maintaining the temperature within the reaction chamber to at least approximately 300 degrees C.

14. The machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the fourth instructions further comprise:

instructions for maintaining an approximately constant pressure within the reaction chamber.

15. The machine readable medium of claim 12, wherein the fourth instructions further comprise:

instructions for controlling at least one of a radio frequency (RF) generator and a thermal lamp.

16. The machine readable medium of claim 11, wherein the fourth instructions further comprise:

instructions for specifying a time period between stopping the flow of the precursor gas and initiating the flow of the reactant gas.

17. The machine readable medium of claim 11, wherein the fourth instructions further comprise:

instructions for specifying a time sufficient to saturate a surface topology of the semiconductor substrate with the precursor gas.

18. The machine readable medium of claim 11, wherein the fourth instructions further comprise:

instructions for specifying a time sufficient to saturate a surface topology of the semiconductor substrate with a reactant gas.

19. The machine readable medium of claim 9, wherein the first instructions further comprise:

instructions for identifying a stoichiometric amount of the precursor gas, and providing at least the stoichiometric amount of the precursor gas to the reaction chamber.

20. The machine readable medium of claim 9, wherein the third instructions further comprise:

instructions for identifying a stoichiometric amount of the reactant gas, and providing at least the stoichiometric amount of the reactant gas to the reaction chamber.

21. The machine readable medium of claim 9,

wherein the instructions stored on the machine readable medium are such that the second instructions issue before the first instructions.

38. The machine readable medium of claim 9,

wherein the first program module causes the instructions to supply the purge gas to issue before the instructions to supply the precursor gas.

22. A non-transitory machine readable medium having stored thereon a program that is executable by a processor to control a material deposition onto a semiconductor substrate, comprising:

a first program module including instructions to supply

a precursor gas,

a purge gas, and

a reactant gas

to a reaction chamber that contains a semiconductor substrate, and

including instructions to determine a reactant gas supply time,

the reactant gas supply time being

after the precursor gas has been supplied to the reaction chamber and

prior to complete purge of the precursor gas,

the reactant gas being supplied at the reactant gas supply time; and

a second program module including instructions to control a processing condition within the reaction chamber while the material deposition is occurring.

23. The machine readable medium of claim 22, wherein the first program module further comprises:

instructions for controlling an elapsed time for providing the precursor gas and the reactant gas to the reaction chamber.

24. The machine readable medium of claim 22, wherein the first program module further comprises:

instructions for providing a time period between the interruption of the precursor gas and the introduction of the reactant gas into the reaction chamber.

25. The machine readable medium of claim 22, wherein the instructions included in the first program module and the instructions included within the second program module are repetitively executed until a selected material thickness is deposited on the substrate.

26. The machine readable medium of claim 22, wherein the first program module further comprises:

instructions for specifying a time sufficient to saturate a surface topology of the semiconductor substrate with the precursor gas.

27. The machine readable medium of claim 22, wherein the first program module further comprises:

instructions for specifying a time sufficient to saturate a surface topology of the semiconductor substrate with the reactant gas.

28. The machine readable medium of claim 22, wherein the first program module further comprises:

instructions for identifying a stoichiometric amount of the precursor gas, and providing at least the stoichiometric amount of the precursor gas to the reaction chamber.

29. The machine readable medium of claim 22, wherein the first program module further comprises:

instructions for identifying a stoichiometric amount of the reactant gas, and providing at least the stoichiometric amount of the reactant gas to the reaction chamber.

30. The machine readable medium of claim 22, wherein the second program module further comprises:

instructions for controlling at least one of an energy transfer to the reaction chamber, a pressure within the reaction chamber, and a temperature within the reaction chamber.

31. The machine readable medium of claim 30, wherein the second program module further comprises:

instructions for controlling at least one of a radio frequency (RF) generator and a thermal lamp to control the energy transfer to the reaction chamber.

32. The machine readable medium of claim 30, wherein the second program module further comprises:

instructions for maintaining an approximately uniform pressure within the reaction chamber.

33. The machine readable medium of claim 30, wherein the second program module further comprises:

instructions for maintaining an approximately uniform temperature within the reaction chamber.

34. The machine readable medium of claim 33, wherein the second program module further comprises:

instructions for maintaining a temperature within the reaction chamber to at least approximately 300 deg. C.

35. The machine readable medium of claim 22, wherein the first program module further comprises:

instructions to supply a precursor gas including a metal, a dielectric and an insulator.

36. The machine readable medium of claim 35, wherein the first program module further comprises:

instructions to supply a precursor gas that includes at least one of rhenium, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, osmium, iridium, platinum and gold.

37. The machine readable medium of claim 22, wherein the first program module further comprises:

instructions to supply a reactant gas that includes nitrous oxide.