Remote plasma apparatus for processing substrate with two types of gases
First Claim
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1. A remote plasma apparatus comprising:
- a body defining a cavity and having first and second inlets, the cavity comprising a plasma generation region and a processing region, the first inlet communicating with the plasma generation region to introduce a first gas into the plasma generation region, the second inlet communicating with the processing region to supply a second gas into the processing region;
an energy source arranged and adapted to apply energy within the plasma generation region to generate, from the first gas, plasma including radicals;
a plate arranged in the cavity and dividing the cavity between the plasma generation region and the processing region, the plate being formed with a plurality of perforated holes which the radicals pass through and each of which has a diameter not larger than three millimeters, wherein aperture ratio of the perforated holes area to the plate area is not greater than five percent, so as to avoid diffusion of the second gas from the processing region to the plasma generation region and as a result, to suppress backward flow of said second gas into said plasma generation region; and
a substrate supporter arranged within the processing region and adapted to support a substrate to be processed by using a reaction between the radicals passing through the perforated holes and the second gas supplied through the second inlet.
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Abstract
In a plasma CVD apparatus, a plate formed with a plurality of perforated holes is arranged to separate a plasma generation region and a processing region. The aperture ratio of the perforated holes to the plate is not greater than five percent. Plasma including radicals and excited species is generated from an oxygen (O2) gas in the plasma generation region, then the radicals and excited species flow into the processing region through the perforated holes. A monosilane (SiH4) gas is also supplied into the processing region, but the backward flow of the monosilane gas into the plasma generation region is suppressed by the plate. In the processing region, the radicals and the excited species and the monosilane gas result in a gas phase reaction that yields the silicon dioxide film formed on the substrate or the wafer with high quality.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A remote plasma apparatus comprising:
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a body defining a cavity and having first and second inlets, the cavity comprising a plasma generation region and a processing region, the first inlet communicating with the plasma generation region to introduce a first gas into the plasma generation region, the second inlet communicating with the processing region to supply a second gas into the processing region;
an energy source arranged and adapted to apply energy within the plasma generation region to generate, from the first gas, plasma including radicals;
a plate arranged in the cavity and dividing the cavity between the plasma generation region and the processing region, the plate being formed with a plurality of perforated holes which the radicals pass through and each of which has a diameter not larger than three millimeters, wherein aperture ratio of the perforated holes area to the plate area is not greater than five percent, so as to avoid diffusion of the second gas from the processing region to the plasma generation region and as a result, to suppress backward flow of said second gas into said plasma generation region; and
a substrate supporter arranged within the processing region and adapted to support a substrate to be processed by using a reaction between the radicals passing through the perforated holes and the second gas supplied through the second inlet.
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2. A remote plasma apparatus comprising:
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a body defining a cavity and having first and second inlets, the cavity comprising a plasma generation region and a processing region, the first inlet communicating with the plasma generation region to introduce a first gas into the plasma generation region, the second inlet communicating with the processing region to supply a second gas into the processing region;
an energy source arranged and adapted to apply energy within the plasma generation region to generate, from the first gas, plasma including radicals;
a plate arranged in the cavity and dividing the cavity between the plasma generation region and the processing region, the plate being formed with a plurality of perforated holes which the radicals pass through and each of which has a diameter not larger than three millimeters, wherein aperture ratio of the perforated holes area to the plate area is not greater than five percent, so as to avoid diffusion of the second gas from the processing region to the plasma generation region and as a result, to suppress backward flow of said second gas into said plasma generation region; and
a substrate supporter arranged within the processing region and adapted to support a substrate to be processed by using a reaction between the radicals passing through the perforated holes and the second gas supplied through the second inlet. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4)
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5. A remote plasma apparatus comprising:
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a body defining a cavity and having first and second inlets and an inner side wall, the cavity comprising a plasma generation region and a processing region, the first inlet communicating with the plasma generation region to introduce a first gas into the plasma generation region, the second inlet communicating with the processing region to supply a second gas into the processing region;
an energy source arranged and adapted to apply energy within the plasma generation region to generate, from the first gas, plasma including radicals;
a plate arranged in the cavity and dividing the cavity between the plasma generation region and the processing region with no gap left between the plate and the inner side wall, the plate being formed with a plurality of perforated holes which the radicals pass through and each of which has a diameter not larger than three millimeters, wherein aperture ratio of the perforated holes area to the plate area is not greater than five percent, so as to avoid diffusion of the second gas from the processing region to the plasma generation region and as a result, to suppress backward flow of said second gas into said plasma generation region; and
a substrate supporter arranged within the processing region and adapted to support a substrate to be processed by using a reaction between the radicals passing through the perforated holes and the second gas supplied through the second inlet. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. A remote plasma apparatus comprising:
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a body defining a cavity and having first and second inlets, the cavity comprising a plasma generation region and a processing region, the first inlet communicating with the plasma generation region to introduce a first gas into the plasma generation region, the second inlet communicating with the processing region to supply a second gas into the processing region;
an energy source arranged and adapted to apply energy within the plasma generation region to generate, from the first gas, plasma including radicals;
a closure electrode arranged within the cavity and defining the plasma generation region in cooperation with the body, the closure electrode being electrically grounded to allow the radicals to pass through the closure electrode;
a plate arranged in the cavity and dividing the cavity and defining the processing region in cooperation with the body, the plate being formed with a plurality of perforated holes which the radicals pass through and each of which has a diameter not larger than three millimeters, wherein aperture ratio of the perforated holes area to the plate area is not greater than five percent, so as to avoid diffusion of the second gas from the processing region to the plasma generation region and as a result, to suppress backward flow of said second gas into said plasma generation region; and
a substrate supporter arranged within the processing region and adapted to support a substrate to be processed by using a reaction between the radicals passing through the perforated holes and the second gas supplied through the second inlet. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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11. A remote plasma apparatus comprising:
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a body defining a cavity and having first and second inlets and an inner side wall, the cavity comprising a plasma generation region and a processing region, the first inlet communicating with the plasma generation region to introduce a first gas into the plasma generation region, the second inlet communicating with the processing region to supply a second gas into the processing region;
an energy source arranged and adapted to apply energy within the plasma generation region to generate, from the first gas, plasma including radicals;
a closure electrode arranged within the cavity and defining the plasma generation region in cooperation with the body, the closure electrode being electrically grounded to allow the radicals to pass through the closure electrode;
a plate arranged in the cavity and dividing the cavity with no gap left between the plate and the inner side wall so as to define the processing region, the plate being formed with a plurality of perforated holes which the radicals pass through and each of which has a diameter not larger than three millimeters, wherein aperture ratio of the perforated holes area to the plate area is not greater than five percent, so as to avoid diffusion of the second gas from the processing region to the plasma generation region and as a result, to suppress backward flow of said second gas into said plasma generation region; and
a substrate supporter arranged within the processing region and adapted to support a substrate to be processed by using a reaction between the radicals passing through the perforated holes and the second gas supplied through the second inlet. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A remote plasma apparatus comprising:
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a body defining a cavity and having first and second inlets, the cavity comprising a plasma generation region and a processing region, the first inlet communicating with the plasma generation region to introduce a first gas into the plasma generation region, the second inlet communicating with the processing region to supply a second gas into the processing region;
an energy source arranged and adapted to apply energy within the plasma generation region to generate, from the first gas, plasma including radicals;
a plate arranged in the cavity and dividing the cavity between the plasma generation region and the processing region, the plate being electrically grounded, the plate being formed with a plurality of perforated holes which the radicals pass through and each of which has a diameter not larger than three millimeters wherein aperture ratio of the perforated holes area to the plate area is not greater than five percent, so as to avoid diffusion of the second gas from the processing region to the plasma generation region and as a result, to suppress backward flow of said second gas into said plasma generation region; and
a substrate supporter arranged within the processing region and adapted to support a substrate to be processed by using a reaction between the radicals passing through the perforated holes and the second gas supplied through the second inlet. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A remote plasma apparatus comprising:
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a body defining a cavity and having first and second inlets and an inner side wall, the cavity comprising a plasma generation region and a processing region, the first inlet communicating with the plasma generation region to introduce a first gas into the plasma generation region, the second inlet communicating with the processing region to introduce a second gas into the processing region;
an energy source arranged and adapted to apply energy within the plasma generation region to generate, from the first gas, plasma including radicals;
a plate arranged in the cavity and dividing the cavity between the plasma generation region and the processing region with no gap left between the plate and the inner side wall, the plate being electrically grounded, the plate being formed with a plurality of perforated holes which the radicals pass through and each of which has a diameter not larger than three millimeters, wherein aperture ratio of the perforated holes area to the plate area is not greater than five percent, so as to avoid diffusion of the second gas from the processing region to the plasma generation region and as a result, to suppress backward flow of said second gas into said plasma generation region; and
a substrate supporter arranged within the processing region and adapted to support a substrate to be processed by using a reaction between the radicals passing through the perforated holes and the second gas supplied through the second inlet. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A remote plasma apparatus comprising:
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a body defining a cavity and having first and second inlets, the cavity comprising a plasma generation region and a processing region, the first inlet communicating with the plasma generation region to introduce a first gas into the plasma generation region, the second inlet communicating with the processing region to supply a second gas into the processing region;
an energy source arranged and adapted to apply energy within the plasma generation region to generate, from the first gas, plasma including radicals;
a plate arranged in the cavity and dividing the cavity between the plasma generation region and the processing region, the plate being formed with a plurality of perforated holes which the radicals pass through and each of which has a diameter not larger than three millimeters, wherein neighboring ones of the perforated holes have a predetermined interval therebetween, and wherein aperture ratio of the perforated holes area to the plate area is not greater than five percent, so as to avoid diffusion of the second gas from the processing region to the plasma generation region and as a result, to suppress backward flow of said second gas into said plasma generation region; and
a substrate supporter arranged within the processing region and adapted to support a substrate to be processed by using a reaction between the radicals passing through the perforated holes and the second gas supplied through the second inlet, so that the predetermined interval is shorter than another interval between the plate and the substrate to be processed when the substrate is supported by the substrate supporter. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. A remote plasma apparatus comprising:
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a body defining a cavity and having first and second inlets and an inner side wall, the cavity comprising a plasma generation region and a processing region, the first inlet communicating with the plasma generation region to introduce a first gas into the plasma generation region, the second inlet communicating with the processing region to supply a second gas into the processing region;
an energy source arranged and adapted to apply energy within the plasma generation region to generate, from the first gas, plasma including radicals;
a plate arranged in the cavity and dividing the cavity between the plasma generation region and the processing region with no gap left between the plate and the inner side wall, the plate being formed with a plurality of perforated holes which the radicals pass through and each of which has a diameter not larger than three millimeters, wherein neighboring ones of the perforated holes have a predetermined interval therebetween, and wherein aperture ratio of the perforated holes area to the plate area is not greater than five percent, so as to avoid diffusion of the second gas from the processing region to the plasma generation region and as a result, to suppress backward flow of said second gas into said plasma generation region; and
a substrate supporter arranged within the processing region and adapted to support a substrate to be processed by using a reaction between the radicals passing through the perforated holes and the second gas supplied through the second inlet, so that the predetermined interval is shorter than another interval between the plate and the substrate to be processed when the substrate is supported by the substrate supporter. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. A remote plasma apparatus comprising:
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a body defining a cavity and having first and second inlets and first and second outlets, the cavity comprising a plasma generation region and a processing region, the first inlet communicating with the plasma generation region to introduce a first gas into the plasma generation region, the second inlet communicating with the processing region to supply a second gas into the processing region, the first and the second outlets communicating between an outside of the remote plasma apparatus and the plasma generation region and the processing region, respectively;
an energy source arranged and adapted to apply energy within the plasma generation region to generate, from the first gas, plasma including radicals;
a plate arranged between the plasma generation region and the processing region, the plate being formed with a plurality of perforated holes which the radicals pass through and each of which has a diameter not larger than three millimeters, wherein aperture ratio of the perforated holes to the plate is not greater than five percent, so as to avoid diffusion of the second gas from the processing region to the plasma generation region and as a result, to suppress backward flow of the second gas into the plasma generation region; and
a substrate supporter arranged within the processing region and adapted to support a substrate to be processed by using a reaction between the radicals passing through the perforated holes and the second gas supplied through the second inlet.
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27. A remote plasma apparatus comprising:
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a body defining a cavity and having first and second inlets, the cavity comprising a plasma generation region and a processing region, the first inlet communicating with the plasma generation region to introduce a first gas into the plasma generation region, the second inlet being adapted to supply a second gas into the processing region;
an energy source arranged and adapted to apply energy within the plasma generation region to generate, from the first gas, plasma including radicals;
a plate arranged between the plasma generation region and the processing region and comprising, to define a gas supplier plenum, a top portion having a plurality of upper holes, a bottom portion having a plurality of lower holes, a plurality of tube walls connecting between the upper holes and the lower holes, respectively, and a plurality of gas injection holes communicating with the processing region, the tube walls forming a plurality of perforated holes which the radicals pass through and each of which has a diameter not larger than three millimeters; and
separating the gas supplier plenum from insides of the perforated holes, respectively, the gas supplier plenum of the plate being connected to the second inlet so that the second inlet communicates with the processing region through the gas supplier plenum and the gas injection holes, wherein aperture ratio of the perforated holes to the plate is not greater than five percent, so as to avoid diffusion of the second gas from the processing region to the plasma generation region and as a result, to suppress backward flow of the second gas into the plasma generation region; and
a substrate supporter arranged within the processing region and adapted to support a substrate to be processed by using a reaction between the radicals passing through the perforated holes and the second gas supplied through the second inlet.
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Specification
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Current AssigneeAnelva Corporation (Canon Inc.), NEC Corporation
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Original AssigneeAnelva Corporation (Canon Inc.), NEC Corporation
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InventorsYuda, Katsuhisa, Nogami, Hiroshi
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Primary Examiner(s)Mills, Gregory
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Assistant Examiner(s)CROWELL, ANNA M
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Application NumberUS09/820,149Publication NumberTime in Patent Office1,413 DaysField of Search148/723.ER, 148/723.R, 148/723.IR, 148/723.ME, 156/345.36, 156/345.43, 156/345.48, 156/345.35US Class Current118/723.0ERCPC Class CodesC23C 16/402 Silicon dioxideC23C 16/452 by activating reactive gas ...C23C 16/45565 Shower nozzlesC23C 16/45574 Nozzles for more than one gasH01J 37/32357 Generation remote from the ...H01J 37/32422 Arrangement for selecting i...
