Semiconductor device with silicon dioxide layers formed using atomic layer deposition

a technology of atomic layer deposition and silicon dioxide, which is applied in the direction of chemical vapor deposition coating, coating, metallic material coating process, etc., can solve the problems of reducing uniformity, requiring temperatures greater than 600° k, and exposures greater than 10 times, and achieves high purity, superior surface density, and high surface properties. high degree of precision

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-02-23
LEE JOO WON +3
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012] Accordingly, a general object of this invention is to provide improved methods for using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to grow highly uniform thin films having superior surface density, extremely high purity, and with highly precise control of surface properties.
[0016] Another object of this invention is to provide reaction / purging process sequences, and timing and techniques for carrying out such deposition cycles, to enhance the benefits of the methods of this invention.
[0018] Yet another object of this invention is to provide improved semiconductor devices having a substrate with a silicon dioxide layer which has superior surface density and is of extremely high purity and uniformity deposited along a surface of the substrate for use in such applications as gate spacers, gate oxides, silicide blocking layers, bit line spacers, interlevel dielectric layers, etch stoppers, and the like.

Problems solved by technology

As a result, a problem arises due to increased pattern density variation and a corresponding decrease in uniformity.
Klaus '442 teaches, however, that the big drawback to ALD techniques was that they typically required temperatures greater than 600° K. and reactant exposures of greater than 109 L (where 1 L=10−6 Torr sec) for the surface reactions to reach completion.
Such high temperature and high exposure procedures are not desirable for ultra-thin film deposition applications for various reasons including the difficulty of carrying out such procedures.
Although the catalyst-assisted deposition processes of the Klaus '442 patent represent substantial advances in ALD technology, and do make possible room-temperature ALD, it has been found that the surface density, uniformity and quality of thin films grown using the Klaus '442 technique will not meet increasingly demanding standards in the semiconductor industry.

Method used

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  • Semiconductor device with silicon dioxide layers formed using atomic layer deposition
  • Semiconductor device with silicon dioxide layers formed using atomic layer deposition
  • Semiconductor device with silicon dioxide layers formed using atomic layer deposition

Examples

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first exemplary embodiment

[0057] According to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, silicon dioxide thin films are grown on the functionalized surface of a substrate having hydroxyl groups using Si2Cl6 or a comparable compound, e.g., a silicon halide having two or more silicon atoms, as the first reactant; a compound containing 0 and H elements, e.g., H2O and / or H2O2, as the second reactant; and a base compound, e.g., ammonia or an amine, as the catalyst. For this embodiment of the invention, the first reactant is a silicon compound having at least two silicon atoms, for example a silicon-halide compound selected from the group consisting of: Si2X6, Si3X8, Si4X10, and Si3X6 (Triangle), which has the following chemical structure:

wherein X is a halogen such as F, Cl, Br, I. In a preferred embodiment, the first reactant is selected from the group consisting of Si2Cl6, Si3Cl8, Si4Cl10 and Si3Cl6(Triangle). For this embodiment of the invention, the second reactant is a compound containing oxyg...

second exemplary embodiment

[0065] According to a second exemplary embodiment of this present invention, silicon dioxide thin films are grown on a functionalized surface of a substrate using a silicon halide as the first reactant; a second reactant containing O and H atoms, e.g., H2O and / or H2O2; and a tertiary aliphatic amine catalyst. In this embodiment of the invention, by exposing the functionalized surface of the substrate to a mixture of the first reactant and the catalyst in a first process step, a chemisorbed layer of the first reactant is formed along the substrate surface. Unreacted first reactant and byproducts are then removed from the region of the substrate. In the next process step, the chemisorbed layer of the first reactant is reacted with the second reactant in the presence of the tertiary aliphatic amine catalyst. Byproducts of this second reaction step are removed from the substrate region.

[0066] In accordance with this invention embodiment, it has been found that the use of a tertiary ali...

third exemplary embodiment

[0074] According to a third particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, many if not all of the advantages and benefits of both of the earlier-described embodiments of this invention can be realized. In this embodiment, silicon dioxide thin films are grown on a functionalized surface of a substrate using a silicon compound having at least two or more silicon atoms, e.g., a silicon halide such as Si2Cl6, as the first reactant; a compound containing O and H atoms, e.g., H2O and / or H2O2, as the second reactant; and, a tertiary aliphatic amine catalyst.

[0075] Thus, in accordance with this invention embodiment, the functionalized surface of the substrate is exposed to a mixture of the first reactant and the tertiary aliphatic amine catalyst in a first process step to form a chemisorbed layer of the first reactant along the substrate surface. Unreacted first reactant and any byproducts are then removed from the region of the substrate. In the next process step, the chemiso...

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Abstract

Improved methods are disclosed for catalyst-assisted atomic layer deposition (ALD) to form a silicon dioxide layer having superior properties on a semiconductor substrate by using a first reactant component consisting of a silicon compound having at least two silicon atoms, or using a tertiary aliphatic amine as the catalyst component, or both in combination, together with related purging methods and sequencing.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 459,943, filed on Jun. 12, 2003, which relies for priority upon Korean Patent Application No. 02-39428, filed on Jul. 8, 2002 and Korean Patent Application No. 03-6370, filed Jan. 30, 2003, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates generally to improved methods for growing silicon dioxide layers on substrates, such as in semiconductor manufacture, using atomic layer deposition processes. The methods of this invention facilitate exercising extremely precise control over the properties of a silicon dioxide layer applied, for example, to a gate oxide or a dielectric layer. The methods of this invention have particular utility in fabricating gate spacers, gate oxides, silicide blocking layers, bit line spacers, inter-level dielectric layers, etch stoppers, and rela...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): H01L21/31C23C16/40H01L21/205C23C16/44C23C16/455H01L21/312H01L21/314H01L21/316H01L21/76
CPCC23C16/402C23C16/45534C23C16/56H01L21/02164H01L21/02208H01L21/31612H01L21/0228H01L21/02337H01L21/0234H01L21/3122H01L21/3141H01L21/02277H01L21/205
Inventor LEE, JOO-WONPARK, JAE-EUNYANG, JONG-HOCHU, KANG-SOO
Owner LEE JOO WON
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