Method for inhibiting generation of microparticle defects in atomic layer deposition silicon nitride

Abstract

The invention provides a method for inhibiting micro-particle defects generated by atomic layer deposition silicon nitride, which comprises the following steps of: additionally arranging a lateral linking pipeline connected with a nitrogen supply end at an ammonia gas outlet of a gas distribution cabinet for outputting a gas source to a deposition machine end, high-pressure nitrogen is input through the lateral linking pipeline to clean the ventilation pipeline for a long time before ammonia gas is introduced into the deposition machine table end; and after cleaning is finished, the ventilation pipeline is exhausted through a vacuum pump at the end of the deposition machine table, and nitrogen in the ventilation pipeline is exhausted. The ventilation pipeline is cleaned before ammonia gas is introduced, residual water vapor is removed, the whole pipeline is dry and clean, and the situation that the ventilation pipeline is corroded by the reaction of the ammonia gas and the water vapor in the ventilation process, and metal-containing microparticles are generated is prevented.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to a method for suppressing micro-particle defects generated by atomic layer deposition of silicon nitride. Background Art

[0002] The current atomic layer deposition silicon nitride machine's reaction gas intake path is to directly connect to the machine end (gas cabinet) through the gas distribution cabinet (VMB) at the factory end, and then connect to the inside of the machine through the gas pipe and gas injection pipe. When in use, the reaction gas (ammonia) is also directly introduced. Because there is water vapor in the gas distribution cabinet interface, the introduction of ammonia will generate nitrate ions after the reaction, which will corrode the gas pipe and produce microparticles containing metal components. These microparticles enter the furnace tube reaction chamber and become like Figure 1 The microparticle defects shown affect the process. If this problem needs to be solved, it is necessary to go through a long period of ammonia cleaning (NH3 purge) and then replace the entire set of pipelines from the gas distribution cabinet to the machine end, which is time-consuming and requires additional costs to purchase accessories, affecting production efficiency and increasing manufacturing costs. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of the present application is to provide a method for suppressing the generation of micro-particle defects in atomic layer deposition of silicon nitride, so as to solve the problem of micro-particle defects in atomic layer deposition of silicon nitride in the prior art.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose and other related purposes, the present application provides a method for inhibiting the generation of micro-particle defects in atomic layer deposition of silicon nitride, including: adding a lateral connecting pipeline connected to the nitrogen supply end at the ammonia outlet of the gas distribution cabinet that outputs the gas source to the deposition machine end, and inputting high-pressure nitrogen through the lateral connecting pipeline to clean the ventilation pipeline for a long time before introducing ammonia to the deposition machine end; after the cleaning is completed, the ventilation pipeline is evacuated by the vacuum pump at the deposition machine end to discharge the nitrogen in the ventilation pipeline.

[0005] Preferably, the nitrogen supply pressure is 0.2MPa-0.3MPa.

[0006] Preferably, the duration of the cleaning operation is greater than 24 hours.

[0007] Preferably, the nitrogen has a purity of not less than 99.99%.

[0008] Preferably, a valve is provided on the lateral link pipeline. When the cleaning operation starts, the valve is opened to introduce nitrogen into the ventilation pipeline; when the cleaning operation ends, the valve is closed.

[0009] Preferably, the ventilation pipeline includes: a pipeline connecting the ammonia outlet of the gas distribution cabinet and the air inlet at the machine end, and a pipeline at the machine end connecting to the inside of the machine.

[0010] Preferably, the pipeline connecting the machine end to the inside of the machine includes a gas pipeline and a gas injection pipe.

[0011] As described above, the method provided in the present application for inhibiting the generation of microparticle defects in atomic layer deposition of silicon nitride has the following beneficial effects: the ventilation pipeline is cleaned before the introduction of ammonia to remove residual water vapor, so that the entire pipeline is dry and clean, and the reaction of ammonia and water vapor during ventilation is prevented from corroding the ventilation pipeline to produce metal-containing microparticles. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] In order to more clearly illustrate the specific implementation methods of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the specific implementation methods or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some implementation methods of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0013] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing micro-particle defects generated by atomic layer deposition of silicon nitride in the prior art;

[0014] Figure 2 A flow chart showing a method for suppressing micro-particle defects generated by atomic layer deposition of silicon nitride provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The following describes the implementation of the present application through specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present application from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present application can also be implemented or applied through other different specific implementations, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0016] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of this application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0017] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc., indicating directions or positional relationships, are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0018] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, it can also be the internal connection of two components, it can be a wireless connection, or it can be a wired connection. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0019] In addition, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present application described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0020] The reaction gas inlet pipe of the atomic layer deposition silicon nitride machine is made of stainless steel. Due to the presence of water vapor in the interface of the gas distribution cabinet, the reaction gas carrying water vapor reacts chemically to form nitrate ions during ventilation, which then corrodes the pipe to generate microparticles containing metal components (such as iron, nickel, etc.). The reaction gas carries these microparticles into the furnace tube reaction chamber of the machine and becomes like this after the nitride film is deposited. Figure 1 Microparticle defects of varying sizes are shown.

[0021] In order to solve this problem, the present application provides a method for suppressing the generation of micro-particle defects in atomic layer deposition of silicon nitride.

[0022] See also Figure 2 , which shows a flow chart of a method for suppressing micro-particle defects generated by atomic layer deposition of silicon nitride provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0023] like Figure 2 As shown, the method for suppressing the generation of micro-particle defects in atomic layer deposition silicon nitride includes: adding a lateral connecting pipeline connected to the nitrogen supply end at the ammonia outlet of the gas distribution cabinet that outputs the gas source to the deposition machine end, and inputting high-pressure nitrogen through the lateral connecting pipeline to clean the ventilation pipeline for a long time before introducing ammonia to the deposition machine end; after the cleaning is completed, the ventilation pipeline is evacuated by the vacuum pump at the deposition machine end to discharge the nitrogen in the ventilation pipeline.

[0024] A valve is provided on the lateral link pipeline. When the cleaning operation starts, the valve is opened to introduce nitrogen into the ventilation pipeline; when the cleaning operation ends, the valve is closed.

[0025] As an example, the nitrogen is high-purity nitrogen to avoid bringing impurities into the ventilation pipeline, and the purity of the nitrogen is not less than 99.99%. High-pressure nitrogen can make the nitrogen have a large flow rate to effectively clean the water vapor in the ventilation pipeline. Exemplarily, the nitrogen supply pressure is adjusted by the valve at the supply end to control the flow of nitrogen. The nitrogen supply pressure is 0.2MPa-0.3MPa. If the pressure is too low, the cleaning effect is limited. If the pressure is too high, it is easy to cause safety hazards. The cleaning operation time is longer than 24 hours.

[0026] The ventilation pipelines targeted by the above cleaning and exhaust operations include: the pipeline connecting the ammonia outlet of the gas distribution cabinet and the air inlet at the machine end, and the pipeline connecting the machine end to the inside of the machine. The pipeline connecting the machine end to the inside of the machine includes the gas line and the gas injector.

[0027] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in this embodiment are only used to illustrate the basic concept of the present application in a schematic manner. Therefore, the drawings only show components related to the present invention rather than being drawn according to the number, shape and size of components in actual implementation. In actual implementation, the type, quantity and proportion of each component may be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout may also be more complicated.

[0028] In summary, the method provided by the present application for inhibiting the generation of microparticle defects in atomic layer deposition of silicon nitride is to clean the ventilation pipeline before introducing ammonia gas, remove residual water vapor, make the entire pipeline dry and clean, and prevent the reaction of ammonia gas and water vapor during ventilation from corroding the ventilation pipeline to generate metal-containing microparticles. Therefore, the present application effectively overcomes various shortcomings in the prior art and has a high industrial utilization value.

[0029] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Anyone familiar with the technology may modify or change the above embodiments without violating the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes made by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and technical ideas disclosed by the present invention shall still be covered by the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for inhibiting the generation of microparticle defects in atomic layer deposition of silicon nitride, characterized in that: The method comprises: adding a lateral connecting pipeline connected to a nitrogen supply end at an ammonia outlet of a gas distribution cabinet that outputs a gas source to a deposition machine end; before introducing ammonia to the deposition machine end, inputting high-pressure nitrogen through the lateral connecting pipeline to clean the ventilation pipeline for a long time; after the cleaning is completed, the ventilation pipeline is evacuated by a vacuum pump at the deposition machine end to discharge the nitrogen in the ventilation pipeline.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The nitrogen supply pressure is 0.2MPa-0.3MPa.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The duration of the cleaning operation is greater than 24 hours.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The nitrogen gas has a purity of not less than 99.99%.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The lateral link pipeline is provided with a valve. When the cleaning operation starts, the valve is opened to introduce nitrogen into the ventilation pipeline; when the cleaning operation ends, the valve is closed.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The ventilation pipeline includes: a pipeline connecting the ammonia gas outlet of the gas distribution cabinet and the gas inlet of the machine end, and a pipeline connecting the machine end to the inside of the machine.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The pipeline connecting the machine end to the inside of the machine includes a gas transmission pipeline and a gas injection pipe.

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