Apparatus and process for plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition

a technology of atomic layer deposition and apparatus, which is applied in the direction of chemical vapor deposition coating, coating, basic electric elements, etc., can solve the problems of many limitations of pe-ald processes, slow deposition rate of processes, and inability to meet the requirements of production

Inactive Publication Date: 2007-06-07
APPLIED MATERIALS INC
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

While conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has proved successful for device geometries and aspect ratios down to 0.15 μm, the more aggressive device geometries require an alternative deposition technique.
While thermal ALD processes work well to deposit some materials, the processes often have a slow deposition rate.
Therefore, fabrication throughput may be impacted to an unacceptable level.
While PE-ALD processes overcome some of the shortcomings of thermal ALD processes due to the high degree of reactivity of the reactant radicals within the plasma, PE-ALD processes have many limitations.
PE-ALD process may cause plasma damage to a substrate (e.g., etching), be incompatible with certain chemical precursors and require additional hardware.

Method used

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  • Apparatus and process for plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition
  • Apparatus and process for plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition
  • Apparatus and process for plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition

Examples

Experimental program
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Effect test

experiment 1

[0178] (DMPD)2Ru with constant flow of NH3 and intermediate plasma—The ruthenium precursor used during this experiment was bis(2,4-dimethylpentadienyl) ruthenium ((DMPD)2Ru). During the experiment, the pressure within the process chamber was maintained at about 2 Torr and the substrate was heated to about 300° C. An ALD cycle included the following steps. A ruthenium precursor gas was formed by passing a nitrogen carrier gas with a flow rate of about 500 sccm through an ampoule of (DMPD)2Ru heated at a temperature of about 80° C. The substrate was exposed to the ruthenium precursor gas with a flow rate of about 500 sccm and ammonia gas with a flow rate of about 1,500 sccm for about 3 seconds. The flow of the ruthenium precursor gas was stopped while the flow of the ammonia gas was maintained during a purge step. The purge step was conducted for about 2 seconds. Subsequently, a plasma was ignited to form an ammonia plasma from the ammonia gas while maintaining the flow rate. The RF ...

experiment 2

[0179] (MeCp)(EtCp)Ru with constant flow of NH3 and intermediate plasma—The ruthenium precursor used during this experiment was methylcyclopentadienyl ethylcyclopentadienyl ruthenium ((MeCp)(EtCp)Ru). During the experiment, the pressure within the process chamber was maintained at about 2 Torr and the substrate was heated to about 300° C. An ALD cycle included the following steps. A ruthenium precursor gas was formed by passing a nitrogen carrier gas with a flow rate of about 500 sccm through an ampoule of (MeCp)(EtCp)Ru heated at a temperature of about 80° C. The substrate was exposed to the ruthenium precursor gas with a flow rate of about 500 sccm and ammonia gas with a flow rate of about 1,500 sccm for about 3 seconds. The flow of the ruthenium precursor gas was stopped while the flow of the ammonia gas was maintained during a purge step. The purge step was conducted for about 2 seconds. Subsequently, a plasma was ignited to form an ammonia plasma from the ammonia gas while mai...

experiment 3

[0180] (MeCp)(Pv)Ru with constant flow of NH3 and intermediate plasma—The ruthenium precursor used during this experiment was methylcyclopentadienyl pyrrolyl ruthenium ((MeCp)(Py)Ru). During the experiment, the pressure within the process chamber was maintained at about 2 Torr and the substrate was heated to about 300° C. An ALD cycle included the following steps. A ruthenium precursor gas was formed by passing a nitrogen carrier gas with a flow rate of about 500 sccm through an ampoule of (MeCp)(Py)Ru heated at a temperature of about 80° C. The substrate was exposed to the ruthenium precursor gas with a flow rate of about 500 sccm and ammonia gas with a flow rate of about 1,500 sccm for about 3 seconds. The flow of the ruthenium precursor gas was stopped while the flow of the ammonia gas was maintained during a purge step. The purge step was conducted for about 2 seconds. Subsequently, a plasma was ignited to form an ammonia plasma from the ammonia gas while maintaining the flow r...

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Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide an apparatus configured to form a material during an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, such as a plasma-enhanced ALD (PE-ALD) process. In one embodiment, a showerhead assembly comprises a showerhead and a plasma baffle that are used to disperse process gases within a plasma-enhanced vapor deposition chamber. The showerhead plate comprises an inner area configured to position the plasma baffle therein and an outer area which has a plurality of holes for emitting a process gas. The plasma baffle comprises a conical nose disposed on an upper surface to receive another process gas, a lower surface to emit the process gas and a plurality of openings configured to flow the process gas from above the upper surface into a process region. The openings are preferably slots that are positioned at predetermined angle for emitting the process gas with a circular flow pattern.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims benefit of co-pending U.S. Ser. No. 60 / 733,870 (10429L), filed Nov. 4, 2005, U.S. Ser. No. 60 / 733,655 (10429L.02), filed Nov. 4, 2005, U.S. Ser. No. 60 / 733,654 (10429L.03), filed Nov. 4, 2005, U.S. Ser. No. 60 / 733,574 (10429L.04), filed Nov. 4, 2005, and U.S. Ser. No. 60 / 733,869 (10429L.05), filed Nov. 4, 2005, which are all incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] Embodiments of the invention generally relate to an apparatus and a method for depositing materials, and more particularly to an atomic layer deposition chamber configured to deposit a material during a plasma-enhanced process. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] In the field of semiconductor processing, flat-panel display processing or other electronic device processing, vapor deposition processes have played an important role in depositing materials on substrate...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): H01L21/44H01L23/34
CPCC23C16/18C23C16/45536H01L2924/0002C23C16/45542C23C16/45544C23C16/45553C23C16/45563C23C16/45565C23C16/509C23C16/5096H01J37/32082H01J37/3244H01J37/32449H01J37/32522H01J37/32623H01J37/32633H01L21/28562H01L21/76844H01L21/76846H01L21/76873H01L2221/1089H01L2924/00H01L21/205
Inventor MA, PAULSHAH, KAVITAWU, DIEN-YEHGANGULI, SESHADRIMARCADAL, CHRISTOPHEWU, FREDERICK C.CHU, SCHUBERT S.
Owner APPLIED MATERIALS INC
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