Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090044753 | METHODS TO IMPROVE THE IN-FILM DEFECTIVITY OF PECVD AMORPHOUS CARBON FILMS - An article having a protective coating for use in semiconductor applications and methods for making the same are provided. In certain embodiments, a method of coating an aluminum surface of an article utilized in a semiconductor processing chamber is provided. The method comprises providing a processing chamber; placing the article into the processing chamber; flowing a first gas comprising a carbon source into the processing chamber; flowing a second gas comprising a nitrogen source into the processing chamber; forming a plasma in the chamber; and depositing a coating material on the aluminum surface. In certain embodiments, the coating material comprises an amorphous carbon nitrogen containing layer. In certain embodiments, the article comprises a showerhead configured to deliver a gas to the processing chamber. | 02-19-2009 |
20090050902 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE HAVING SILICON CARBIDE AND CONDUCTIVE PATHWAY INTERFACE - The present invention provides semiconductor device formed by an in situ plasma reducing process to reduce oxides or other contaminants, using a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, typically ammonia, at relatively low temperatures prior to depositing a subsequent layer thereon. The adhesion characteristics of the layers are improved and oxygen presence is reduced compared to the typical physical sputter cleaning process of an oxide layer. This process may be particularly useful for the complex requirements of a dual damascene structure, especially with copper applications. | 02-26-2009 |
20090197086 | ELIMINATION OF PHOTORESIST MATERIAL COLLAPSE AND POISONING IN 45-NM FEATURE SIZE USING DRY OR IMMERSION LITHOGRAPHY - A method and structure for the fabrication of semiconductor devices having feature sizes in the range of 90 nm and smaller is provided. In one embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for processing a substrate including depositing an anti-reflective coating layer on a surface of the substrate, depositing an adhesion promotion layer on the anti-reflective coating layer, and depositing a resist material on the adhesion promotion layer. In another embodiment of the invention, a semiconductor substrate structure is provided including a dielectric substrate, an amorphous carbon layer deposited on the dielectric layer, an anti-reflective coating layer deposited on the amorphous carbon layer, an adhesion promotion layer deposited on the anti-reflective coating layer, and a resist material deposited on the adhesion promotion layer. | 08-06-2009 |
20100093187 | Method for Depositing Conformal Amorphous Carbon Film by Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) - Methods and apparatus for depositing an amorphous carbon layer on a substrate are provided. In one embodiment, a deposition process includes positioning a substrate in a substrate processing chamber, introducing a hydrocarbon source having a carbon to hydrogen atom ratio of greater than 1:2 into the processing chamber, introducing a plasma initiating gas selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, helium, argon, nitrogen, and combinations thereof into the processing chamber, with the hydrocarbon source having a volumetric flow rate to plasma initiating gas volumetric flow rate ratio of 1:2 or greater, generating a plasma in the processing chamber, and forming a conformal amorphous carbon layer on the substrate. | 04-15-2010 |
20100239979 | GRADED ARC FOR HIGH NA AND IMMERSION LITHOGRAPHY - A method of forming a device using a graded anti-reflective coating is provided. One or more amorphous carbon layers are formed on a substrate. An anti-reflective coating (ARC) is formed on the one or more amorphous carbon layers wherein the ARC layer has an absorption coefficient that varies across the thickness of the ARC layer. An energy sensitive resist material is formed on the ARC layer. An image of a pattern is introduced into the layer of energy sensitive resist material by exposing the energy sensitive resist material to patterned radiation. The image of the pattern introduced into the layer of energy sensitive resist material is developed. | 09-23-2010 |
20110090613 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SUBSTRATE CLAMPING IN A PLASMA CHAMBER - The present invention generally provides methods and apparatus for monitoring and maintaining flatness of a substrate in a plasma reactor. Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a method for processing a substrate comprising positioning the substrate on an electrostatic chuck, applying an RF power between the an electrode in the electrostatic chuck and a counter electrode positioned parallel to the electrostatic chuck, applying a DC bias to the electrode in the electrostatic chuck to clamp the substrate on the electrostatic chuck, and measuring an imaginary impedance of the electrostatic chuck. | 04-21-2011 |
20110104400 | METHOD FOR DEPOSITING AN AMORPHOUS CARBON FILM WITH IMPROVED DENSITY AND STEP COVERAGE - A method for depositing an amorphous carbon layer on a substrate includes the steps of positioning a substrate in a chamber, introducing a hydrocarbon source into the processing chamber, introducing a heavy noble gas into the processing chamber, and generating a plasma in the processing chamber. The heavy noble gas is selected from the group consisting of argon, krypton, xenon, and combinations thereof and the molar flow rate of the noble gas is greater than the molar flow rate of the hydrocarbon source. A post-deposition termination step may be included, wherein the flow of the hydrocarbon source and the noble gas is stopped and a plasma is maintained in the chamber for a period of time to remove particles therefrom. | 05-05-2011 |
20110151142 | PECVD MULTI-STEP PROCESSING WITH CONTINUOUS PLASMA - Embodiments of the present invention provide methods for reducing defects during multi-layer deposition. In one embodiment, the method includes exposing the substrate to a first gas mixture and an inert gas in the presence of a plasma to deposit a first material layer on the substrate, terminating the first gas mixture when a desired thickness of the first material is achieved while still maintaining the plasma and flowing the inert gas, and exposing the substrate to the inert gas and a second gas mixture that are compatible with the first gas mixture in the presence of the plasma to deposit a second material layer over the first material layer in the same processing chamber, wherein the first material layer and the second material layer are different from each other. | 06-23-2011 |
20110287633 | ULTRA HIGH SELECTIVITY ASHABLE HARD MASK FILM - A method of forming an amorphous carbon layer on a substrate in a substrate processing chamber, includes introducing a hydrocarbon source into the processing chamber, introducing argon, alone or in combination with helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, and combinations thereof, into the processing chamber, wherein the argon has a volumetric flow rate to hydrocarbon source volumetric flow rate ratio of about 10:1 to about 20:1, generating a plasma in the processing chamber at a substantially lower pressure of about 2 Torr to 10 Torr, and forming a conformal amorphous carbon layer on the substrate. | 11-24-2011 |
20110291243 | PLANARIZING ETCH HARDMASK TO INCREASE PATTERN DENSITY AND ASPECT RATIO - Methods for manufacturing a semiconductor device in a processing chamber are provided. In one embodiment, a method includes depositing over a substrate a first base material having a first set of interconnect features, filling an upper portion of the first set of interconnect features with an ashable material to an extent capable of protecting the first set of interconnect features from subsequent processes while being easily removable when desired, planarizing an upper surface of the first base material such that an upper surface of the ashable material filled in the first set of interconnect features is at the same level with the upper surface of the first base material, providing a substantial planar outer surface of the first base material, depositing a first film stack comprising a second base material on the substantial planar outer surface of the first base material, forming a second set of interconnect features in the second base material, wherein the second set of interconnect features are aligned with the first set of interconnect features, and removing the ashable material from the first base material, thereby extending a feature depth of the semiconductor device by connecting the second set of interconnect features to the first set of interconnect features. In another embodiment, a method includes providing a base material having a first film stack deposited thereon, wherein the base material is formed over the substrate and having a first set of interconnect features filled with an amorphous carbon material, the first film stack comprising a first amorphous carbon layer deposited on a surface of the base material, a first anti-reflective coating layer deposited on the first amorphous carbon layer, and a first photoresist layer deposited on the first anti-reflective coating layer, and patterning a portion of the first photoresist layer by shifting laterally a projection of a mask on the first photoresist layer relative to the substrate a desired distance, thereby introducing into the first photoresist layer a first feature pattern to be transferred to the underlying base material, wherein the first feature pattern is not aligned with the first set of interconnect features. | 12-01-2011 |
20120080779 | ULTRA HIGH SELECTIVITY DOPED AMORPHOUS CARBON STRIPPABLE HARDMASK DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION - Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to the fabrication of integrated circuits and particularly to the deposition of a boron containing amorphous carbon layer on a semiconductor substrate. In one embodiment, a method of processing a substrate in a processing chamber is provided. The method comprises providing a substrate in a processing volume, flowing a hydrocarbon containing gas mixture into the processing volume, generating a plasma of the hydrocarbon containing gas mixture by applying power from an RF source, flowing a boron containing gas mixture into the processing volume, and depositing a boron containing amorphous carbon film on the substrate in the presence of the plasma, wherein the boron containing amorphous carbon film contains from about 30 to about 60 atomic percentage of boron. | 04-05-2012 |
20120204795 | METHODS TO IMPROVE THE IN-FILM DEFECTIVITY OF PECVD AMORPHOUS CARBON FILMS - An article having a protective coating for use in semiconductor applications and methods for making the same are provided. In certain embodiments, a method of coating an aluminum surface of an article utilized in a semiconductor processing chamber is provided. The method comprises providing a processing chamber; placing the article into the processing chamber; flowing a first gas comprising a carbon source into the processing chamber; flowing a second gas comprising a nitrogen source into the processing chamber; forming a plasma in the chamber; and depositing a coating material on the aluminum surface. In certain embodiments, the coating material comprises an amorphous carbon nitrogen containing layer. In certain embodiments, the article comprises a showerhead configured to deliver a gas to the processing chamber. | 08-16-2012 |
20120208373 | METHOD FOR DEPOSITING AN AMORPHOUS CARBON FILM WITH IMPROVED DENSITY AND STEP COVERAGE - A method for depositing an amorphous carbon layer on a substrate includes the steps of positioning a substrate in a chamber, introducing a hydrocarbon source into the processing chamber, introducing a heavy noble gas into the processing chamber, and generating a plasma in the processing chamber. The heavy noble gas is selected from the group consisting of argon, krypton, xenon, and combinations thereof and the molar flow rate of the noble gas is greater than the molar flow rate of the hydrocarbon source. A post-deposition termination step may be included, wherein the flow of the hydrocarbon source and the noble gas is stopped and a plasma is maintained in the chamber for a period of time to remove particles therefrom. | 08-16-2012 |
20120285481 | METHODS OF REMOVING A MATERIAL LAYER FROM A SUBSTRATE USING WATER VAPOR TREATMENT - Embodiments of the invention generally relate to methods of removing and/or cleaning a substrate surface having different material layers disposed thereon using water vapor plasma treatment. In one embodiment, a method for cleaning a surface of a substrate includes positioning a substrate into a processing chamber, the substrate having a dielectric layer disposed thereon forming openings on the substrate, exposing the dielectric layer disposed on the substrate to water vapor supplied into the chamber to form a plasma in the water vapor, maintaining a process pressure in the chamber at between about 1 Torr and about 120 Torr, and cleaning the contact structure formed on the substrate. | 11-15-2012 |
20120285492 | METHODS OF DRY STRIPPING BORON-CARBON FILMS - Embodiments of the invention generally relate to methods of dry stripping boron-carbon films. In one embodiment, alternating plasmas of hydrogen and oxygen are used to remove a boron-carbon film. In another embodiment, co-flowed oxygen and hydrogen plasma is used to remove a boron-carbon containing film. A nitrous oxide plasma may be used in addition to or as an alternative to either of the above oxygen plasmas. In another embodiment, a plasma generated from water vapor is used to remove a boron-carbon film. The boron-carbon removal processes may also include an optional polymer removal process prior to removal of the boron-carbon films. The polymer removal process includes exposing the boron-carbon film to NF | 11-15-2012 |
20130284090 | COMPENSATING CONCENTRATION UNCERTAINITY - Methods and apparatus for depositing uniform boron-containing films are disclosed. A first precursor is delivered to a chamber through a first pathway having a first flow controller and a composition sensor. A second precursor is delivered by a second pathway, including a second flow controller, to a mixing point fluidly coupling the first and second pathways. A controller is coupled to the vibration sensor and the first and second flow controllers. The first precursor may be a mixture of diborane and a diluent gas, and the second precursor is typically a diluent gas. The flow rate of the first precursor may be set by determining a concentration of diborane in the first precursor from the composition sensor reading, and setting the flow rate to maintain a desired flow rate of diborane. The flow rate of the second precursor may be set to maintain a desired flow to the chamber. | 10-31-2013 |
20140017897 | ULTRA HIGH SELECTIVITY DOPED AMORPHOUS CARBON STRIPPABLE HARDMASK DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION - Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to the fabrication of integrated circuits and particularly to the deposition of a boron containing amorphous carbon layer on a semiconductor substrate. In one embodiment, a boron-containing amorphous carbon film is disclosed. The boron-containing amorphous carbon film comprises from about 10 to 60 atomic percentage of boron, from about 20 to about 50 atomic percentage of carbon, and from about 10 to about 30 atomic percentage of hydrogen. | 01-16-2014 |
20140216498 | METHODS OF DRY STRIPPING BORON-CARBON FILMS - Embodiments of the invention generally relate to methods of dry stripping boron-carbon films. In one embodiment, alternating plasmas of hydrogen and oxygen are used to remove a boron-carbon film. In another embodiment, co-flowed oxygen and hydrogen plasma is used to remove a boron-carbon containing film. A nitrous oxide plasma may be used in addition to or as an alternative to either of the above oxygen plasmas. In another embodiment, a plasma generated from water vapor is used to remove a boron-carbon film. The boron-carbon removal processes may also include an optional polymer removal process prior to removal of the boron-carbon films. The polymer removal process includes exposing the boron-carbon film to NF | 08-07-2014 |