Gas reaction trajectory control through tunable plasma dissociation for wafer by-product distribution and etch feature profile uniformity

• US 9,966,270 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2015
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
• Original Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
• Inventors: Sriraman, Saravanapriyan, Titus, Monica, Paterson, Alex
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu, Jiong-Ping
• Application Number:
  US14/675,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20160293431A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,134 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45561 Gas plumbing upstream of the reaction chamber
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45574 Nozzles for more than one gas
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/321 the radio frequency energy being inductively coupled to the plasma
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3244 Gas supply means
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32449 Gas control, e.g. control of the gas flow
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32926 Software, data control or modelling
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/3065 Plasma etching; Reactive-ion etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/31 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques encapsulating layers H01L21/56; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67069 for drying etching

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for controlling gas flow in a semiconductor manufacturing chamber. The method includes flowing a reactant gas thorough an inner feed and a tuning gas through an outer feed surrounding the inner feed, such that the gases do not mix until both are introduced in the chamber. Further, the flow of the reactant gas is convective, and the flow of the tuning gas is directed at an angle from the direction of the reactant gas, providing a delivery of the tuning gas in closer proximity to the RF power before further mixing with the reactant gas. Radio frequency power is provided to the electrode to ignite a plasma using the reactant and tuning gases.

Claims

1. A method for delivering gases to a plasma processing chamber, comprising:

the plasma processing chamber including walls, a substrate support, a dielectric window disposed over the substrate support, a center region of the dielectric window includes a gas feed injector that has an inner feed and an outer feed that surrounds the inner feed, an electrode is disposed over the dielectric window for providing power through the dielectric window and to a plasma region that is disposed between the dielectric window and the substrate support configured to support a substrate;

flowing separately a reactant gas to the inner feed, the flowing of the reactant gas is set at a convective flow so that the reactant gas has a first flow rate and is directed perpendicular to the substrate;

flowing separately a tuning gas to the outer feed, the tuning gas having a different chemical composition than the reactant gas, the flowing of the tuning gas to the outer feed is not mixed with the reactant gas until both the reactant gas and the tuning gas are introduced in the plasma region, the flowing of the tuning gas is set at a diffusive flow so that the tuning gas has a second flow rate that is less than the first flow rate, and is directed at an angle that is away from the reactant gas between perpendicular to the substrate and parallel to the dielectric window; and

providing radio frequency (RF) power to the electrode so that a plasma is ignited in the plasma region over the substrate using the reactant gas and the tuning gas, the angle at which the tuning gas is introduced into the plasma region is such that at least a fraction of the tuning gas that is closer to the dielectric window is exposed to the RF power provided through the dielectric window before mixing with the reactant gas;

wherein the diffusive flow of the tuning gas enables the fraction of the tuning gas to be dissociated by the RF power and a fraction to not be dissociated before being mixed with the reactant gas and ignited to form the plasma in the plasma region;

wherein introduction of the reactant gas and the tuning gas separately via independent gas lines into the chamber without pre-mixing imparts control of etch uniformity across a surface of the substrate during active etching of a material of the substrate, the etch uniformity is a result of control of spatial plasma dissociation profiles by said separate flows of reactant gas and tuning gas;

wherein etch uniformity is controlled in part by setting either one or both of the reactant gas and tuning gas to include a passivation component.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the tuning gas is a gas used to manage etching performance on the surface of the substrate, the tuning gas used to control the dissociation pattern of reactants gases being injected into the chamber, wherein the tuning gas is one of a passivation or a reactant moiety.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further including:

flowing a side gas through a side feed at a side of the chamber, the side gas being another tuning gas.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further including:

tuning a ratio between a volume flow of the reactant gas and a volume flow of the tuning gas.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the diffusive gas flow from the tuning gas couples into deposition zones directly underneath the dielectric window in close proximity to the outer feed.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the outer feed includes a plurality of holes defined on a circle concentric with the inner feed.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein a dissociation rate in the chamber is controlled by adjusting the convective flow and the diffusive flow.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein operations of the method are performed by a computer program when executed by one or more processors, the computer program being embedded in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

9. A method for delivering gases to a plasma processing chamber, comprising:

the plasma processing chamber including walls, a substrate support, a dielectric window disposed over the substrate support, a center region of the dielectric window includes a gas feed injector that has an inner feed and an outer feed that surrounds the inner feed, an electrode is disposed over the dielectric window for providing power through the dielectric window and to a plasma region that is disposed between the dielectric window and the substrate support configured to support a substrate;

flowing separately a first gas type to the inner feed;

flowing separately a second gas type to the outer feed, the second gas type having a different chemical composition than the first gas type, such that the first gas type and the second gas type are not mixed before being introduced into the plasma region; and

providing radio frequency (RF) power to the electrode so that a plasma is ignited in the plasma region over the substrate using the first and second gas types, wherein mixing within the plasma region when the plasma is ignited defines a plasma dissociation pattern between the first and second gas types;

wherein the second gas is introduced at an angle that is away from the first gas, and the first gas has a first flow rate that is higher than a second flow rate of the second gas, such that a fraction of the second gas is configured to dissociate by the RF power being provided through the dielectric window, said RF power being in closer proximity to the second gas due to said second gas being introduced at the angle, the fraction of said second gas that is dissociated is then mixed with the first gas to ignite the plasma in the plasma region;

wherein the first gas type includes a reactant component;

wherein the second gas includes a tuning component;

wherein the reactant component and the tuning component define the plasma dissociation pattern over the substrate, wherein introduction of the first gas type and the second gas type is via independent gas lines into the chamber without pre-mixing the first gas type and second gas type to impart control of etch uniformity across a surface of the substrate when the plasma is ignited to cause an etching of a material of the substrate, the etch uniformity is a result of control of spatial plasma dissociation profiles by said separate flows that deliver said reactant component and said tuning component;

wherein etch uniformity is controlled in part by setting either one or both of the first and second gas types to include a passivation component.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the reactant component of the first gas type is a source of species for etching the substrate.

11. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the first gas is selected from a group consisting of chlorine, or hydrogen bromide, or sulfur hexafluoride.

12. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the second gas is selected from a group consisting of oxygen, or helium, or argon, or methane, or carbon dioxide.

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

setting parameters for a gas box, the parameters defining a first gas flow and a second gas flow, the first gas flow including one or more first gases, and the second gas flow including one or more second gases, wherein the first gas flow includes one of reactant gases, or tuning gases, or a mixture of reactant and tuning gases, wherein the second gas flow includes one of reactant gases, or tuning gases, or a mixture of reactant and tuning gases, wherein the first gas flow and the second gas flow are independently set by a controller;

flowing separately the first gas flow through an inner feed into the chamber, the inner feed being defined at a center of a dielectric window of the chamber;

flowing separately the second gas flow through an outer feed into the chamber, the outer feed surrounding the inner feed at the center of the dielectric window, wherein the first gas flow and the second gas flow are each separately introduced into the chamber via independent gas lines so that the first gas flow and the second gas flow are of different chemical compositions and are not mixed before flowing into the chamber; and

providing radio frequency (RF) power to an electrode disposed over the dielectric window to ignite a plasma over the substrate using the first gas flow and the second gas flow;

wherein the second gas flow is introduced at an angle that is away from the first gas flow, the first gas flow having a first flow rate that is higher than a second flow rate of the second gas flow, such that said second gases of the second gas flow are configured to at least partially dissociate by the RF power being provided through the dielectric window and said second gas flow being introduced at the angel that places a fraction of the second gas flow in closer proximity to the dielectric window, the fraction dissociated second gases of the second gas flow then mix with the first gases of the first gas flow to ignite the plasma over the substrate;

wherein defining which reactant gases and tuning gases are injected into the chamber and where the reactant gases and tuning gases are introduced into the chamber provides for control of dissociation patterns and control of spatial plasma dissociation profiles in the chamber to obtain etch uniformity over a surface of the substrate.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the first gas flow includes at least one reactant gas and the second gas flow includes at least one tuning gas.

15. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the first gas flow includes hydrogen bromide, oxygen, and helium, and the second gas flow includes hydrogen bromide and helium.

16. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the tuning gas is a gas used to manage etching performance on the surface of the substrate, the tuning gas used to control the dissociation pattern of reactants gases being injected into the chamber, wherein the tuning gas is one of a passivation or a reactant moiety.

17. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the inner feed injects the first gas flow into the chamber in a first direction that is vertical and the outer feed injects the second gas flow at the angle.

18. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein setting parameters for the gas box further includes setting flow speeds for the first gas flow and the second gas flow.