A thin film deposition method, device and storage medium

Abstract

The application provides a thin film deposition method, a device and a storage medium. The thin film deposition method comprises the following steps: determining a window time length of a thin film deposition reaction; based on a target value of thin film thickness uniformity and the window time length, performing a time length proportion experiment of a reaction source within the window time length to determine a target time length proportion of the reaction source within the window time length; determining a first injection time length of the reaction source within the window time length; determining a second injection time length of the reaction source within the window time length; determining a pre-flow time of the reaction source, and pre-flowing the reaction source and a chemical source; and in response to reaching the pre-flow time, introducing the reaction source of the second injection time length into a process cavity, and introducing the chemical source into the process cavity to perform a thin film deposition reaction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of thin film deposition technology, and more particularly to a thin film deposition method, a thin film deposition apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] Thin film deposition is an essential step in semiconductor manufacturing. During semiconductor manufacturing, thin film deposition is typically performed on core components such as wafers to grow various conductive and insulating thin film layers, laying the foundation for subsequent processes.

[0003] Existing thin film deposition equipment includes a reaction source, a chemical source, and a process chamber. During continuous steam deposition, the chamber environment is often unstable due to factors such as temperature, pressure, and steam concentration, resulting in uneven film thickness that fails to meet actual production requirements.

[0004] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the existing technology, there is an urgent need in the field for a thin film deposition technology to effectively improve the stability of the thin film deposition process, optimize the inter-wafer uniformity of the film thickness, and enhance the economic value of production line applications. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following provides a brief overview of one or more aspects to offer a basic understanding of them. This overview is not an exhaustive summary of all conceived aspects, nor is it intended to identify key or decisive elements of all aspects, nor to define 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 descriptions that follow.

[0006] To overcome the aforementioned deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a thin film deposition method, a thin film deposition apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium, which effectively improve the stability of the thin film deposition process, optimize the inter-wafer uniformity of the thin film thickness, and enhance the economic value of production line applications.

[0007] Specifically, the thin film deposition method according to a first aspect of the present invention includes the following steps: determining a window duration for a single thin film deposition reaction; conducting a duration percentage experiment of the reaction source within the window duration based on a target value for thin film thickness uniformity and the window duration to determine a target duration percentage of the reaction source within the window duration; determining a first injection duration of the reaction source within the window duration based on the window duration and the target duration percentage; determining a second injection duration of the reaction source within the window duration based on the required number of reaction sources for a single thin film deposition reaction; determining a pre-flow time of the reaction source based on the difference between the first injection duration and the second injection duration, and pre-flowing the reaction source and the chemical source; and, in response to reaching the pre-flow time, introducing the reaction source of the second injection duration into a process chamber and introducing the chemical source into the process chamber to perform a thin film deposition reaction.

[0008] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of determining the window duration of a single thin film deposition reaction includes: determining the window duration of a single thin film deposition reaction based on the production line capacity of the thin film deposition reaction.

[0009] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of determining the target duration percentage of the reaction source within the window duration based on the target value of film thickness uniformity and the window duration includes: continuously introducing the chemical source and multiple reaction sources with different duration percentages into the process chamber within the window duration to perform multiple film deposition reactions; examining the film thickness differences generated by each film deposition reaction; and determining the target duration percentage of the reaction source within the window duration based on the duration percentage of the film thickness differences that conform to the target value of film thickness uniformity.

[0010] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of introducing the reaction source into the process chamber includes: transmitting purge gas to the liquid reaction source via an inlet branch from the purge line to the liquid reaction source; transmitting purge gas carrying the reaction source to the purge line via an outlet branch from the liquid reaction source to the purge line, wherein the outlet branch is provided with a flow-limiting structure to reduce the flow rate of the purge gas carrying the reaction source; and transmitting purge gas carrying the reaction source to the process chamber via an outlet from the purge line to the process chamber.

[0011] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, before performing the thin film deposition reaction, the thin film deposition method further includes the following steps: obtaining the wafer to be deposited from the device front-end module via a load latch cavity and / or a transfer cavity; preheating the wafer via the load latch cavity and / or the transfer cavity; and transferring the preheated wafer to the process cavity.

[0012] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of preheating the wafer includes: obtaining the thickness of the wafer to determine the preheating time of the wafer; and preheating the wafer according to the preheating time.

[0013] Furthermore, the thin film deposition apparatus provided according to a second aspect of the present invention includes: a memory storing computer instructions thereon; and a processor connected to the memory and configured to execute the computer instructions stored in the memory to implement the thin film deposition method as described in the first aspect of the present invention.

[0014] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the thin film deposition apparatus further includes: a reaction source for providing a gaseous first reactant; a chemical source for providing a gaseous second reactant; and a process chamber for performing a thin film deposition reaction on the wafer therein based on the first reactant and the second reactant.

[0015] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the reaction source is a liquid reaction source, and the thin film deposition apparatus further includes: a purge line, including an inlet branch leading from the purge line to the liquid reaction source, an outlet branch leading from the liquid reaction source to the purge line, and a flow-limiting structure located in the outlet branch, wherein the thin film deposition apparatus transmits purge gas to the liquid reaction source via the inlet branch, transmits purge gas carrying the reaction source to the purge line via the outlet branch, and transmits purge gas carrying the reaction source to the process chamber via the outlet of the purge line to the process chamber.

[0016] Furthermore, according to a third aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions thereon. When the computer instructions are executed by a processor, the thin film deposition method as described in the first aspect of the present invention is implemented. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The above-described features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood after reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, components are not necessarily drawn to scale, and components having similar related properties or features may have the same or similar reference numerals.

[0018] Figure 1A schematic diagram of a thin film deposition apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0019] Figure 2 A schematic flowchart of a thin film deposition method according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0020] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a thin film deposition apparatus provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0021] Figure 4A A scatter plot of film thickness repeatability test before performing pre-flow operation is shown according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4B A scatter plot of film thickness repeatability test after preflow provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0023] Figure 5A A scatter plot of temperature and pipeline pressure with a preflow time of 0.35 s is shown, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 5B A scatter plot of temperature and pipeline pressure with a preflow time of 0.14 s is shown, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0025] Figure label:

[0026] 10. Front-end module

[0027] 20 Load latch chambers

[0028] 30 Transmission cavity

[0029] 40 Process cavity

[0030] 401 Current limiting structure

[0031] 402 reaction source Detailed Implementation

[0032] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention is presented in conjunction with preferred embodiments, this does not mean that the features of the invention are limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the purpose of describing the invention in conjunction with embodiments is to cover other options or modifications that may be derived based on the claims of the present invention. To provide a thorough understanding of the invention, many specific details will be included in the following description. The invention may also be implemented without using these details. Furthermore, to avoid confusion or obscuring the focus of the invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.

[0033] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0034] Furthermore, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "horizontal," and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood as the orientations shown in the relevant paragraphs and accompanying drawings. These relative terms are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply that the described apparatus must be manufactured or operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0035] It is understood that although terms such as "first," "second," and "third" may be used herein to describe various components, regions, layers, and / or parts, these components, regions, layers, and / or parts should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are only used to distinguish different components, regions, layers, and / or parts. Therefore, the first components, regions, layers, and / or parts discussed below may be referred to as second components, regions, layers, and / or parts without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.

[0036] As mentioned above, existing thin film deposition equipment includes a reaction source, a chemical source, and a process chamber. Because the chamber environment of a thin film deposition equipment is not absolutely stable during continuous steam deposition due to the influence of temperature, pressure, and steam concentration, the deposited film thickness is uneven and cannot meet actual production requirements.

[0037] To overcome the aforementioned deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a thin film deposition method, a thin film deposition apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium, which effectively improve the stability of the thin film deposition process, optimize the inter-wafer uniformity of the thin film thickness, and enhance the economic value of production line applications.

[0038] In some non-limiting embodiments, the thin film deposition method provided in the first aspect of the present invention can be implemented based on the thin film deposition apparatus provided in the second aspect of the present invention. Specifically, the thin film deposition apparatus is equipped with a memory and a processor. The memory includes, but is not limited to, the computer-readable storage medium provided in the third aspect of the present invention, on which computer instructions are stored. The processor is connected to the memory and is configured to execute the computer instructions stored in the memory to implement the thin film deposition method provided in the first aspect of the present invention.

[0039] Specifically, the thin film deposition apparatus includes a reaction source, a chemical source, and a process chamber. Here, the process chamber is used to perform a thin film deposition reaction on a wafer based on a first reactant and a second reactant. The reaction source provides the gaseous first reactant (e.g., H₂O). The chemical source provides the gaseous second reactant (e.g., the precursor compound TMA).

[0040] Furthermore, when the reaction source is a liquid reaction source, the thin film deposition apparatus also includes a purge line. This purge line includes an inlet branch leading from the purge line to the liquid reaction source, an outlet branch leading from the liquid reaction source to the purge line, and a flow-limiting structure located on the outlet branch. The thin film deposition apparatus transmits purge gas to the liquid reaction source via the inlet branch, transmits purge gas carrying the reaction source to the purge line via the outlet branch, and transmits purge gas carrying the reaction source to the process chamber via the outlet of the purge line.

[0041] The working principle of the above-described thin film deposition apparatus will be described below with reference to some embodiments of thin film deposition methods. Those skilled in the art will understand that these embodiments of thin film deposition methods are merely non-limiting implementations provided by the present invention, intended to clearly demonstrate the main concepts of the invention and provide specific solutions convenient for public implementation, rather than limiting all functions or operating methods of the thin film deposition apparatus. Similarly, these thin film deposition methods are also merely non-limiting implementations provided by the present invention, and do not constitute a limitation on the subject or order of execution of the steps in these thin film deposition methods.

[0042] Please refer to the following first. Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a thin film deposition apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0043] Before the thin film deposition reaction, the wafer to be deposited is obtained from the front-end module 10 of the equipment via the load latch cavity 20 and / or the transfer cavity 30. Furthermore, by adding a heating function to the load latch cavity 20 and / or the transfer cavity 30 for a preheating time of 20 seconds, the present invention can reduce the wafer preheating time during process formulation execution, thereby increasing throughput.

[0044] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the thin-film deposition apparatus can also obtain the wafer thickness to determine the wafer preheating time, then preheat the wafer via the load latch cavity 20 and / or the transfer cavity 30, and then transfer the preheated wafer to the process cavity 40. Here, the thin film thickness is inversely proportional to the ambient temperature within the cavity. If the wafer temperature is not high enough, the ambient temperature will gradually increase, causing the thin film thickness to be unstable and showing a gradual decreasing trend. In the current process formulation, the wafer preheating time is 25 seconds, and the wafer temperature can only reach 100°C. By increasing the preheating time to 110 seconds, the wafer temperature can reach 270°C, which is closer to the process temperature of 300°C.

[0045] Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 A schematic flowchart of a thin film deposition method according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0046] like Figure 2 As shown, the thin film deposition method first performs step S1: determining the window duration T0 of a single thin film deposition reaction. Here, the window duration of a single thin film deposition reaction can be determined based on the production line capacity. For example, for the currently common AlO process, the window duration of a single thin film deposition reaction can be 4 seconds.

[0047] Subsequently, the thin film deposition method can perform step S2: based on the target value of thin film thickness uniformity and window duration T0, conduct an experiment on the proportion of reaction source duration within the window duration to determine the target proportion of reaction source duration within the window duration T0.

[0048] Please refer to the details. Figure 3 , Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a thin film deposition apparatus provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0049] like Figure 3 As shown, technicians can continuously introduce chemical sources and multiple reaction sources with different duration ratios into the process chamber within a window duration T0 to perform multiple thin film deposition reactions.

[0050] Specifically, during the process of introducing the reaction source 402 into the process chamber, the thin film deposition equipment can first transmit purge gas to the liquid reaction source 402 via the inlet branch from the purge line to the liquid reaction source 402, and then transmit the purge gas carrying the reaction source 402 to the purge line via the outlet branch from the liquid reaction source 402 to the purge line. Afterwards, the thin film deposition equipment can transmit the purge gas carrying the reaction source 402 to the process chamber via the outlet of the purge line to the process chamber.

[0051] Furthermore, a flow-limiting structure 401 can be provided on the outlet branch to reduce the flow rate of the purge gas carrying the reaction source 402. Here, the flow-limiting structure 401 can change the diameter of the gas supply pipe from 6.35 mm to 1-2 mm, which can effectively limit the flow rate of the reaction source 402, thereby limiting the concentration of the reaction source 402 during the atomic layer deposition process cycle. This allows the remaining reaction source 402 to be pumped away in a timely manner, preventing the continuous accumulation of excessive reaction source from affecting the continuous decrease in the concentration of the chemical source (e.g., TMA).

[0052] Furthermore, the flow-limiting structure 401 is installed at the vertical pipe in the figure, and the flow restriction begins before entering the pipeline shared with the purge gas, so as to avoid affecting the flow rate of the purge gas entering the cavity when installed at the horizontal pipe, thereby avoiding affecting the purge efficiency of the thin film deposition equipment.

[0053] Afterwards, technicians can examine the differences in film thickness generated by each film deposition reaction, and determine the target duration percentage of the reaction source within the window duration T0 based on the percentage of time the film thickness difference meets the target value for film thickness uniformity. For example, in the AlO process described above, for a target value of 99.6% film thickness uniformity, the target duration percentage of the reaction source within a window duration T0 can be 20%.

[0054] Please continue to refer to this. Figure 2 After performing step S2, the thin film deposition method can proceed to step S3: the thin film deposition method determines the first injection duration T1 of the reaction source within the window duration based on the window duration and the target duration ratio, i.e.

[0055] T1 = T0 × 20% = 0.8s

[0056] Wherein, the first injection duration T1 is the total duration of the pre-flow and reaction processes.

[0057] Subsequently, the thin film deposition method can perform step S4: determining the second injection duration T2 (e.g., 0.35 s) of the reaction sources within the window duration based on the number of reaction sources required for a single thin film deposition reaction. Here, the second injection duration T2 is the reaction duration.

[0058] Next, the thin film deposition method can perform step S5: determine the preflow time T of the reaction source based on the difference between the first implantation time T1 and the second implantation time T2, i.e.

[0059] T = T1 - T2 = 0.55s

[0060] And based on the preflow time T, the preflow reaction source and chemical source are determined.

[0061] Here, pre-flow refers to the pre-running of liquid sources such as reaction sources and chemical sources using a fixed formula before batch processing when the machine switches from idle to process mode. This allows the entire chamber to quickly enter a stable environment with the ambient temperature and pipeline pressure required for the process. Compared to the pre-flow of reaction sources and chemical sources between multiple thin film deposition reactions, this invention performs a concentrated, large-scale pre-flow before the machine switches from standby to process mode. During this pre-flow process, no source is injected into the process chamber, but the process chamber is pre-entered into a stable process state, thereby improving the inter-wafer uniformity of film thickness between cycles.

[0062] Subsequently, in response to the preflow reaction source and chemical source reaching the preflow time T, the thin film deposition method can perform step S6: introducing a reaction source with a second injection time T2 into the process chamber and introducing a chemical source into the process chamber to carry out the thin film deposition reaction.

[0063] Please refer to further information. Figures 4A-4B . Figure 4A A scatter plot of film thickness repeat experiments before performing pre-flow operation is shown, according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 4B A scatter plot of the film thickness after preflow is shown, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0064] like Figures 4A-4B As shown, compared to not performing the fixed formulation preflow operation step, by performing the fixed formulation preflow of reaction source and chemical source before switching to the process state, the reaction source and chemical source are in a stable process state in advance. This invention can effectively avoid the concentration decrease of reaction source and chemical source in the initial stage of the process, thereby avoiding the decreasing trend of film thickness.

[0065] In addition, please refer to Figures 5A-5B . Figure 5A A scatter plot of temperature and pipeline pressure provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown. Figure 5B A scatter plot of temperature and pipeline pressure provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0066] like Figures 5A-5B As shown, this invention can determine whether the reaction source and chemical source have reached a stable process state by monitoring the process chamber temperature and pipeline pressure. Furthermore, the temperature and pressure vary depending on the proportion of the reaction source in the environmental system. Larger changes in temperature and pipeline pressure indicate a wider range of different proportions of the reaction source in the environmental system. Conversely, smaller changes in temperature and pipeline pressure indicate a smaller range of proportions of the reaction source in the environmental system.

[0067] In summary, the thin film deposition method, thin film deposition apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium provided by this invention can be used to effectively improve the stability of thin film deposition processes, optimize the inter-wafer uniformity of thin film thickness, and enhance the economic value of production line applications.

[0068] Although the methods described above are illustrated and depicted as a series of actions for the sake of simplicity, it should be understood and appreciated that these methods are not limited by the order of the actions, as some actions may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other actions from the illustrations and descriptions herein or not illustrated and described herein but which may be understood by those skilled in the art, according to one or more embodiments.

[0069] The prior description of this disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use this disclosure. Various modifications to this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A thin film deposition method, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Determine the window duration for a single thin film deposition reaction; Based on the target value of film thickness uniformity and the window duration, an experiment was conducted to determine the target duration percentage of the reaction source within the window duration. Based on the window duration and the target duration percentage, the first injection duration of the reaction source within the window duration is determined; Based on the number of reaction sources required for one thin film deposition reaction, determine the second injection duration of the reaction sources within the window duration; Based on the difference between the first injection duration and the second injection duration, the pre-flow time of the reaction source is determined, and the reaction source and the chemical source are pre-flowed. as well as In response to the arrival of the preflow time, a reaction source for the second injection duration is introduced into the process chamber, and a chemical source is introduced into the process chamber to carry out the thin film deposition reaction.

2. The thin film deposition method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining the window duration for a single thin film deposition reaction includes: The window duration for a single thin film deposition reaction is determined based on the production line capacity of the thin film deposition reaction.

3. The thin film deposition method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining the target duration percentage of the reaction source within the window duration based on the target value of film thickness uniformity and the window duration includes: During the window duration, the chemical source and multiple reaction sources with different duration ratios are continuously introduced into the process chamber to perform multiple thin film deposition reactions. Examine the differences in film thickness generated by each of the aforementioned thin film deposition reactions; and The target duration percentage of the reaction source within the window duration is determined based on the percentage of time during which the film thickness difference meets the target value for film thickness uniformity.

4. The thin film deposition method as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The step of introducing the reaction source into the process chamber includes: Purge gas is supplied to the liquid reaction source via an inlet branch that leads from the purge line to the liquid reaction source; A purge gas carrying the reaction source is supplied to the purge line via an outlet branch from the liquid reaction source to the purge line, wherein the outlet branch is equipped with a flow-limiting structure to reduce the flow rate of the purge gas carrying the reaction source; and The purge gas carrying the reaction source is delivered to the process chamber through the outlet of the purge line.

5. The thin film deposition method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Prior to the thin film deposition reaction, the thin film deposition method further includes the following steps: The wafer to be deposited is obtained from the front-end module of the device via the load latch cavity and / or the transfer cavity; The wafer is preheated via the load latch cavity and / or the transfer cavity; and The preheated wafer is transferred to the process cavity.

6. The thin film deposition method as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The step of preheating the wafer includes: The thickness of the wafer is obtained to determine the preheating time of the wafer; and The wafer is preheated according to the preheating time.

7. A thin film deposition apparatus, characterized in that, include: Memory, on which computer instructions are stored; as well as A processor, connected to the memory, and configured to execute computer instructions stored in the memory, to implement the thin film deposition method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The thin film deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that, The thin film deposition apparatus further includes: A reaction source, used to provide the gaseous first reactant; A chemical source, used to provide a gaseous second reactant; and A process chamber for performing thin film deposition reactions on a wafer therein based on the first reactant and the second reactant.

9. The thin film deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that, The reaction source is a liquid reaction source, and the thin film deposition apparatus further includes: The purge line includes an inlet branch leading from the purge line to the liquid reaction source, an outlet branch leading from the liquid reaction source to the purge line, and a flow-limiting structure located on the outlet branch. The thin film deposition apparatus transmits purge gas to the liquid reaction source via the inlet branch, transmits purge gas carrying the reaction source to the purge line via the outlet branch, and transmits purge gas carrying the reaction source to the process chamber via the outlet of the purge line.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions thereon, characterized in that, When the computer instructions are executed by the processor, the thin film deposition method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6 is implemented.

Images