Etchant treatment processes for substrate surfaces and chamber surfaces

• US 8,093,154 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2005
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Inventors: Zojaji, Ali, Samoilov, Arkadii V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Deo, Duy
• Application Number:
  US11/242,613
• Publication Number:
  US 20060169669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,290 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 438/706
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 7/0035 by radiant energy, e.g. UV, laser, light beam or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02019 Chemical etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02046 Dry cleaning only H01L21/02085 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02057 Cleaning during device manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02381 Silicon, silicon germanium, germanium
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02529 Silicon carbide
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02532 Silicon, silicon germanium, germanium
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0262 Reduction or decomposition of gaseous compounds, e.g. CVD
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02658 Pretreatments cleaning in general H01L21/02041
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/3065 Plasma etching; Reactive-ion etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/823425 manufacturing common source or drain regions between a plurality of conductor-insulator-semiconductor structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/823807 with a particular manufacturing method of the channel structures, e.g. channel implants, halo or pocket implants, or channel materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/823814 with a particular manufacturing method of the source or drain structures, e.g. specific source or drain implants or silicided source or drain structures or raised source or drain structures

Abstract

In one embodiment of the invention, a method for finishing or treating a silicon-containing surface is provided which includes removing contaminants and/or smoothing the surface contained on the surface by a slow etch process (e.g., about <100 Å/min). The silicon-containing surface is exposed to an etching gas that contains an etchant and a silicon source. Preferably, the etchant is chlorine gas so that a relatively low temperature (e.g., <800° C.) is used during the process. In another embodiment, a method for etching a silicon-containing surface during a fast etch process (e.g., about >100 Å/min) is provided which includes removing silicon-containing material to form a recess in a source/drain (S/D) area on the substrate. In another embodiment, a method for cleaning a process chamber is provided which includes exposing the interior surfaces with a chamber clean gas that contains an etchant and a silicon source. The chamber clean process limits the etching of quartz and metal surfaces within the process chamber.

Claims

1. A method for forming a silicon-containing material on a substrate surface, comprising:

positioning a substrate comprising a silicon material containing a contaminant within a process chamber;

exposing the substrate to an etching gas comprising chlorine gas and a silicon source at a temperature of less than about 800°

C. during an etching process to remove the contaminant;

exposing the substrate to a deposition gas during a deposition process; and

exposing the process chamber to a chamber clean gas comprising the chlorine gas and the silicon source during a chamber clean process.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate is removed from the process chamber prior to starting the chamber clean process.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the silicon source comprises a reagent selected from the group consisting of silane, disilane, chlorosilane, dichlorosilane, trichlorosilane, hexachlorodisilane, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the chamber clean gas further comprises a carrier gas selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, hydrogen, argon, helium, forming gas, and combinations thereof.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the silicon source comprises silane and the carrier gas comprises nitrogen.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the process chamber is heated to a temperature of about 600°

C. or higher during the chamber clean process.

7. The method of chamber clean process claim 6, wherein the temperature of the process chamber during the is within a range from about 700°

C. to about 900°

C. and the process chamber is at a pressure of about 760 Torr or less.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the silicon material further contains a rough surface prior to the etching process, wherein the rough surface has a roughness of greater than 1 nm RMS.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the rough surface is removed during the etching process to form a smooth surface having a roughness of about 1 nm RMS or less.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the deposition gas comprises the chlorine gas and the silicon source, and the deposition process is an epitaxy deposition process.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the etching gas, the deposition gas, and the chamber clean gas each comprises silane and chlorine gas.

12. A method for forming a silicon-containing material on a substrate surface, comprising:

positioning a substrate comprising a silicon material containing a contaminant within a process chamber;

exposing the substrate to an etching gas comprising a silicon source at a temperature of less than about 800°

C. during an etching process to remove the contaminant; and

exposing the process chamber to a chamber clean gas comprising chlorine gas and the silicon source during a chamber clean process.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the substrate is removed from the process chamber prior to starting the chamber clean process.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the chamber clean gas further comprises nitrogen, the silicon source comprises silane, and the process chamber is heated to a temperature of about 60020 C. or higher during the chamber clean process.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the temperature of the process chamber during the chamber clean process is within a range from about 700°

C. to about 900°

C. and the process chamber is at a pressure of about 760 Torr or less.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising exposing the silicon material to a deposition gas comprising the silicon source during a deposition process subsequent to the etching process and prior to the chamber clean process.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the etchant gas comprises chlorine gas and the silicon material contains a smooth surface having a roughness of about 1 nm RMS or less after the etching process.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the deposition process is an epitaxy deposition process.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the etching gas, the deposition gas, and the chamber clean gas each comprises silane.

20. A method for forming a silicon-containing material on a substrate surface, comprising:

positioning a substrate comprising a silicon material containing a contaminant within a process chamber;

exposing the substrate to an etching gas comprising chlorine gas and a silicon source at a temperature of less than about 800°

C. during an etching process to remove the contaminant;

exposing the substrate to a deposition gas comprising the silicon source during an epitaxial deposition process;

removing the substrate from the process chamber; and

exposing the process chamber to a chamber clean gas comprising an etchant gas and the silicon source during a chamber clean process.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the chamber clean gas comprises chlorine gas, and the silicon source comprises silane.

22. A method for forming a silicon-containing material on a substrate surface, comprising:

positioning a substrate comprising a silicon material containing a contaminant within a process chamber;

exposing the substrate to an etching gas comprising chlorine gas and silane at a temperature of less than about 800°

C. during an etching process to remove the contaminant;

exposing the substrate to a deposition gas comprising the chlorine gas and the silane during an epitaxial deposition process;

removing the substrate from the process chamber; and

exposing the process chamber to a chamber clean gas comprising the chlorine gas and the silane during a chamber clean process.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the etching process removes material at a rate of about 10 Å

/min or less.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the rate is about 2 Å

/min or less.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the etching process removes material at a rate within a range from about 200 Å

/min to about 1,000 Å

/min.