A-Si seasoning effect to improve SiN run-to-run uniformity

• US 9,230,796 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2015
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Inventors: Furuta, Gaku, Choi, Soo Young, Park, Beom Soo, Kenji, Omori, Choi, Young-jin
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Khiem D
• Application Number:
  US14/638,877
• Publication Number:
  US 20150179426A1
• Time in Patent Office: 307 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/345 Silicon nitride
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4404 Coatings or surface treatment on the inside of the reaction chamber or on parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0217 the material being a silicon nitride not containing oxygen, e.g. SixNy or SixByNz H01L21/02126 and H01L21/0214 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02274 in the presence of a plasma [PECVD]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02299 pre-treatment

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods for depositing a nitrogen-containing material on large-sized substrates disposed in a processing chamber. In one embodiment, a method includes processing a batch of substrates within a processing chamber to deposit a nitrogen-containing material on a substrate from the batch of substrates, and performing a seasoning process at predetermined intervals during processing the batch of substrates to deposit a conductive seasoning layer over a surface of a chamber component disposed in the processing chamber. The chamber component may include a gas distribution plate fabricated from a bare aluminum without anodizing. In one example, the conductive seasoning layer may include amorphous silicon, doped amorphous silicon, doped silicon, doped polysilicon, doped silicon carbide, or the like.

Claims

1. A method for processing a substrate, comprising:

performing a first chamber seasoning process to deposit a first seasoning layer over a surface of a chamber component disposed in a processing chamber without any substrate being present;

performing a deposition process to deposit a first material layer on a first batch of substrates within the processing chamber;

after the last substrate of the first batch of substrates is deposited with the first material layer, performing a second chamber seasoning process to deposit a conductive seasoning layer over the surface of the chamber component disposed in the processing chamber without any substrate being present;

after the second chamber seasoning process, performing the deposition process to deposit a second material layer on a second batch of substrates within the processing chamber; and

after the last substrate of the second batch of substrates is deposited with the second material layer, performing a third chamber seasoning process to deposit a second seasoning layer over the surface of the chamber component disposed in the processing chamber without any substrate being present.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to the third chamber seasoning process, performing a chamber cleaning process using an in-situ dry cleaning process or a remote plasma cleaning process.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first seasoning layer comprises an electrical conductive material.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first seasoning layer comprises silicon nitride.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the conductive seasoning layer comprises amorphous silicon, doped amorphous silicon, doped silicon, doped polysilicon, or doped silicon carbide.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the conductive seasoning layer has a thickness greater than about 500 Å

.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the first batch of substrates and the second batch of substrates includes about 1 substrate to about 6 substrates.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second material layers are a nitrogen-containing material layer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the nitrogen-containing material comprises silicon nitride.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a surface area of about 15,600 cm² or greater.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the chamber component is fabricated from a bare aluminum without anodizing.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the chamber component is fabricated from anodized aluminum.

13. A method for processing a substrate in a processing chamber, comprising:

performing a first chamber seasoning process to deposit a first seasoning layer over a surface of a chamber component in a processing region of the processing chamber without any substrate being present;

after the first chamber seasoning process, processing a first batch of substrates within the processing chamber, comprising;

performing a deposition process to deposit a first material layer on 1^st substrate to N^th substrate of the first batch; and

after the N^th substrate of the first batch is deposited with the first material layer, performing a second chamber seasoning process to deposit a first electrical conductive layer over the surface of the chamber component in the processing region of the processing chamber without any substrate being present; and

after the second chamber seasoning process, depositing a second material layer on N+1^th to N+N^th substrate of the first batch; and

after the N+N^th substrate of the first batch of the substrate is deposited with the second material layer, performing a third chamber seasoning process to deposit a second seasoning layer over the surface of the chamber component in the processing region of the processing chamber without any substrate being present.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

after the N+N^th substrate of the first batch of the substrates is deposited with the second material layer and prior to the third chamber seasoning process, processing a second batch of substrates within the processing chamber, comprising;

performing a fourth chamber seasoning process to deposit a third seasoning layer over the surface of the chamber component in the processing region of the processing chamber without any substrate being present;

performing a deposition process to deposit a third material layer on 1^st substrate to N^th substrate of the second batch; and

after the N^th substrate of the second batch is deposited with the third material layer, performing a fifth chamber seasoning process to deposit a second electrical conductive layer over the surface of the chamber component in the processing region of the processing chamber without any substrate being present; and

after the fifth chamber seasoning process, depositing a fourth material layer on N+1^th to N+N^th substrate of the second batch.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

after the N+N^th substrate of the second batch of the substrates is deposited with the fourth material layer and prior to the third chamber seasoning process, performing a chamber cleaning process using an in-situ dry cleaning process or a remote plasma cleaning process.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the first seasoning layer and the second seasoning layer comprises an electrical conductive material.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the first seasoning layer and the second seasoning layer comprises silicon nitride.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein each of the first and second electrical conductive seasoning layers comprises amorphous silicon, doped amorphous silicon, doped silicon, doped polysilicon, or doped silicon carbide.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the N is an integral number ranging between about 3 to about 12.