Cleaning method and cleaning system for deposition chamber
By employing a step-by-step cleaning method, NF3 and O2 are used to clean tungsten and carbon residues separately, and NF3 is simultaneously introduced at the top and bottom for secondary cleaning. This solves the problem of nitrogen oxide generation and improves the cleaning effect and process stability of tungsten carbide films.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202510979335.0
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-15
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-17
AI Technical Summary
In the existing technology, when NF3 and O2 are simultaneously dissociated and introduced into the deposition chamber, nitrogen plasma combines with oxygen plasma to generate nitrogen oxides, resulting in poor cleaning effect of carbon residues and affecting the process performance and stability of tungsten carbide thin films.
A step-by-step cleaning method is adopted. First, NF3 is used to clean tungsten residues, then O2 is used to clean carbon residues, and finally NF3 is introduced simultaneously from the top and bottom for secondary cleaning. The pressure and dissociation power are controlled to avoid the generation of nitrogen oxides.
It improves the cleaning effect of carbon residues, shortens the cleaning time, and enhances the process effect and process stability of tungsten carbide thin films.
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Figure CN120796940A_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, and in particular to a cleaning method of a deposition chamber, a cleaning system of a deposition chamber, and a computer readable storage medium. BACKGROUND
[0002] At present, tungsten doped carbon (WDC) film has become a necessary direction for advanced processes as a hard mask. In advanced processes, the particle size requirement for each layer of film or even the sacrificial layer is very high. Therefore, the cleanliness of the deposition chamber of the WDC hard mask becomes crucial, which affects the process performance and process stability of the tungsten carbide film.
[0003] In the prior art, the cleaning method of the chamber for the WDC hard mask mainly uses NF3 and O2 as cleaning gas, which is dissociated by a remote plasma system (RPS) and then introduced into the chamber to clean the chamber. The fluorine plasma dissociated can react with the tungsten residues in the chamber to remove the tungsten residues, and the oxygen plasma dissociated can react with the carbon residues in the chamber to remove the carbon residues.
[0004] However, in the prior art, when the dissociated NF3 and O2 are introduced into the deposition chamber at the same time, the nitrogen plasma dissociated from the NF3 and the oxygen plasma dissociated from the O2 in the deposition chamber are easy to combine to form nitrogen oxides such as NO or NO2. Therefore, the content of the oxygen plasma originally used for cleaning the carbon residues is reduced, which greatly reduces the cleaning effect of the carbon residues, and the particle size in the chamber is poor, i.e. there are still many carbon residual particles in the chamber. In the deposition process of tungsten carbide film, the particle contamination in the chamber does not meet the standard, which leads to the number, size or distribution of particle impurities introduced in the process not meeting the quality requirements, which will directly affect the yield, performance and reliability of semiconductor products.
[0005] In order to solve the above problems existing in the prior art, there is an urgent need in the field for a cleaning technology of a deposition chamber, which can solve the problem of poor cleaning effect of carbon residues caused by the combination of nitrogen plasma and oxygen plasma when NF3 and O2 are simultaneously dissociated and introduced into the chamber, so as to improve the cleaning effect of carbon residues, shorten the cleaning time, and further improve the process effect and process stability of tungsten carbide film in the chamber. SUMMARY
[0006] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
[0007] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the present application provides a cleaning method of a deposition chamber, a cleaning system of a deposition chamber, and a computer readable storage medium, which can solve the problem of poor cleaning effect of carbon residues caused by the combination of nitrogen plasma and oxygen plasma when NF3 and O2 are simultaneously dissociated and introduced into the chamber, thereby improving the cleaning effect of carbon residues, shortening the cleaning time, and further improving the process effect and process stability of tungsten carbide film in the chamber.
[0008] Specifically, the cleaning method of a deposition chamber according to the first aspect of the present application comprises the following steps: introducing dissociated NF3 from the top of the chamber to at least clean the tungsten residues in the upper half region of the chamber once; stopping the introduction of the dissociated NF3, introducing dissociated O2 from the top of the chamber to at least clean the carbon residues in the upper half region once; and simultaneously introducing dissociated NF3 from the top and bottom of the chamber to clean the tungsten residues and the carbon residues in the upper half region and the lower half region of the chamber twice.
[0009] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the step of introducing dissociated NF3 from the top of the chamber to at least clean the tungsten residues in the upper half region of the chamber once comprises: introducing a carrier gas into the chamber to adjust the pressure in the chamber to a first cleaning pressure, wherein the carrier gas comprises Ar; and dissociating the NF3 by a first dissociation power to at least clean the tungsten residues in the upper half region via fluorine plasma once.
[0010] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the step of dissociating the NF3 by a first dissociation power to at least clean the tungsten residues in the upper half region of the chamber via fluorine plasma once comprises: introducing a first preset flow rate of the NF3 into the top of the chamber, wherein the flow rate ratio of the NF3 to the Ar is 3:2-5:2; and dissociating the NF3 by the first dissociation power provided via a remote plasma system to at least clean the tungsten residues in the upper half region of the chamber via fluorine plasma once.
[0011] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the step of stopping the supply of the dissociated NF3 and supplying dissociated O2 from the chamber top to clean the carbon residue in the upper half region at least once comprises: in response to completing the cleaning of the tungsten residue once, stopping the supply of the dissociated NF3 and maintaining the first cleaning pressure, and supplying the O2 from the chamber top; and dissociating the O2 by a second dissociation power to clean the carbon residue in the upper half region at least once by oxygen plasma, wherein the second dissociation power is less than the first dissociation power.
[0012] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the step of dissociating the O2 by a second dissociation power to clean the carbon residue in the upper half region at least once by oxygen plasma comprises: supplying the O2 from the chamber bottom at a second preset flow rate, wherein the flow rate ratio of the Ar to the O2 is 1:1-1:2; and dissociating the O2 by the second dissociation power provided by a local radio frequency to clean the carbon residue in the upper half region at least once by oxygen plasma.
[0013] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the step of supplying dissociated NF3 from the chamber top and bottom to clean the tungsten residue and the carbon residue in the upper half region and the lower half region twice comprises: supplying NF3 into the chamber from the chamber top and bottom to make the total amount of NF3 in the chamber less than the total amount of O2; adjusting the pressure in the chamber to a second cleaning pressure, wherein the second cleaning pressure is greater than the first cleaning pressure; and dissociating the NF3 and the O2 by a third dissociation power provided by a remote plasma system to clean the tungsten residue and the carbon residue in the upper half region and the lower half region twice by fluorine plasma and oxygen plasma.
[0014] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the step of supplying NF3 into the chamber from the chamber top and bottom comprises: supplying the NF3 from the chamber top and bottom at a third preset flow rate, wherein the flow rate ratio of the Ar to the O2 to the NF3 is 2:3:1-2:6:1.
[0015] Further, the above-mentioned cleaning system of a deposition chamber according to the second aspect of the present application is provided, comprising: a deposition chamber, an inside of which is used to carry out a deposition process of tungsten carbide film; and a controller configured to: in response to completion of the deposition process, introduce dissociated NF3 from a top of the chamber to at least clean tungsten residues in an upper half region of the chamber once; stop the introduction of the dissociated NF3, introduce dissociated O2 from the top of the chamber to at least clean carbon residues in the upper half region once; and introduce the dissociated NF3 from the top and a bottom of the chamber simultaneously to clean the tungsten residues and the carbon residues in the upper half region and a lower half region of the chamber twice.
[0016] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the deposition chamber is provided with a heating plate, the upper half region of the chamber comprises a space above the heating plate, and the lower half region of the chamber comprises a space below the heating plate.
[0017] Further, the third aspect of the present application also provides a computer readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon. The computer instructions, when executed by a processor, implement the above-mentioned cleaning method of a deposition chamber according to the first aspect of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0018] The above features and advantages of the present application can be better understood by reading the detailed description of embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: in the drawings, components are not necessarily drawn to scale, and components having similar related functions or features can have the same or similar reference label.
[0019] Figure 1 A flow chart of a cleaning method of a deposition chamber according to some embodiments of the present application is shown;
[0020] Figure 2 A flow chart of a cleaning method of a deposition chamber according to some embodiments of the present application is shown;
[0021] Figure 3 A flow chart of a cleaning method of a deposition chamber according to some embodiments of the present application is shown.
[0022] REFERENCE NUMERALS:
[0023] S110-S130 steps;
[0024] S111-S122 steps; and
[0025] S131-S133 steps. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0026] The following specific embodiments illustrate the embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention will be introduced in conjunction with the preferred embodiment, this does not mean that the features of this invention are limited to this embodiment. On the contrary, the purpose of introducing the invention in conjunction with the embodiment is to cover other options or modifications that may be extended based on the claims of the present invention. In order to provide a deep understanding of the present invention, the following description will include many specific details. The present invention can also be implemented without using these details. In addition, in order to avoid confusion or blurring the focus of the present invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.
[0027] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may refer to fixed, detachable, or integral connections; mechanical or electrical connections; direct or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific circumstances.
[0028] Furthermore, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "horizontal," and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood to refer to the orientations depicted in that section and the accompanying drawings. These relative terms are used solely for convenience of description and do not necessarily imply that the devices described herein must be manufactured or operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting the present invention.
[0029] It will be understood that although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. may be used herein to describe various components, regions, layers, and / or portions, these components, regions, layers, and / or portions should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are merely used to distinguish different components, regions, layers, and / or portions. Thus, a first component, region, layer, and / or portion discussed below may be referred to as a second component, region, layer, and / or portion without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.
[0030] As mentioned above, since in the prior art, when dissociated NF3 and O2 are simultaneously introduced into the deposition chamber, nitrogen plasma dissociated from NF3 and oxygen plasma dissociated from O2 in the deposition chamber are easily combined to generate nitrogen oxides such as NO or NO2, the content of the oxygen plasma originally used for cleaning the carbon residues is reduced, thereby greatly reducing the cleaning effect on the carbon residues, and the granularity in the chamber is deteriorated, i.e., there are still many carbon residue particles in the chamber. In the deposition process of tungsten carbide film, the particle contamination in the chamber does not meet the standard, which leads to that the number, size or distribution of the particle impurities introduced in the process do not meet the quality requirements, which directly affects the yield, performance and reliability of semiconductor products.
[0031] To solve the above problems in the prior art, the present application provides a cleaning method of a deposition chamber, a cleaning system of a deposition chamber and a computer readable storage medium, which can solve the problem of poor cleaning effect on carbon residues caused by the combination of nitrogen plasma and oxygen plasma due to the simultaneous dissociation of NF3 and O2 into the chamber, thereby improving the cleaning effect on carbon residues, shortening the cleaning time, and further improving the process effect and process stability of tungsten carbide film in the chamber.
[0032] In some non-limiting embodiments, the above-mentioned cleaning method of a deposition chamber provided by the first aspect of the present application can be implemented by the above-mentioned cleaning system of a deposition chamber provided by the second aspect of the present application.
[0033] Specifically, in some non-limiting embodiments, the above-mentioned computer readable storage medium provided by the third aspect of the present application has computer instructions stored thereon. When the computer instructions are executed by a processor, they can be used to implement the above-mentioned cleaning method of a deposition chamber provided by the first aspect of the present application.
[0034] The above-mentioned steps of the cleaning method of a deposition chamber will be described below in combination with some embodiments of a cleaning system of a deposition chamber. Those skilled in the art can understand that these embodiments of a cleaning system of a deposition chamber are only some non-limiting embodiments provided by the present application, which are intended to clearly demonstrate the main concept of the present application and provide some specific solutions for the public to implement, and do not limit the implementation subject of each step in the cleaning method of a deposition chamber. Similarly, the cleaning method of a deposition chamber is also only a non-limiting embodiment provided by the present application, and is not used to limit the entire working mode or the entire function of the cleaning system of a deposition chamber.
[0035] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 a flowchart of a cleaning method of a deposition chamber according to some embodiments of the present application is shown.
[0036] As Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 8, in some embodiments of the present application, the cleaning method of the deposition chamber can mainly include the following steps. First, step S110 can be performed: introducing dissociated NF3 from the chamber top to clean the tungsten residue in at least the upper half region of the chamber once.
[0037] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, step S110 can be divided into steps S111-S112. Figure 2
[0038] In some embodiments, after the tungsten carbide film deposition process in the deposition chamber is completed, step S111 can be performed: introducing a carrier gas into the chamber to adjust the pressure in the chamber to a first cleaning pressure. Optionally, the carrier gas can be Ar. Then, step S112 can be performed: dissociating NF3 by a first dissociation power to clean the tungsten residue in at least the upper half region once via dissociated fluorine plasma.
[0039] Optionally, the first cleaning pressure after the chamber pressure is adjusted via Ar can be preferably maintained at 2-8 torr. If the first cleaning pressure is too high, such as higher than 8 torr, the NF3 gas molecule density in the chamber is large, the electron free path is short, the collision is frequent but the energy is easily dissipated, and it is difficult to excite sufficient ionization reaction. If the first cleaning pressure is too low, such as lower than 2 torr, the NF3 gas molecule in the chamber is rare, the ionization probability is reduced, and the plasma density is prone to be insufficient. Therefore, when the first cleaning pressure is preferably maintained in the range of 2-8 torr, the fluorine plasma can achieve its best cleaning effect.
[0040] Further, in some preferred embodiments, for performing step S112, a first preset flow rate of NF3 can be introduced into the chamber top, wherein the flow rate ratio of NF3 to Ar can be 3:2-5:2. Optionally, the flow rate of Ar can be controlled at 3000-8000 seem, and the flow rate of NF3 can be controlled at 1000-4000 seem. In this embodiment, the flow rate ratio of NF3 to Ar is the best for tungsten residue cleaning effect and does not waste the gas source. If too little NF3 is introduced, the cleaning effect for the tungsten residue will be poor, and if too much NF3 is introduced, the cleaning effect will not be significantly better, but it will cause waste of the NF3 gas source, thereby increasing the cost of the cleaning process.
[0041] Optionally, before performing the above steps S111 and S112, the cleaning temperature in the deposition chamber can be maintained at 350-450 °C. Generally, the thermal decomposition temperature of common contaminants in the deposition chamber, such as most organic contaminants, is 200-400 °C, while some inorganic residues (such as metal carbides, nitrides) require higher temperatures (300-500 °C) and can also be oxidized and decomposed. In addition, the cleaning temperature of 350-450 °C can also cooperate with the active gas to enhance its cleaning effect. In the present embodiment, since the fluorine plasma reacts with the tungsten residue, the solid tungsten residue can be converted into volatile tungsten hexafluoride (WF6), and the WF6 will directly volatilize at the above-mentioned cleaning temperature of 350-450 °C, and then the tungsten residue is cleaned by the vacuum pump and other equipment to remove it from the deposition chamber.
[0042] Further, in some preferred embodiments, when performing step S112, NF3 can also be dissociated by the first dissociation power provided by the remote plasma system to at least clean the tungsten residue in the upper half of the chamber by fluorine plasma. Optionally, the first dissociation power can be 5-10 kW.
[0043] Since the RPS has higher dissociation power than the local radio frequency, such as the RPS can reach a dissociation power of 8-10 kW, while the local radio frequency can only reach a maximum dissociation power of 2-2.5 kW, so the dissociation effect of NF3 by the RPS will be better.
[0044] Continuing as shown in Figure 1 , the above-mentioned cleaning method of the deposition chamber provided by the present application can further include step S120: stopping the introduction of dissociated NF3, and introducing dissociated O2 from the top of the chamber to at least clean the carbon residue in the upper half region once.
[0045] Specifically, as shown in Figure 2 , step S120 can be converted into steps S121-S122.
[0046] In some embodiments, step S121 can be performed, in response to completing the cleaning of the tungsten residue once, the NF3 gas inlet and the RPS are closed to stop the introduction of dissociated NF3 into the chamber, and the first cleaning pressure is maintained. O2 is introduced from the top of the chamber via the carrier of Ar. In this step, by stopping the introduction of dissociated NF3 into the chamber to ensure that there is no nitrogen plasma in the chamber, so as to ensure that after the subsequent introduction of dissociated O2, no nitrogen oxide by-products are generated in the chamber.
[0047] In addition, the first cleaning pressure can be kept at 2-8 torr without adjustment. The first cleaning pressure of 2-8 torr can make the oxygen plasma achieve its best cleaning effect. In the prior art, the pressure in the chamber and the gap distance between the heating plate and the shower plate above it need to be adjusted before each time the dissociated NF3and O2are introduced into the chamber in order to clean different positions of the residues. In the present embodiment, the cleaning pressure parameters and the gap distance parameters in the chamber in the first tungsten residue cleaning stage and the first carbon residue cleaning stage can be unified, so that the disturbance of the pressure in the chamber and the gap distance between the heating plate and the shower plate above it when switching between steps S110 and S120 can be prevented, so as to affect the cleaning effect.
[0048] Subsequently, step S122 can be performed to dissociate O2by a second dissociation power to clean the carbon residues in the upper half area at least once by oxygen plasma, wherein the second dissociation power can be less than the first dissociation power.
[0049] Specifically, in some preferred embodiments, when step S122 is performed, a second preset flow rate of O2may be introduced into the chamber bottom, wherein the flow rate ratio of Ar to O2may be 1:1-1:2. Alternatively, the flow rate of Ar can be controlled to be 3000-6000 seem, and the flow rate of O2may be controlled to be 3000-9000 seem. Similarly, in the present embodiment, the flow rate ratio of Ar to O2is the flow rate ratio that is best for carbon residue cleaning effect and does not waste gas source. If too little O2is introduced, the cleaning effect on the carbon residues will be poor, and if too much O2is introduced, the cleaning effect will not be significantly better, but will cause waste of O2gas source, thereby increasing the cost of the cleaning process.
[0050] Alternatively, before performing the above steps S121 and S122, the cleaning temperature in the deposition chamber can also be kept at 350-450°C.
[0051] Further, in some preferred embodiments, when performing step S122, dissociation O2 of the second dissociation power provided by the local radio frequency can also be used to clean the carbon residue in the upper half area by the oxygen plasma at least once. Optionally, the second dissociation power can be 500-1500W. Although the local radio frequency is lower than the radio frequency power of the RPS, the efficiency of direct dissociation of O2 by electron collision is high due to the concentration of local radio frequency energy, so there is no need for NF3 assistance. Although the RPS has high power, the energy is dispersed, and the dissociation of O2 needs to rely on an indirect reaction path, that is, NF3 needs to provide F atoms to promote chain reactions to make up for the insufficient dissociation efficiency. Therefore, in the O2 dissociation mode, due to the limitation of the working principle of the RPS, it is usually necessary to incorporate NF3 as a catalyst to improve its dissociation rate, otherwise its dissociation rate will be very low. After incorporating NF3, N will be introduced, which will easily take away a large amount of O plasma, thereby causing the production of nitrogen oxide byproducts such as NO and NO2.
[0052] After completing the cleaning of the carbon residue in the deposition chamber by dissociated O2, the dissociated O2 can convert the solid carbon residue into gaseous oxides such as CO2, which can be subsequently pumped out of the deposition chamber by a vacuum pump or the like, thereby achieving the purpose of cleaning the carbon residue.
[0053] In the above steps S110 and S120, since the deposition chamber is provided with a heating disc, the upper half area of the above chamber can include the space above the heating disc, and the lower half area of the chamber can include the space below the heating disc. Since the thin film deposition is carried out above the heating disc in the deposition chamber, the thin film residue above the heating disc will be much more than the thin film residue below the heating disc. Therefore, the steps S110 and S120 are needed to be used first to clean the thin film residue, including tungsten residue and carbon residue, above the heating disc.
[0054] Continuing as shown in Figure 1 , the cleaning method of the above deposition chamber provided by the present application can further include step S130: simultaneously introducing dissociated NF3 from the top and bottom of the chamber to perform secondary cleaning of the tungsten residue and carbon residue in the upper half area and the lower half area of the chamber.
[0055] Specifically, as shown in Figure 3 , step S130 can be converted into steps S131-S133.
[0056] In some embodiments, step S131 can be performed to supplement NF3 into the chamber from the top and bottom of the chamber so that the total amount of NF3 in the chamber is less than the total amount of O2. NF3 is introduced from the top of the chamber through the carrier gas Ar to clean the space above the heating plate again, so as to further improve the removal cleanliness of the tungsten residue in the chamber above the heating plate. In addition, since there is a small amount of tungsten residue below the heating plate, i.e. at the bottom of the chamber, NF3 can be introduced from the bottom of the chamber through the carrier gas Ar to clean the tungsten residue at the bottom of the chamber, thereby removing the tungsten residue deposited in the chamber from multiple directions.
[0057] Optionally, during the execution of step S131, whether to introduce O2 can be determined according to the remaining amount of O2 in the deposition chamber. If the remaining amount of O2 in the deposition chamber is significantly less, NF3 and O2 can be supplemented into the chamber from the top and bottom of the chamber through the carrier gas Ar so that the total amount of NF3 in the chamber is less than the total amount of O2. Since N in NF3 reacts with O to produce nitrogen oxides such as NO and NO2 after the NF3 is supplemented, a part of O2 is taken away, and therefore, it is preferred to keep the amount of O2 in the chamber much higher than the amount of NF3.
[0058] Further, in some preferred embodiments, for the execution of step S131, a third preset flow rate of NF3 can be introduced from the top and bottom of the chamber, and the flow rate ratio of Ar to O2 to NF3 can be 2:3:1-2:6:1. Optionally, the flow rate of Ar can be controlled to be 3000-6000sccm, the flow rate of O2 can be controlled to be 3000-9000sccm, and the flow rate of NF3 can be controlled to be 500-2000sccm.
[0059] Then, step S132 can be performed to adjust the pressure in the chamber to a second cleaning pressure. The second cleaning pressure can be greater than the first cleaning pressure. Optionally, the second cleaning pressure can be 5-10 torr.
[0060] Then, step S133 can be performed to dissociate NF3 and O2 by the remote plasma system at a third dissociation power to clean the tungsten residue and the carbon residue in the upper and lower half regions through fluorine plasma and oxygen plasma. Optionally, the third dissociation power can be 5-10 kW.
[0061] Specifically, since NF3 has been supplied into the deposition chamber in step S131, O2 and NF3 in the chamber are in a state of mutual doping, and RPS can be used to dissociate O2 well at this time. Since NF3 is present, the dissociation power required for NF3 cannot be achieved by using a local radio frequency, and since the bottom of the heating plate is far away from the main plasma area, the electric field in this area is weak, the gas flow is limited, and the temperature is low, so that the electron energy is insufficient, and it is difficult to effectively dissociate the gas. Therefore, the dissociation effect of the local radio frequency on the gas at the bottom of the heating plate is poor, and O2 below the heating plate cannot be effectively dissociated.
[0062] When the cleaning process in step S130 is performed, since some plasma enters from the bottom of the chamber, the pressure cannot be controlled, and therefore the pressure can be increased to a second cleaning pressure. When the second cleaning pressure is maintained at 5-10 torr in the increased chamber pressure, the best cleaning effect for tungsten residues and carbon residues can be achieved at the same time.
[0063] Optionally, in step S130, the cleaning temperature in the deposition chamber can continue to be maintained at 350-450°C.
[0064] In the above embodiment of the present application including steps S110-S130, it is strictly considered that in the chamber actually completing the deposition process of the tungsten carbide film, the film residues above the heating plate are much more than the film residues below the heating plate, and therefore the main cleaning is performed on the film residues above the heating plate, including tungsten residues and carbon residues, by steps S110 and S120. Further, in order to ensure the cleanliness of the overall cleaning of the deposition chamber, the secondary cleaning is also performed on the film residues above the heating plate by step S130, and the auxiliary cleaning is performed on the film residues below the heating plate. On the contrary, if NF3 and O2 are simultaneously introduced from the top and bottom of the chamber in the main cleaning stage, the problem of insufficient cleaning above the heating plate or excessive cleaning below the heating plate will be caused.
[0065] The cleaning method provided in the present application can not only improve the cleaning effect of carbon residues in the prior art, but also shorten the cleaning time of carbon residues and improve the cleaning efficiency, so as to improve the problem of poor chamber particle size caused by carbon particles in the deposition chamber.
[0066] Although the above methods are illustrated and described as a series of acts for simplicity of explanation, it should be understood and appreciated that the methods are not limited by the order of acts, because according to one or more embodiments, some acts can occur in different orders and / or concurrently with other acts according to the embodiments illustrated and described herein or according to embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art from the description herein.
[0067] So far, the cleaning method of the deposition chamber provided by the first aspect of the present application has been basically introduced. The second aspect of the present application provides a cleaning system of a deposition chamber.
[0068] In some embodiments, the cleaning system can mainly include a deposition chamber and a controller. The interior of the deposition chamber can be used to perform a tungsten carbide film deposition process. The controller is configured to perform the above-mentioned cleaning method of the deposition chamber including steps S110-S130, which will not be described here.
[0069] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module can reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium can reside as discrete components in a user terminal.
[0070] In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software as a computer program product, the functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.
[0071] In summary, the present application provides a cleaning method of a deposition chamber, a cleaning system of a deposition chamber, and a computer readable storage medium, which can solve the problem of poor cleaning effect of carbon residues in the chamber caused by the combination of nitrogen plasma and oxygen plasma when NF3 and O2 are simultaneously dissociated and introduced into the chamber, thereby improving the cleaning effect of carbon residues, shortening the cleaning time, and further improving the process effect and process stability of the tungsten carbide film in the chamber.
[0072] The foregoing description of the present disclosure has been directed to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein can be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
Claims
1. A method for cleaning a deposition chamber, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: introducing dissociated NF3 from the top of the chamber to clean tungsten residues in at least the upper half of the chamber; Stopping the introduction of the dissociated NF3 and introducing dissociated O2 from the top of the chamber to clean the carbon residue in the upper half region at least once; and Dissociated NF3 is introduced from the top and bottom of the chamber simultaneously to perform secondary cleaning on the tungsten residues and the carbon residues in the upper and lower regions of the chamber.
2. The cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein The step of introducing dissociated NF3 from the top of the chamber to clean the tungsten residue in the upper half of the chamber at least once comprises: introducing a carrier gas into the chamber to adjust the pressure in the chamber to a first cleaning pressure, wherein the carrier gas comprises Ar; and The NF3 is dissociated by a first dissociation power to clean the tungsten residue in the upper half region at least once by fluorine plasma.
3. The cleaning method according to claim 2, wherein The step of dissociating the NF3 by a first dissociation power to clean at least the tungsten residue in the upper half of the chamber by fluorine plasma comprises: introducing the NF3 at a first preset flow rate into the top of the chamber, wherein the flow ratio of the NF3 to the Ar is 3:2 to 5:2; and The first dissociation power is provided via a remote plasma system to dissociate the NF3, so as to clean tungsten residues in at least an upper half region of the chamber by fluorine plasma.
4. The cleaning method according to claim 2, wherein: The step of stopping the introduction of the dissociated NF3 and introducing the dissociated O2 from the top of the chamber to clean the carbon residue in the upper half area at least once comprises: In response to the completion of the primary cleaning of the tungsten residue, the introduction of the dissociated NF3 is stopped, the first cleaning pressure is maintained, and the O2 is introduced from the top of the chamber; and The O 2 is dissociated by a second dissociation power to clean the carbon residue in the upper half region at least once via oxygen plasma, wherein the second dissociation power is lower than the first dissociation power.
5. The cleaning method according to claim 4, wherein The step of dissociating the O2 by a second dissociation power to clean the carbon residue in the upper half region at least once via oxygen plasma comprises: introducing a second preset flow rate of O2 into the bottom of the chamber, wherein the flow rate ratio of Ar to O2 is 1:1 to 1:2; and The second dissociation power is provided via local radio frequency to dissociate the O 2 , so as to clean the carbon residues in the upper half region at least once by oxygen plasma.
6. The cleaning method according to claim 2, wherein: The step of simultaneously introducing dissociated NF3 from the top and bottom of the chamber to perform secondary cleaning on the tungsten residues and the carbon residues in the upper half region and the lower half region comprises: replenishing NF3 into the chamber from the top and bottom of the chamber so that the total amount of NF3 in the chamber is less than the total amount of O2; adjusting the pressure within the chamber to a second cleaning pressure, wherein the second cleaning pressure is greater than the first cleaning pressure; and A remote plasma system is used to provide a third dissociation power to dissociate the NF3 and the O2, so as to perform secondary cleaning on the tungsten residues and the carbon residues in the upper half region and the lower half region via the fluorine plasma and the oxygen plasma.
7. The cleaning method according to claim 6, wherein: The step of replenishing NF3 into the chamber from the top and bottom of the chamber includes: The NF3 is introduced into the chamber at a third preset flow rate from the top and bottom of the chamber, wherein the flow rate ratio of the Ar to the O2 to the NF3 is 2:3:1 to 2:6:
1.
8. A cleaning system for a deposition chamber, characterized in that: include: A deposition chamber, the interior of which is used for performing a tungsten carbide film deposition process; as well as The controller is configured to: in response to completing the deposition process, introduce dissociated NF3 from the top of the chamber to clean the tungsten residues in the upper half of the chamber at least once; stop introducing the dissociated NF3, introduce dissociated O2 from the top of the chamber to clean the carbon residues in the upper half at least once; and introduce dissociated NF3 from the top and bottom of the chamber simultaneously to perform a second cleaning of the tungsten residues and the carbon residues in the upper and lower half areas of the chamber.
9. The cleaning system according to claim 8, wherein: The deposition chamber is provided with a heating disk, the upper half of the chamber includes the space above the heating disk, and the lower half of the chamber includes the space below the heating disk.
10. A computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer instructions are executed by a processor, the method for cleaning a deposition chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is implemented.
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Semiconductor process equipment and process cavity cleaning method
CN121460468A
