METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TILTING A SUBSTRATE DURING GAS CLUSTER ION BEAM PROCESSING

• US 20110084215A1
• Filed: 10/08/2009
• Published: 04/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America, Inc.
• Original Assignee: TEL Epion Inc. (Tokyo Electron Limited)
• Inventors: Hautala, John J., Russell, Noel
• Granted Patent: US 8,237,136 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 250/396.R
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/221 Ion beam deposition C23C14/46, C23C14/48 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/50 Substrate holders
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/3174 Etching microareas
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3053 for evaporating or etching
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/26513 of electrically active species
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/26566 of a cluster, e.g. using a gas cluster ion beam
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/26586 characterised by the angle between the ion beam and the crystal planes or the main crystal surface
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66795 with a horizontal current flow in a vertical sidewall of a semiconductor body, e.g. FinFET, MuGFET
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66803 with a step of doping the vertical sidewall, e.g. using tilted or multi-angled implants
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/785 having a channel with a horizontal current flow in a vertical sidewall of a semiconductor body, e.g. FinFET, MuGFET

Abstract

A method and system for treating a non-planar structure is described. The method includes forming a non-planar structure on a substrate. Additionally, the method includes generating a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) formed from a material source for treatment of the non-planar structure, tilting the substrate relative to the GCIB, and irradiating the non-planar structure with the GCIB. The system includes a substrate tilt actuator coupled to a substrate holder and configured to tilt the substrate holder relative to a GCIB.

Claims

1. A method for preparing a non-planar structure, comprising:

forming said non-planar structure on a substrate;

generating a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) formed from a material source for treatment of said non-planar structure;

tilting said substrate relative to said GCIB; and

irradiating said non-planar structure with said GCIB.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said irradiating said non-planar structure with said GCIB facilitates etching at least a portion of a surface on said non-planar structure, cleaning at least a portion of a surface on said non-planar structure, depositing a thin film on at least a portion of a surface on said non-planar structure, growing a thin film on at least a portion of a surface on said non-planar structure, modifying a property of at least a portion of a surface on said non-planar structure, doping at least a portion of a surface on said non-planar structure, or smoothing at least a portion of a surface on said non-planar structure, or any combination of two or more thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said irradiating said non-planar structure with said GCIB facilitates growing and/or depositing a layer of silicon oxide (SiO_x), silicon nitride (SiN_y), silicon carbide (SiC_z), silicon oxynitride (SiO_xN_y), silicon carbonitride (SiC_zN_y), silicon-germanium (SiGe), or germanium (Ge) on at least a portion of a surface on said non-planar structure.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said irradiating said non-planar structure with said GCIB facilitates doping at least a portion of a surface on said non-planar structure with one or more elements selected from the group consisting of B, C, Si, Ge, N, P, As, O, S, and Cl.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said irradiating said non-planar structure with said GCIB facilitates etching at least a portion of a surface on said non-planar structure using a halogen-containing GCIB.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said non-planar structure comprises first and second perpendicular surfaces associated with said non-planar structure and oriented substantially perpendicular to said substrate, and wherein said tilting said substrate comprises tilting said substrate such that said GCIB remains substantially parallel with a plane in which lies said first perpendicular surface and such that said GCIB establishes a non-parallel angle of incidence with said second perpendicular surface.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said irradiating said second perpendicular surface with said GCIB facilitates etching said second perpendicular surface, cleaning said second perpendicular surface, depositing a thin film on said second perpendicular surface, growing a thin film on said second perpendicular surface, modifying a property of said second perpendicular surface, doping said second perpendicular surface, or smoothing said second perpendicular surface, or any combination of two or more thereof.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein said irradiating said second perpendicular surface with said GCIB facilitates growing and/or depositing a thin film on said second perpendicular surface while substantially avoiding growing and/or depositing another thin film on said first perpendicular surface.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein said irradiating said second perpendicular surface with said GCIB facilitates doping said second perpendicular surface while substantially avoiding doping of said first perpendicular surface.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein said irradiating said second perpendicular surface with said GCIB facilitates etching said second perpendicular surface while substantially avoiding etching of said first perpendicular surface.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

selecting a beam energy, a beam energy distribution, a beam focus, and a beam dose for treating said second perpendicular surface;

accelerating said GCIB to achieve said beam energy;

focusing said GCIB to achieve said beam focus; and

irradiating said accelerated GCIB onto at least a portion of said substrate according to said beam dose.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting said tilting of said substrate from a first location of said substrate relative to said GCIB to a second location of said substrate relative to said GCIB in a continuous manner or step-wise manner.

12. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

modifying said beam energy, modifying said beam energy distribution, modifying said beam focus, modifying said beam dose, or adjusting said tilting of said substrate, or performing any combination of two or more thereof.

14. A GCIB processing system, comprising:

a vacuum vessel;

a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) source disposed in said vacuum vessel and configured to produce a GCIB;

a substrate holder configured to support a substrate inside said vacuum vessel for treatment by said GCIB;

a scan actuator coupled to said substrate holder and configured to scan said substrate holder through said GCIB;

a substrate tilt actuator coupled to said substrate holder and configured to tilt said substrate holder relative to said GCIB; and

a control system coupled to said scan actuator and said substrate tilt actuator, and configured to programmably operate said scan actuator and said substrate tilt actuator to scan and tilt, with programmable velocity, any portion of the substrate through the projected impact region for GCIB processing by said GCIB.

15. The GCIB processing system of claim 14, wherein said GCIB source comprises:

a nozzle assembly comprising a gas source, a stagnation chamber and a nozzle, and configured to introduce under high pressure one or more gases through said nozzle to said vacuum vessel in order to produce a gas cluster beam;

a gas skimmer positioned downstream from said nozzle assembly, and configured to reduce the number of energetic, smaller particles in said gas cluster beam; and

an ionizer positioned downstream from said gas skimmer, and configured to ionize said gas cluster beam to produce said GCIB.

16. The GCIB processing system of claim 15, further comprising:

a filter positioned downstream from said ionizer, and configured to substantially reduce the number of clusters having 100 or less atoms or molecules or both.

17. The GCIB processing system of claim 16, further comprising:

a beam gate positioned downstream from said filter, and configured to open and close exposure of said GCIB to a substrate positioned downstream.

18. The GCIB processing system of claim 14, wherein said control system is configured to adjust the tilt of said substrate holder from a first location of said substrate holder relative to said GCIB to a second location of said substrate holder relative to said GCIB in a continuous manner or step-wise manner.

19. The GCIB processing system of claim 14, further comprising:

a beam current sensor configured to calibrate and/or profile an interaction of a tilted surface of said substrate holder with said GCIB.