Multi-station semiconductor processing using independently adjustable pedestals - Patents.com

Abstract

A method and apparatus for depositing material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station may include providing a first substrate on a first pedestal in the first station, providing a second substrate on a second pedestal in the second station, and simultaneously generating a first plasma in the first station while the first pedestal is separated a first distance from a first showerhead in the first station, thereby depositing a first layer of material onto the first substrate, and generating a second plasma in the second station while the second pedestal is separated a second distance, different from the first distance, from the second showerhead in the second station, thereby depositing a second layer of material onto the second substrate, for a first portion of a deposition process.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] (CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) A PCT application form is being filed contemporaneously herewith as a part of this application. Each application to which this application claims benefit or priority, as identified in the contemporaneously filed PCT application form, is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. [Background technology]

[0002] During semiconductor processing operations, a substrate is typically supported on a pedestal inside a processing chamber, and a plasma may be used to deposit one or more layers of material onto the substrate. In commercial scale manufacturing, each substrate or wafer contains many copies of the particular semiconductor device being manufactured, and many substrates are required to achieve the required amount of devices. The commercial viability of a semiconductor processing operation depends in large part on the uniformity within the wafer, and on the reproducibility of processing conditions from wafer to wafer. Thus, efforts are made to ensure that a given wafer and each portion of each wafer being processed is exposed to the same processing conditions. Variations in processing conditions and semiconductor processing tools can cause variations in deposition conditions, resulting in unacceptable variations in overall processing and manufacturing. Techniques and apparatus are needed to minimize processing variations. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] The systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure each have several novel aspects, no one of which alone is responsible for the desirable attributes disclosed herein. Included among these aspects are at least the following implementations, although other implementations may be presented in the detailed description or may become apparent from the discussion provided herein.

[0004] In some embodiments, a method may be provided for depositing material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station, the method may include providing a first substrate on a first pedestal in the first station, providing a second substrate on a second pedestal in the second station, and simultaneously generating a first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from a first showerhead of the first station by a first distance, thereby depositing a first layer of material onto the first substrate, and generating a second plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from a second showerhead of the second station by a second distance different from the first distance, thereby depositing a second layer of material onto the second substrate, for a first portion of a deposition process.

[0005] In some embodiments, the method may further include simultaneously generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance different from the first distance, thereby depositing a third layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by a fourth distance different from the second distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the second substrate, for a second portion of the deposition process.

[0006] In some such embodiments, the difference between the first distance and the third distance may be substantially the same as the difference between the second distance and the fourth distance.

[0007] In some embodiments, the method may further include simultaneously generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a third distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a third layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated a third distance from the second showerhead, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the second substrate, for a second layer of the deposition process.

[0008] In some embodiments, the first portion includes N deposition cycles, each of the N deposition cycles simultaneously including generating a first plasma at a first station while the first pedestals are separated by a first distance, thereby depositing a first layer of material on the first substrate, generating a second plasma at a second station while the second pedestals are separated by a second distance, thereby depositing a second layer of material on the second substrate, and igniting and extinguishing the first and second plasmas.

[0009] In some such embodiments, the method may further include, for a second portion of the deposition process after the first portion, comprising X deposition cycles, simultaneously, in each of the X deposition cycles, generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a third distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a third layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated a third distance from the second showerhead, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the second substrate, where each of the X deposition cycles includes igniting and extinguishing the third plasma and the fourth plasma.

[0010] In some such embodiments, the method may further include, for a second portion of the deposition process prior to the first portion, including Y deposition cycles, simultaneously, in each of the Y deposition cycles, generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a third distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a third layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated a third distance from the second showerhead, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the second substrate, where each of the Y deposition cycles includes igniting and extinguishing the third plasma and the fourth plasma.

[0011] In some such embodiments, the method may further include adjusting the first pedestal between the first distance and a third distance and adjusting the second pedestal between the second distance and a fourth distance, and simultaneously, for a second portion of the deposition process including Z deposition cycles, generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated by a third distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a third layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated by a fourth distance from the second showerhead, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the second substrate, in each of the Z deposition cycles, where each of the Z deposition cycles includes igniting and extinguishing the third plasma and the fourth plasma.

[0012] In some such embodiments, each N deposition cycle at the first station and the second station may include: (i) adsorbing a film precursor on the substrate at that station such that the precursor forms an adsorption-limited layer on the substrate; (ii) removing at least a portion of unadsorbed film precursor from a volume surrounding the adsorbed precursor; (iii) reacting the adsorbed film precursor by generating a plasma at that station after removing the unadsorbed precursor in (ii) to form a layer of material on the substrate at that station; and (iv) removing desorbed film precursor and / or reaction by-products, if present after reacting the adsorbed precursor, from the volume surrounding the film layer.

[0013] In some other such embodiments, the method may further include adjusting the first pedestal from the first distance to a third distance and adjusting the second pedestal from the second distance to a fourth distance, where during (iii) of each cycle, the first pedestal may be at the first distance and the second pedestal is at the second distance, and during one or more of (i), (ii), or (iv) of each cycle, the first pedestal may be at the third distance and the second pedestal is at the fourth distance.

[0014] In some embodiments, the method may further include providing a third substrate on a third pedestal in a third station in the multi-station deposition apparatus. This portion of the deposition process may further include generating a third plasma in the third station while the third pedestal is separated from a third showerhead of the third station by a third distance, which may be different from the first distance and the second distance, thereby simultaneously depositing a third layer of material on the third substrate.

[0015] In some such embodiments, the method may further include, for a second portion of the deposition process, simultaneously generating a fourth plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a fourth distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the first substrate, generating a fifth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated a fourth distance from the second showerhead, thereby depositing a fifth layer of material on the second substrate, and generating a sixth plasma at the third station while the fourth and fifth plasmas are simultaneously generated and while the third pedestal is separated a fourth distance from the third showerhead, thereby depositing a sixth layer of material on the third substrate.

[0016] In some embodiments, the first plasma may have a plasma characteristic of a first value and the second plasma may have the plasma characteristic of a second value that is different from the first value.

[0017] In some such embodiments, the plasma characteristic may include plasma power.

[0018] In some embodiments, a first layer of material on a first substrate may have a property of a first value, and a second layer of material on a second substrate may have a property of a second value that is substantially the same as the first value.

[0019] In some embodiments, a first layer of material on a first substrate may have a property of a first value and a second layer of material on a second substrate may have a property of a second value that is different from the first value.

[0020] In some such embodiments, the properties may be wet etch rate, dry etch rate, composition, thickness, density, amount of crosslinking, chemistry, reaction completion, stress, refractive index, dielectric constant, hardness, etch selectivity, stability, and hermeticity.

[0021] In some embodiments, a first layer of material on a first substrate may have a property of a first value and a second layer of material on a second substrate may have a property of a first value.

[0022] In some embodiments, the method may further include providing a third substrate on the first pedestal prior to providing the first and second substrates; providing a fourth substrate on the second pedestal prior to providing the first and second substrates; and simultaneously generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a third distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a third layer of material on the third substrate, and generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated a first distance from the second showerhead, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the fourth substrate, for the second deposition process, where a first non-uniformity between a property of the first layer of material on the first substrate and a property of the second layer of material on the second substrate is less than a second non-uniformity between a property of the third layer of material on the third substrate and a property of the fourth layer of material on the fourth substrate.

[0023] In some embodiments, the first pedestal may apply a chucking force to a first substrate during a first portion of a deposition process, and the second pedestal may apply a chucking force to a second substrate during the first portion of the deposition process.

[0024] In some embodiments, a method may be provided for depositing material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station, the method may include providing a first substrate on a first pedestal in the first station, providing a second substrate on a second pedestal in the second station, and simultaneously generating a first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a first distance from a first showerhead of the first station, thereby depositing a first layer of material onto the first substrate, and generating a second plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated a first distance from a second showerhead of the second station, thereby depositing a second layer of material onto the second substrate, for a first portion of a deposition process. The method may further include adjusting the first pedestal to a second distance and the second pedestal to a second distance after the first portion, and simultaneously generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestals are separated by the second distance, thereby depositing a third layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestals are separated by the second distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the second substrate, for a second portion of the deposition process.

[0025] In some such embodiments, a first layer of material on a first substrate may have a property of a first value, a second layer of material on a second substrate may have a property of a second value, a third layer of material on the first substrate may have a property of a third value different from the first value, and a fourth layer of material on the second substrate may have a property of a third value different from the first value. Fourth The layer may have a fourth value of the property that is different from the second value.

[0026] In some such embodiments, the first distance may be greater than the second distance.

[0027] In some embodiments, a multi-station deposition apparatus may be provided. The apparatus may include a processing chamber, a first processing station within the processing chamber including a first showerhead and a first pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the first showerhead, a second processing station within the processing chamber including a second showerhead and a second pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the second showerhead, and a controller for controlling the multi-station deposition apparatus to deposit material onto a substrate at the first station and the second station, the controller providing a first substrate to the first pedestal, providing a second substrate to the second pedestal, and controlling the first pedestal to deposit a material onto the substrate at the first station and the second station. The system comprises control logic for moving the first pedestal such that it is separated from the first showerhead by a first distance, moving the second pedestal such that it is separated from the second showerhead by a second distance, and simultaneously generating a first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by the first distance, thereby depositing a first layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a second plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by a second distance, which may be different from the first distance, thereby depositing a second layer of material on the second substrate.

[0028] In some such embodiments, the controller may further include control logic for moving the first pedestal such that the first pedestal is separated a third distance from the first showerhead, moving the second pedestal such that the second pedestal is separated a fourth distance from the second showerhead, and simultaneously generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated the third distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a third layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated a fourth distance from the second showerhead, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the second substrate.

[0029] In some such embodiments, the third distance may be different from the fourth distance.

[0030] In some such embodiments, the third distance may be the same as the fourth distance.

[0031] In some other such embodiments, the controller may further include control logic for simultaneously generating a third plasma at a third station and a fourth plasma at a fourth station before simultaneously generating the first plasma at the first station and the second plasma at the second station.

[0032] In some other such embodiments, the controller may further include control logic for simultaneously generating a first plasma at the first station and a second plasma at the second station, and then simultaneously generating a third plasma at the third station and a fourth plasma at the fourth station.

[0033] In some embodiments, the first pedestal may be configured to apply a chucking force to the first substrate and the second pedestal may be configured to apply a chucking force to the second substrate, and the controller may further include control logic for causing the first pedestal to apply a chucking force to the first substrate and the second pedestal to apply a chucking force to the second substrate during a first portion of the deposition process.

[0034] In some such embodiments, the first chucking force and the second chucking force may be electrostatic forces.

[0035] In some such embodiments, the first chucking force and the second chucking force may be applied by a vacuum.

[0036] In some embodiments, a multi-station deposition apparatus may be provided. The apparatus may include a processing chamber, a first processing station within the processing chamber including a first showerhead and a first pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the first showerhead, a second processing station within the processing chamber including a second showerhead and a second pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the second showerhead, and a controller for controlling the multi-station apparatus to deposit material onto a substrate at the first station and the second station, the controller providing a first substrate to the first pedestal, providing a second substrate to the second pedestal, and depositing a material onto the substrate at the first station and the second station. and control logic for moving the first pedestal such that the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead a first distance, moving the second pedestal such that the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead a first distance, and simultaneously generating a first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead a first distance, thereby depositing a first layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a second plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead a first distance, thereby depositing a second layer of material on the second substrate. The method may further include the steps of: after simultaneously generating the first plasma and the second plasma, moving the first pedestal such that the first pedestal is separated a second distance from the first showerhead; after simultaneously generating the first plasma and the second plasma, moving the second pedestal such that the second pedestal is separated a second distance from the first showerhead; and simultaneously generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a second distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a third layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated a second distance from the second showerhead, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the second substrate.

[0037] In some such embodiments, the first distance may be greater than the second distance.

[0038] In some embodiments, a multi-station deposition apparatus may be provided. The apparatus may include a processing chamber, a first processing station within the processing chamber including a first showerhead and a first pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the first showerhead, and a second processing station within the processing chamber including a second showerhead and a second pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the second showerhead. The first pedestal may be separated from the first showerhead by a first distance, and the second pedestal may be separated from the second showerhead by a second distance different from the first distance.

[0039] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include a third processing station within the processing chamber including a third showerhead and a third pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the third showerhead, where the third pedestal is separated from the third showerhead by a third distance that is the same as the first distance.

[0040] In some such embodiments, the apparatus may further include a fourth processing station within the processing chamber including a fourth showerhead and a fourth pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the fourth showerhead, where the fourth pedestal is separated from the fourth showerhead by a fourth distance different from the first distance, the second distance, and the third distance.

[0041] In some such embodiments, the apparatus may further include a fourth processing station within the processing chamber including a fourth showerhead and a fourth pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the fourth showerhead, where the fourth pedestal is separated from the fourth showerhead by a fourth distance that is the same as the first distance or the second distance.

[0042] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include a third processing station within the processing chamber including a third showerhead and a third pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the third showerhead, where the third pedestal is separated from the third showerhead by a third distance different from the first distance and the second distance.

[0043] In some such embodiments, the apparatus may further include a fourth processing station within the processing chamber including a fourth showerhead and a fourth pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the fourth showerhead, where the fourth pedestal is separated from the fourth showerhead by a fourth distance different from the first distance, the second distance, and the third distance.

[0044] In some such embodiments, the apparatus may further include a fourth processing station within the processing chamber including a fourth showerhead and a fourth pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the fourth showerhead, where the fourth pedestal is separated from the fourth showerhead by a fourth distance that is the same as the first distance, the second distance, or the third distance.

[0045] In some embodiments, a method may be provided for depositing material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station, the method may include providing a first substrate on a first pedestal in the first station, providing a second substrate on a second pedestal in the second station, and simultaneously flowing precursors onto the first substrate at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from a first showerhead of the first station by a first distance and flowing precursors onto the second substrate at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from a second showerhead of the second station by a second distance different from the first distance, for a first portion of a deposition process.

[0046] In some embodiments, the method may further include simultaneously, for a second portion of the deposition process, flowing precursors over the first substrate at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance, and flowing precursors over the second substrate at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by a fourth distance different from the second distance.

[0047] In some such embodiments, the first portion may include N deposition cycles, each of which may include simultaneously flowing a precursor onto a first substrate at a first station while the first pedestals are separated by a first distance, and flowing a precursor onto a second substrate at a second station while the second pedestals are separated by a second distance.

[0048] In some other such embodiments, the method may further include, for a second portion of the deposition process that includes deposition cycles of P, simultaneously, during each of the deposition cycles of P, flowing a precursor onto the first substrate at the first station while the first pedestal is separated by a third distance from the first showerhead, and flowing a precursor onto the second substrate at the second station while the second pedestal is separated by a fourth distance from the second showerhead.

[0049] In some other such embodiments, the method may further include, for a second portion of deposition after the first portion, comprising X deposition cycles, simultaneously, during each of the X deposition cycles, flowing a precursor onto the first substrate at the first station while the first pedestal is separated by a third distance from the first showerhead, and flowing a precursor onto the second substrate at the second station while the second pedestal is separated by a third distance from the second showerhead.

[0050] In some other such embodiments, the method may further include, for a second portion of the deposition process including Y deposition cycles prior to the first portion, simultaneously, for each of the Y deposition cycles, flowing a precursor onto the first substrate at the first station while the first pedestal is separated by a third distance from the first showerhead, and flowing a precursor onto the second substrate at the second station while the second pedestal is separated by a third distance from the second showerhead.

[0051] In some embodiments, a method of depositing material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station may be provided, the method may include providing a first substrate on a first pedestal in the first station, providing a second substrate on a second pedestal in the second station, and simultaneously flowing precursors onto the first substrate at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a first distance from a first showerhead of the first station and flowing precursors onto the second substrate at the second station while the second pedestal is separated a first distance from a second showerhead of the second station for a first portion of a deposition process. The method may further include adjusting the first pedestal to a second distance and the second pedestal to a second distance after the first portion, and simultaneously flowing precursors over the first substrate at the first station while the first pedestal is separated by the second distance and flowing precursors over the second substrate at the second station while the second pedestal is separated by the second distance, for a second portion of the deposition process.

[0052] In some embodiments, a method may be provided for depositing a material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station, the method may include providing a first substrate on a first pedestal in the first station, providing a second substrate on a second pedestal in the second station, and simultaneously generating a first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from a first showerhead of the first station by a first distance, and simultaneously flowing precursors onto the first substrate, thereby depositing a first layer of material onto the first substrate, and generating a second plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from a second showerhead of the second station by a second distance different from the first distance, and simultaneously flowing precursors onto the first substrate, thereby depositing a second layer of material onto the second substrate, for a first portion of a deposition process.

[0053] Various implementations disclosed herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like elements and in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0054] [Figure 1] SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE A substrate processing apparatus for depositing films on semiconductor substrates using any number of processes is depicted.

[0055] [Diagram 2] 1 depicts an implementation of a multi-station processing tool.

[0056] [Diagram 3] 1 depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a dual station processing chamber of a substrate processing tool.

[0057] [Figure 4] 13 depicts a plot of material thickness for substrates processed at different distances between the showerhead and the pedestal.

[0058] [Diagram 5] 1 depicts a plot of wet etch rate (WER) for substrates processed at different showerhead-to-pedestal distances.

[0059] [Figure 6] 1 depicts a plot of material thickness for substrates processed at different power levels.

[0060] [Figure 7] 1 depicts a cross-sectional schematic view of a dual station processing chamber of a substrate processing tool in accordance with various embodiments.

[0061] [Figure 8] 1 depicts a first example of a technique for performing film deposition in a multi-station semiconductor processing chamber.

[0062] [Figure 9] 1 depicts a second example of a technique for performing film deposition in a multi-station semiconductor processing chamber.

[0063] [Figure 10A] 1 illustrates an example sequence of pedestal movement in an example multi-station processing chamber. [Figure 10B] 1 illustrates an example sequence of pedestal movement in an example multi-station processing chamber. [Figure 10C] 1 illustrates an example sequence of pedestal movement in an example multi-station processing chamber. [Figure 10D] 1 illustrates an example sequence of pedestal movement in an example multi-station processing chamber. [Figure 10E] 1 illustrates an example sequence of pedestal movement in an example multi-station processing chamber.

[0064] [Figure 11] 1 depicts a sixth technique for performing film deposition in a multi-station semiconductor processing chamber.

[0065] [Figure 12] 1 depicts a seventh example of a technique for performing film deposition in a multi-station semiconductor processing chamber.

[0066] [Figure 13] 1 depicts a flow diagram of an example sequence of operations for forming a film of material on a substrate via an ALD process.

[0067] [Figure 14] 12 depicts another example of the technique, showing the same sixth example of the technique of FIG.

[0068] [Figure 15A] 1 illustrates an example sequence of pedestal movement in a second example multi-station processing chamber having four processing stations. [Figure 15B] 1 illustrates an example sequence of pedestal movement in a second example multi-station processing chamber having four processing stations. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0069] In this application, the terms "semiconductor wafer," "wafer," "substrate," "wafer substrate," and "partially fabricated integrated circuit" are used interchangeably. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the term "partially fabricated integrated circuit" may refer to a silicon wafer during any of the many phases of fabricating an integrated circuit thereon. Wafers or substrates used in the semiconductor device industry typically have diameters of 200 mm, or 300 mm, or 450 mm. The following detailed description assumes that the invention is implemented for use with such wafers. However, the invention is not so limited. Workpieces may be of various shapes, sizes, and materials. In addition to semiconductor wafers, other workpieces that may utilize the invention include various articles such as printed circuit boards, magnetic recording media, magnetic recording sensors, mirrors, optical elements, micromechanical elements, and the like.

[0070] The techniques and apparatus described herein may improve station-to-station matching of various deposited material properties by adjusting the gap between the pedestal and the showerhead during plasma generation. In many plasma-assisted deposition processes, such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) or plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), the showerhead and the pedestal are separated by a distance or gap, and a plasma is generated within this gap to promote a reaction on the wafer. The distance between the showerhead and the pedestal during plasma generation has been found to affect various properties of the material deposited on the substrate, such as material thickness, dry etch rate (DER), and wet etch rate (WER). By varying or independently controlling the distance between the showerhead and the pedestal at multiple stations for plasma-assisted processing, the properties of the plasma may be changed, such as plasma power and characteristics of the plasma sheath at the wafer. Independent control of the pedestal height at multiple stations may also affect non-plasma processes such as precursors during adsorption limited processes (e.g., ALD) and during gas phase processes such as CVD, including PECVD.

[0071] Since there is a relationship between distance and the resulting material properties and plasma characteristics, the techniques and apparatus herein utilize pedestals at different distances relative to the showerhead to adjust the deposited material properties and reduce station-to-station variations. In some embodiments, the difference in material properties between stations can be reduced by changing the shear head-pedestal gap to adjust the material properties at one or more stations relative to one or more other stations, thereby adjusting the material properties at one or more stations. In certain embodiments, the pedestal distance is adjusted during the deposition process (e.g., over the course of depositing a layer through multiple cycles of ALD) to create film properties with different values ​​throughout the material. For example, the distance may be adjusted during deposition to cause one portion of the material to have one value of a property and another portion of the material to have another value of a property, such as different values ​​of density, WER, or DER, within the material.

[0072] I. Deposition Equipment Examples Several semiconductor processes are used to deposit one or more layers of material on a substrate. Examples of deposition processes include chemical vapor deposition ("CVD"), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition ("PECVD"), atomic layer deposition ("ALD"), low pressure CVD, ultra-high vacuum CVD, physical vapor deposition ("PVD"), and conformal film deposition ("CFD"). Some CVD processes may deposit a film on a wafer surface by flowing one or more gaseous reactants into a reactor, which forms film precursors and by-products. The precursors are transported to the wafer surface, adsorbed by the wafer at the wafer surface, diffuse into the wafer, and deposit on the wafer through chemical reactions that include plasma generation in PECVD. Some other deposition processes involve multiple film deposition cycles, each producing a "discrete" film thickness. ALD is one such film deposition method, but any technique used in a repeating sequential matter that lays down a thin layer of film may be considered to involve multiple deposition cycles.

[0073] As device sizes and feature sizes continue to shrink in the semiconductor industry, and as 3D device structures become more accepted in integrated circuit (IC) design, the ability to deposit thin conformal films (films of material that have uniform thickness relative to the shape of the underlying structure, even if not flat) continues to gain importance. ALD is the film formation technique of choice for conformal deposition due to the fact that only a single cycle of ALD deposits a single thin film of material, the thickness being limited by the amount of one or more film precursor reactants that may be adsorbed (i.e., form an adsorption-limiting layer) on the substrate surface prior to the film-forming chemistry itself. In this case, multiple "ALD cycles" may be used to build up a film of the desired thickness, with each layer being thin and conformal so that the resulting film substantially matches the shape of the underlying device structure. In certain embodiments, each ALD cycle includes the following steps: 1. Expose the substrate surface to a first precursor. 2. Purge the reaction chamber in which the substrate is placed. 3. Activate reactants at the substrate surface, typically using a plasma and / or a second precursor. 4. Purge the reaction chamber in which the substrate is placed.

[0074] The duration of each ALD cycle may typically be less than 25 seconds, or less than 10 seconds, or less than 5 seconds. One or more plasma exposure steps of an ALD cycle may be of short duration, e.g., 1 second or less in duration. The plasma may be of other durations longer than 1 second, e.g., 2 seconds, 5 seconds, or 10 seconds in illustrative examples.

[0075] FIG. 1 depicts a substrate processing apparatus for depositing a film on a semiconductor substrate using any number of processes. The apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 has a single process chamber 110 with a single substrate holder 118 (e.g., pedestal) within an interior volume that may be maintained under vacuum by a vacuum pump 130. Also fluidly connected to the chamber for delivering (for example) film precursors, carrier and / or purge gases and / or process gases, secondary reactants, etc. is a gas delivery system 102 and a showerhead 104. Also shown in FIG. 1 is an arrangement for generating a plasma within the process chamber. The apparatus illustrated generally in FIG. 1 is for performing ALD, but may be adapted for performing other film deposition operations, such as conventional CVD, particularly plasma-enhanced CVD.

[0076] For clarity, the processing apparatus 100 is depicted as a stand-alone processing station having a processing chamber body 110 for maintaining a low pressure environment. However, as described herein, it will be appreciated that multiple processing stations may be included within a common processing tool environment, for example within a common reaction chamber. For example, FIG. 2 depicts an implementation of a multi-station processing tool, which is discussed in more detail below. Additionally, it will be appreciated that in some implementations, one or more hardware parameters of the processing apparatus 100, including the hardware parameters discussed in more detail herein, may be programmatically adjusted by one or more system controllers.

[0077] The processing station 110 is in fluid communication with a gas delivery system 102 for delivering process gases, which may include liquids and / or gases, to the distribution showerhead 104. The gas delivery system 102 includes a mixing vessel 106 for mixing and / or conditioning the process gases for delivery to the showerhead 104. One or more mixing vessel inlet valves 108 and 108A may control the introduction of process gases into the mixing vessel 106.

[0078] Some reactants may be stored in liquid form prior to vaporization and after delivery to the processing chamber 110. The implementation of FIG. 1 includes a vaporization point 112 for vaporizing liquid reactants for delivery to the mixing vessel 106. In some implementations, the vaporization point 112 may be a heated liquid injection module. In some other implementations, the vaporization point 112 may be a heated vaporizer. In still other implementations, the vaporization point 112 may be eliminated from the processing station. In some implementations, a liquid flow controller (LFC) may be provided upstream of the vaporization point 112 to control the mass flow of liquid for vaporization and delivery to the processing chamber 110.

[0079] The showerhead 104 delivers process gases and / or reactants (e.g., film precursors) to the substrate 114 at the processing stations, with the flow of process gases and / or reactants controlled by one or more valves (e.g., valves 108, 108A, and 116) upstream of the showerhead. In the implementation shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 114 is shown positioned below the showerhead 104 and resting on a pedestal 118. The showerhead 104 may have any suitable shape and may have any suitable number and arrangement of ports for distributing process gases to the substrate 114. In some implementations with more than one station, the gas delivery system 102 includes valves or other flow control structures upstream of the showerhead that can independently control the flow of process gases and / or reactants to each station such that gas may be flowed to one station but not to another station. Additionally, the gas delivery system 102 may be configured to independently control the process gases and / or reactants delivered to each station in a multi-station apparatus such that different stations are provided with different gas compositions, e.g., the partial pressures of the gas compositions may be varied simultaneously between stations.

[0080] In FIG. 1, the showerhead 104 and the pedestal 118 are electrically connected to an RF power source 122 and a matching network 124 to power the plasma. In some implementations, the plasma energy may be controlled (e.g., via a system controller having suitable machine-readable instructions and / or control logic) by controlling one or more of the process station pressure, gas concentration, RF source power, RF source frequency, and plasma power pulse timing. For example, the RF power source 122 and the matching network 124 may be operated at any suitable power to form a plasma having a desired radical species composition. Similarly, the RF power source 122 may provide RF power of any suitable frequency and power. The apparatus 100 also includes a DC (direct current) power source 126 configured to provide a direct current to the pedestal, which may be an electrostatic chuck ("ESC") 118, to generate and provide an electrostatic clamping force to the ESC 118 and the substrate 114. The pedestal 118 may also have one or more temperature control elements 128 configured to heat and / or cool the substrate 114. The pedestal 118 can also be configured to be raised and lowered to various heights or distances as measured between the pedestal surface and the showerhead, including positioning at different heights during a deposition process. In addition to the mobility of the pedestal 118, the pedestal 118 can also have features similar to other pedestals, such as a standard pedestal constructed from aluminum or ceramic with heating features configured to heat the pedestal to between about 100° C. and 650° C., a coolant pedestal with cooling features configured to cool the pedestal to temperatures below 100° C., etc.Some examples of pedestals are described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 11 / 851,310, filed September 6, 2007, entitled "PEDESTAL HEAT TRANSFER AND TEMPERATURE CONTROL," now U.S. Patent No. 7,941,039, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 13 / 467,861, filed May 9, 2012, entitled "HIGH TEMPERATURE ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK WITH RADIAL THERMAL CHOKES," now U.S. Patent No. 9,337,067.

[0081] In some embodiments, the pedestal described herein may be configured to hold the wafer in place. This may include pedestals that use a "chuck," a device that augments gravity with some other type of clamping force to increase frictional load between the wafer and the pedestal / chuck to prevent relative motion between the wafer and the pedestal / chuck. One type of chuck used in such operations is an "electrostatic chuck," or ESC. Some ESCs hold the wafer in place by applying a direct current ("DC") voltage to one or more clamping electrodes within the ESC such that the one or more clamping electrodes and the wafer act as a capacitive circuit, which is completed by the presence of plasma within the chamber, so this design may be limited to use in processing chambers where a plasma environment is present during wafer processing. The one or more clamping electrodes are typically thin, flat structures parallel to the entire plane of the wafer, often extending over an area equal to the wafer size. An electrostatic force arising due to capacitive effects provides the clamping force. Such a configuration may be referred to as "monopolar." Another type of chuck is one that uses a gas flow inside the pedestal to create a pressure drop, or vacuum, between the wafer and the pedestal, which in turn creates a suction force that clamps the wafer against the pedestal, which may be thought of as a vacuum-applied chucking force.

[0082] In some implementations, the apparatus is controlled using suitable hardware and / or suitable machine-readable instructions in a system controller that may provide control instructions via a series of input / output control (IOC) instructions. In one example, instructions for plasma ignition or plasma condition setting for maintenance are provided in the form of a plasma activation recipe in a process recipe. In some cases, the process recipes are sequenced sequentially, so that all instructions for a process are executed concurrently in that process. In some implementations, instructions for setting one or more plasma parameters may be included in a recipe that precedes the plasma process. For example, a first recipe may include instructions for setting the flow rate of an inert gas (e.g., helium) and / or a reactant gas, instructions for setting a plasma generator to a power setpoint, and a time delay instruction for the first recipe. A second recipe that follows may include instructions for enabling the plasma generator, and a time delay instruction for the second recipe. A third recipe may include instructions for disabling the plasma generator, and a time delay instruction for the third recipe. It will be appreciated that these recipes may be further subdivided and / or repeated in any suitable manner within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0083] As described above, more than one processing station may be included in a multi-station substrate processing tool. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a multi-station processing apparatus. Various efficiencies may be achieved by using a multi-station processing apparatus as shown in FIG. 2 in terms of increased throughput as well as capital costs and operational costs. In an illustrative example, a single vacuum pump may be used to create a single high vacuum environment for all four processing stations, such as by pumping out spent process gases, etc., for all four processing stations. Depending on the implementation, each processing station may have its own dedicated showerhead for gas delivery, but may share the same gas delivery system. Similarly, certain elements of the plasma generator equipment may be shared between processing stations (e.g., power supplies), while certain aspects may be processing station specific (e.g., using a showerhead to apply a plasma generating potential), depending on the implementation. Again, it should be understood that such efficiencies may also be achieved to a greater or lesser extent by using a greater or fewer number of processing stations per processing chamber, such as 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 or even more processing stations per reaction chamber.

[0084] The substrate processing apparatus 200 of Figure 2 employs a single substrate processing chamber 210 that contains multiple substrate processing stations, each of which may be used to perform a processing operation on a substrate held on a wafer holder, e.g., on a pedestal, at that processing station. In this particular implementation, the multi-station substrate processing apparatus 200 is shown having four processing stations 231, 232, 233, and 234. Other similar multi-station processing apparatus may have more or fewer processing stations depending on the implementation, illustratively depending on the desired level of parallel wafer processing, size / space constraints, cost constraints, etc. Also shown in Figure 2 is a substrate handler robot 236 and a controller 238.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 2, the multi-station processing tool 200 has a substrate loading port 240 and a robot 236 configured to move substrates from a cassette loaded through a pod 242, through the atmospheric port 240, into the processing chamber 210, and onto one of four stations 231, 232, 233, or 234.

[0086] 2 depicts a processing chamber 210 that provides four processing stations 231, 232, 233, or 234. The height or distance of the pedestal at each of these stations is individually controllable such that the pedestal can be raised or lowered a different distance than any of the other pedestals.

[0087] RF power is generated in an RF power system 222 and distributed to each of the stations 231, 232, 233, or 234; similarly, a DC power source 226 is distributed to each of the stations. The RF power system may include one or more RF power sources, such as high frequency (HFRF) sources and low frequency (LFRF) sources, impedance matching modules, and filters. In some implementations, the power source may be limited to only high frequency or low frequency sources. The distribution system of the RF power system may be symmetrical with respect to the reactor and may have a high impedance. As a result of this symmetry and impedance, approximately equal amounts of power are delivered to each station.

[0088] 2 also depicts an implementation of a substrate transfer device 290 for transferring substrates between processing stations 231, 232, 233, and 234 within processing chamber 214. It will be appreciated that any suitable substrate transfer device may be employed. Non-limiting examples include a wafer carousel and a wafer handling robot.

[0089] 2 also illustrates an implementation of a system controller 238 employed to control the processing conditions and hardware states of the processing tool 200, as well as the processing stations of the processing tool 200. The system controller 238 may include one or more memory elements 244, one or more mass storage devices 246, and one or more processors 248. The processor 248 may include one or more CPUs, ASICs, one or more general purpose computers and / or one or more special purpose computers, one or more analog and / or digital input / output connections, one or more stepper motor controller boards, etc.

[0090] The system controller 238 may execute machine-readable system control instructions 250 on the processor 244, which in some implementations are loaded into the memory element 244 from the mass storage device 246. The system control instructions 250 may include instructions for controlling the timing, mixture of gas and liquid reactants, chamber and / or station pressure, chamber and / or station temperature, wafer temperature, target power levels, RF power levels, RF exposure times, and DC power and duration for clamping the substrate, substrate pedestal, chuck, and / or susceptor positions, plasma formation at each station, flow of gas and liquid reactants, vertical height of the pedestal, and other parameters of particular processes performed by the processing tool 200. These processes may include various types of processes, including, but not limited to, processes related to depositing a film on a substrate. System Control Instructions 250 may be configured in any suitable manner.

[0091] In some implementations, the system control software 258 may include input / output control (IOC) instructions for controlling the various parameters described above. For example, each step of one or more deposition processes may be controlled by the system controller. 238For example, instructions for setting process conditions for a primary film deposition process may be included in a corresponding deposition recipe, and similarly instructions for setting process conditions for a capping film deposition may be included in a corresponding deposition recipe. In some implementations, the process recipes are sequenced sequentially, such that all instructions for a process are executed concurrently in that process.

[0092] In some implementations, a system controller 238 Related Mass Storage Devices 246 and / or a memory element 244 Other computer readable instructions and / or programs stored in the program may be employed. Examples of programs or sections of programs include a substrate positioning program, a process gas control program, a pressure control program, a heater control program, and a plasma control program.

[0093] In some implementations, a system controller 238 There may be a user interface associated with the user interface, which may include a display screen, a graphical software representation of the equipment and / or processing conditions, and a user input device such as a pointing device, keyboard, touch screen, microphone, etc.

[0094] In some implementations, a system controller 238 The parameters that the controller adjusts relate to process conditions. Non-limiting examples include process gas composition and flow rates, temperature, pressure, plasma conditions (RF bias power levels, frequency, exposure time, etc.), etc. Additionally, the controller may be configured to independently control conditions within the process stations, e.g., the controller provides instructions to ignite plasma at some stations but not all stations. These parameters may be provided to the user in the form of a recipe, which may be entered using a user interface.

[0095] The signals to monitor the process are sent to the system controller.238 Analog and / or digital input connections of the process tool 200 may provide signals for controlling the process from various process tool sensors. Signals for controlling the process may be output to analog and / or digital output connections of the process tool 200. Non-limiting examples of process tool sensors that may be monitored include mass flow controllers (MFCs), pressure sensors (such as pressure gauges), thermocouples, load sensors, OES sensors, metrology equipment for measuring physical properties of waves in-situ, and the like. Data obtained from these sensors may be used to maintain process conditions using appropriately programmed feedback and control algorithms.

[0096] The system controller 250 may provide machine-readable instructions for implementing the deposition process. The instructions may control various process parameters such as DC power levels, RF bias power levels, station-to-station variations such as RF power parameter variations, frequency tuning parameters, pressure, temperature, etc. The instructions may control the parameters to operate the in-situ film stack deposition according to various implementations described herein.

[0097] The system controller typically includes one or more memory elements and one or more processors configured to execute machine-readable instructions to cause the device to perform operations according to the processes disclosed herein. A machine-readable non-transitory medium containing instructions for controlling operations according to the substrate doping processes disclosed herein may be coupled to the system controller.

[0098] As mentioned above, processing multiple substrates at multiple processing stations within a common substrate processing chamber may increase throughput by allowing film deposition to proceed in parallel on multiple substrates while simultaneously utilizing common processing equipment between the various stations. Some multi-station substrate processing tools may be utilized to simultaneously process wafers for an equal number of cycles (e.g., in some ALD processes). Given this configuration of processing stations and substrate loading and transfer equipment, various processing sequences are possible that allow film deposition to occur in parallel (e.g., simultaneously) across multiple substrates, e.g., N cycles of film deposition for illustrative ALD processes, or equivalent exposure duration for CVD processes.

[0099] As discussed above, various efficiencies may be achieved by using multi-station processing equipment in terms of increased throughput as well as capital costs, operational costs. However, the simultaneous processing of multiple substrates in a common chamber can result in station-to-station differences in the deposited materials, including, for example, differences in average film thickness, differences in uniformity across the surface of the wafer, differences in physical properties such as wet etch rate (WER) and dry etch rate (DER), differences in chemical properties, and differences in optical properties. While there may be various thresholds for acceptable station-to-station variations in material properties, it is desirable to reduce these differences in order to repeatably produce uniform substrates for commercial-scale manufacturing.

[0100] A variety of approaches are used to achieve consistent film deposition across different substrates. Some of these approaches include indexing the substrate through multiple processing stations within a processing chamber over the course of the deposition process, i.e., for each substrate, a portion of the substrate's film is deposited at one station and a portion is deposited at one or more other processing stations. This results in averaging out any systematic differences in deposition that occur at different stations. For example, in an ALD process that performs a total of N cycles for four wafers in a four-station processing chamber, N / 4 cycles may be performed for each wafer at each station, with each wafer being transferred to a different station after each of the N / 4 cycles is completed. While this type of "sequential mode" processing or "sequential processing" is beneficial in some ways, other characteristics of this mode of operation make it less appealing. For example, some implementations of sequential mode involve significant substrate loading / unloading and opening / closing of processing chambers. In some operating modes, for a substrate to receive its allotted N deposition across the four stations, the processing chamber must be opened and closed four times for loading / unloading operations, each time involving restoring the environment inside the chamber back to environmental conditions suitable for deposition (e.g., temperature, pressure, flow rate, etc.).

[0101] A "static mode" may involve the same amount of indexing to get all four wafers into position for deposition using a 90° transfer rotation of the cassette in which the wafers are located inside the processing chamber when using one station for the loading operation, but only opening and closing the chamber once since in static mode no intervening deposition is performed during the transfer rotation. As a result, it is also possible to load all four wafers (one at a time) into a multi-station chamber prior to deposition. Even when the chamber remains closed and the internal pressure remains relatively static, indexing the wafers from one station to the next slows down processing.

[0102] Because of the time and activity involved in sequential and static mode processing, it may be advantageous to utilize an alternative processing sequence, referred to herein as "fixed mode," that does not involve indexing at all. In fixed mode, the chamber is opened, wafers are loaded into all of the stations, the chamber is closed, all depositions are performed in parallel and simultaneously for all of the wafers while the wafers remain in their same corresponding stations, the deposition cycle is completed, the chamber is opened, and the wafer is removed. Thus, each substrate undergoes its entire film deposition while positioned in only one of the processing stations. This fixed mode processing may be used for any type of deposition process, including, for example, CVD and ALD. Since fixed mode processing does not have the delays associated with indexing in other modes, deposition throughput is higher.

[0103] As stated above, the fixed mode may not always achieve consistent film deposition between different substrates due to process mismatches between different stations. For example, the process conditions at one station, such as different RF frequencies between stations or different temperatures at each station, may not match exactly with the process conditions at another station, resulting in wafers processed at one station having different properties than wafers processed at another station.

[0104] II. Relationship between the properties of the deposited material and the showerhead-pedestal distance As stated above, techniques and apparatus are described herein for improving station-to-station matching of various deposited material properties by adjusting the gap between the pedestal and the showerhead during plasma generation. In many plasma-assisted deposition processes, such as ALD or PECVD, the showerhead and the pedestal are separated by a distance or gap, and plasma is generated within this gap to promote a reaction on the wafer. Unless otherwise stated herein, the terms "gap" or "distance" refer to this spatial relationship between the showerhead and the pedestal, and additionally, the station gap or distance is synonymous with the pedestal gap or distance. FIG. 3 depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a dual station processing chamber of a substrate processing tool. Each station in FIG. 3 may include the same features described above in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, but only some features are shown for illustrative purposes. In this case, the first station includes the showerhead 104A and the pedestal 118A separated by a first distance D1, and similarly the second station includes the showerhead 104B and the pedestal 118B separated by a first distance D2, which in this example is the same as D1. This gap or distance may be measured between an outer surface of the showerhead, such as a faceplate, and an outer surface of the pedestal, such as the surface that supports the substrate.

[0105] The distance between the showerhead and the pedestal during plasma generation has been found to affect various properties of the material deposited on the substrate, such as material thickness, DER, and WER. FIG. 4 depicts a plot of material thickness for substrates processed at different distances between the showerhead and the pedestal. For the data in FIG. 4, four sets of four substrates were processed in a four-station chamber. Each set was positioned at a different distance from the other sets, with the remaining processing conditions remaining the same. The average thickness of material measured on 16 substrates is shown in FIG. 4, where the horizontal axis is the distance in inches between the pedestal and the showerhead, and the vertical axis is the average thickness of material deposited on the substrate. As can be seen, the overall thickness of the deposited material decreased as the gap decreased. In the example, set 4, with the largest gap of approximately 0.657 inches (16.7 mm), resulted in an average thickness of deposited material between approximately 302 angstroms (Å) and 300 Å, while at the shorter distance of 0.505 inches (12.8 mm), set 3 resulted in a material thickness between 298 Å and 300 Å, and at the smallest distance of 0.020 inches (0.508 mm), set 1 resulted in a material thickness between 288 Å and 290 Å.

[0106] FIG. 5 depicts a plot of the wet etch rate (WER) for substrates processed at different distances between the showerhead and the pedestal. Material was deposited on eight substrates under the same conditions, except for different distances for all eight substrates. The average WER measured for the material on each substrate is shown in FIG. 5, where the horizontal axis is the distance in inches between the pedestal and the showerhead, and the vertical axis is the average WER of the material deposited on the substrate. As can be seen, the WER changes as the distance changes, and similar to the material thickness shown in FIG. 4, the WER generally decreases as the distance decreases, but with some nonlinear changes. In the illustrative example, the WER at a distance of 0.320 inches (8.13 mm) is less than the WER at distances of 0.340 inches (8.64 mm) and 0.300 inches (7.62 mm).

[0107] Varying the distance between the pedestal and the showerhead may also change the plasma characteristics, such as the plasma power and the plasma sheath. This was found by correlating the data in FIG. 4 above on material thickness versus pedestal distance with data on material deposited at different power levels while the distance remained static. In one example seen in FIG. 6, the power was increased while all other process conditions remained the same, including the distance, which reduced the deposited thickness. FIG. 6 depicts a plot of material thickness for substrates processed at different power levels. In this case, material was deposited on eleven substrates, the deposition conditions remained the same, including the same distance, and the power was changed for each deposition process. The average thickness of material measured for each substrate is shown, with the horizontal axis being the plasma power in watts (W) and the vertical axis being the average thickness of material deposited on the substrate. As can be seen, as the plasma power was reduced, the average thickness on the substrate decreased. Taken together with the data in FIG. 4, which shows that reducing the gap reduces the deposited thickness, FIG. 6 and FIG. 4 suggest an inverse correlation between distance and plasma power, such that reducing the gap increases the power applied to the substrate on the pedestal. Based on this relationship, the power applied to the substrate can be adjusted by adjusting the gap.

[0108] III. Examples of Techniques Due to the relationship between distance and the resulting material properties and plasma characteristics, the techniques and apparatus herein utilize pedestals at different distances to adjust the deposited material properties and reduce station-to-station variations. In some embodiments, the gap between the showerhead and the pedestal can be changed to reduce the difference in material properties between stations to adjust the material properties at that one station, which can be considered as adjusting the material properties at that station. Furthermore, the distance can be adjusted during the deposition process to create film properties with different values ​​throughout the material. For example, the distance can be adjusted during deposition to have one value of a property in one section of the material and another value of a property in another section of the material, such as different values ​​of density, WER, or DER within the material. Positioning the pedestals at different distances relative to each other during deposition can be implemented in various ways.

[0109] Thus, in some embodiments, the distances of the pedestals may vary with respect to each other throughout the deposition, including changing distances during deposition. This may include the pedestals (i) starting at different distances from each other and remaining at these different distances for the entirety of the deposition, (ii) starting at the same distances from each other and then changing to different distances in a subsequent deposition process, (iii) starting at different distances and then changing to the same distance in a subsequent deposition process, (iv) starting at different distances and then changing to other different distances in a subsequent deposition process, and (v) being at different distances within each deposition cycle. In some other embodiments, the pedestals may remain the same distance with respect to each other throughout the deposition, but may change distance with respect to the showerhead throughout the deposition.

[0110] A. Examples of techniques using pedestals at different distances In a first example of the technique, the distance may be adjusted or adjusted before deposition so that two or more pedestals are at different distances from each other before deposition and remain at these different distances during the entire deposition process. FIG. 7 depicts a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a dual station processing chamber of a substrate processing tool according to various embodiments. In this case, the same chamber of FIG. 3 is depicted, but the first and second pedestals are shown at different distances from each other, with the first distance D1 being shorter than the second distance D2. FIG. 8 depicts a first example of a technique for performing film deposition in a multi-station semiconductor processing chamber and describes the technique using the chamber of FIG. 7. In block 801, a first substrate 114A is positioned on the first pedestal 118A of the first station, and in block 803, a second substrate 114B is positioned on the second pedestal 118B of the second station. Although not depicted in FIG. 8, the distance of each pedestal may be adjusted before or after the substrates are positioned on the pedestals. Additionally, in some embodiments, blocks 801 and 803 may be performed in reverse order or simultaneously.

[0111] Once the pedestals are in their corresponding different positions, plasmas may be generated simultaneously at the first station and the second station to simultaneously deposit material on both the first substrate 114A and the second substrate 114B. This simultaneous plasma generation and deposition is represented by block 805, which includes blocks 805A and 805B. At block 805A, a first plasma is generated at the first station, while at block 805B, a second plasma is simultaneously generated at the second station. As further shown in blocks 805A and 805B, this simultaneous plasma generation deposits a first layer of material on the first substrate 114A and a second layer of material on the second substrate 114B. As used herein, a "layer" of material may be the entire layer of material deposited after a deposition process is completed, which may include multiple sublayers of material, and may also include a single, separate layer or sublayer of material, such as a single, separate layer of material deposited by ALD. In some embodiments, these first and second layers may have substantially the same properties as one another (substantially the same meaning, for example, within 10%, 5%, 1%, 0.5%, or 0.1% of one another), such as WER, DER, and thickness, which may result in better station-to-station matching such that stations at different distances produce the same overall material thickness.

[0112] In an example, if the thicknesses between two stations do not match within a certain threshold of each other, the distance of one of the stations may be adjusted to change the thickness deposited at the adjusted station so that the thicknesses are closer together. For example, referring to FIG. 4, at a distance of 0.35 inches (8.89 mm), station 3 has an average thickness of about 297 Å, while station 1 has an average thickness of just under 296 Å. This variation may be reduced by increasing the distance of station 1 to about 0.45 (marked with a dashed line and an x ​​in FIG. 4) so ​​that the deposited thickness of station 1 is almost identical to that of station 3, about 297 Å. Thus, in this example, simultaneous plasma generation and deposition of blocks 805A and 805B may be performed simultaneously while station 3 is at a distance of 0.35 inches (8.89 mm) and station 1 is at a distance of 0.45 inches (11.4 mm) to create deposited material having substantially the same thickness.

[0113] In some embodiments, the first and second layers may have different properties, such as different densities or thicknesses, which may still result in a better match with respect to other material properties. In an example, the material properties may have different densities but still result in the same thickness (which may be due to other processing conditions, such as deposition rate).

[0114] In some embodiments, the pedestal may be at a different distance for only part of the deposition process to change the properties of only that part of the deposited material. Depositing a first layer and a second layer with different properties can be advantageous to fine-tune the properties of only that one part of the deposited material.

[0115] In a second example of the technique illustrated in FIG. 9, in some implementations, the pedestals may start at the same distance from each other and then be changed to different distances in a subsequent deposition process. FIG. 9 depicts a second example of a technique for performing film deposition in a multi-station semiconductor processing chamber. Blocks 901-905 are the same as blocks 801-805 in FIG. 8, but as illustrated in FIG. 9, prior to the simultaneous plasma generation and deposition in block 905, in block 907, material is simultaneously deposited on two substrates while the pedestals are positioned at the same distance. As can be seen, in block 907A, the first pedestal is at a third distance, and in block 907B, the second pedestal is at the same third distance. After performing the simultaneous plasma generation and deposition in block 907, in block 909, the first pedestal is adjusted to a first distance and the second pedestal is adjusted to a second distance. After this adjustment, the simultaneous plasma generation and deposition of block 905 is performed, during which the first pedestal and the second pedestal are at different distances.

[0116] The second technique is further illustrated in Figures 10A-10E, which depict an example sequence of pedestal movement in an example multi-station processing chamber. The chambers in Figures 10A-10E are similar to those in Figures 3 and 7, with notable differences in terms of distance. As noted above, the pedestal in the chambers in Figures 10A-10E is a movable pedestal configured to be moved and positioned at various distances. In Figure 10A, the first station and the second station are both at a third distance, corresponding to block 907 in Figure 9. After the deposition in block 907, block 909 is performed to move the pedestal as seen in Figure 10B. In this case, in Figure 10B, the first pedestal is at a first distance and the second pedestal is at a second distance. When so positioned in Figure 10B, the simultaneous plasma generation and deposition in block 905 of the second example of the technique may be performed. In this example of the technique, the first distance, the second distance, and the third distance are all different from each other.

[0117] In some other embodiments, the pedestal may be at a different distance for a first part of the entire deposition process, and then may be changed to the same distance for a second part of the deposition process. In this third example of the technique, blocks 905 and 907 are swapped, and block 909 is modified. In this case, blocks 901, 903, and 905 are performed sequentially to perform a first simultaneous plasma generation and deposition on a first substrate and a second substrate while the first and second pedestals are at different distances. After performing block 905, a modified block 909 is performed, which adjusts the distance of the pedestals so that the pedestals are at the same third distance, and then the simultaneous plasma generation and deposition of block 907 is performed. Referring back to the illustrations of Figures 10A and 10B, the third example of the technique may be first positioned as depicted in Figure 10B, and then thereafter positioned as depicted in Figure 10A.

[0118] In some other embodiments, simultaneous plasma generation and deposition may be performed on the substrate first while the substrate is at the same distance, and then only one of the pedestal distances may be adjusted. In a fourth example of the technique, referring to FIG. 9, blocks 901, 903, and 907 may be performed sequentially, but block 909 differs in that only the distance of the first pedestal is adjusted to the first distance while the second pedestal remains at the second distance. In this example, the first distance and the third distance are different from each other, and the second distance is the same as the third distance. Following this adjustment, simultaneous plasma generation and deposition of block 905 is performed while the first pedestal is at a different distance from the second pedestal, but the second pedestal is at the same distance as in block 907.

[0119] In some such embodiments, a first section of material may be deposited simultaneously on two substrates under one set of processing conditions, and the properties of the first section on each substrate may not match. The distance of one station may be adjusted, and simultaneous deposition of a second section of material may be performed on two substrates, and a different distance of one station may change the second section of material such that the value of the property of the first section may be closer. For example, the overall target thickness of the deposited material may be 280 Å on both substrates, and after the first deposition, the thicknesses of the first sections of material may be different from each other, for example, 275 Å and 272 Å. By adjusting one station to a different distance, the thickness of the material deposited at that station may be changed such that the second section has a different thickness, but the overall thickness of the first section and the second section together will be closer to each other. In this example, the second section of material at the adjusted station may be 8 Å and at the other stations the second section of material may be 5 Å, resulting in a matching material thickness of 280 Å on both substrates after the second deposition.

[0120] Similarly, a fifth example of the technique may include first performing simultaneous plasma generation and deposition on a substrate while the pedestals are at different distances, and then adjusting only one of the pedestals so that only one of the pedestals is at the same distance as the other pedestal for the subsequent simultaneous plasma generation and deposition. With reference to Figure 9, this may include performing, in sequential order, blocks 901, 903, 905, an adjustment block different from 909, which adjusts the first pedestal from a first distance to a second distance so that both pedestals are at the same distance, i.e., the second distance, and then block 907.

[0121] In a sixth example of the technique, the substrates may be positioned at a different distance for one portion of the deposition process and then positioned at another different distance for another portion of the deposition process. FIG. 11 illustrates a sixth technique for performing film deposition in a multi-station semiconductor processing chamber. In this case, blocks 1101-1105 are the same as blocks 801-805 and blocks 901, 903, and 905 described above with respect to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. In this case, in FIG. 11, blocks 1101, 1103, and 1105 are performed, and then an adjustment block 1109 adjusts the first pedestal to a third distance different from the first distance and adjusts the second pedestal to a fourth distance different from the second distance. After the pedestals are at these other different distances, another simultaneous deposition is performed on the two substrates in block 1107.

[0122] 10B and 10C, block 1105 corresponds to the chamber in FIG 10B, while block 1107 corresponds to the chamber in FIG 10C, where the first station is at a third distance and the second station is at a fourth distance. The first distance is less than the third distance, but in some embodiments this may be reversed such that the first distance is greater than the third distance. This may also be the case for the second and fourth distances.

[0123] In some embodiments, the amount by which each station is adjusted may be different for each station. In some other embodiments, it may be desirable to maintain the pedestals at different distances from one another, but adjust the pedestals by the same amount. This may provide uniform control and adjustment of properties for all of the substrates. In an illustrative example, the difference between the first distance and the third distance may be the same as the difference between the second distance and the fourth distance.

[0124] B. Example of a technique using pedestals at the same distance As stated above, in some embodiments, the pedestals may remain at the same distance relative to each other, but are positioned at different distances relative to the showerhead during the deposition process. This concept is illustrated in FIG. 12, which depicts a seventh example of a technique for performing film deposition in a multi-station semiconductor processing chamber. In this case, blocks 1201 and 1203 are the same as blocks 801 and 803 described above. In block 1205, the first pedestal and the second pedestal are both positioned at the same first distance from their corresponding showerheads, and a first plasma and a second plasma are simultaneously generated at the stations to deposit a first layer and a second layer of material on the first substrate and the second substrate, respectively. In block 1209, the first pedestal and the second pedestal are both adjusted to the same second distance, and then in block 1207, a third plasma and a fourth plasma are simultaneously generated at the stations to deposit a third layer and a fourth layer of material on the first substrate and the second substrate, respectively. 10D and 10E, which correspond to a seventh example of the technique. Fig. 10D corresponds to block 1205, where the first pedestal 118A and the second pedestal 118B are both at the same first distance. Fig. 10E corresponds to block 1207, where the first pedestal 118A and the second pedestal 118B are both at the same second distance.

[0125] In this case, the pedestals remain at the same distance relative to each other during the deposition process, but are at different distances relative to the showerhead. These embodiments may produce deposited materials with different property values ​​throughout the material. In an example, the material deposited on the first substrate has two different properties within the material, such as two different densities or WERs. The distance may be adjusted several more times to produce additional values ​​and gradients within the deposited material.

[0126] In some embodiments, the first distance may be longer than the second distance, as depicted in Figures 10D and 10E. It may be advantageous for some deposition processes to perform some deposition while the pedestal is initially far from the showerhead. As described above and seen in Figures 4 and 6, plasma power reduction is associated with increasing the pedestal-to-showerhead distance, and using this seventh example of the technique, the substrate may be exposed to a lower power initially to protect the substrate. Once some layers of material have been deposited on the substrate, the plasma power may be increased by reducing the distance. For example, depositing some silicon oxide on a carbon substrate may result in some carbon consumption or damage during processing. However, at the beginning of deposition, when some carbon is exposed, this consumption and damage can be reduced by exposing the substrate to a lower plasma power by positioning the pedestal at a longer distance. Once some deposition has been performed and the carbon is protected and no longer exposed, the plasma power can be increased by reducing the distance.

[0127] C. Example Applications of Techniques Using Various Deposition Processes As stated above, all of the example techniques may be used in various deposition processes such as CVD and ALD. For example, with reference to Figure 8, the simultaneous plasma generation and deposition of block 805 may be an overall CVD deposition process for a first substrate and a second substrate.

[0128] For a cyclical deposition process such as ALD, the simultaneous plasma generation and deposition of blocks 805, 905, and 907, as well as 1105 and 1107 described above, may be performed for each cycle of deposition, such that these blocks are repeated throughout the deposition process. As stated above, a typical ALD cycle includes (1) exposure of a substrate surface to a first precursor, (2) purging of a reaction chamber in which the substrate is placed, activation of a reaction on the substrate surface, typically with a plasma and / or a second precursor, and (4) purging of a reaction chamber in which the substrate is placed. FIG. 13 depicts a flow diagram of an example of a sequence of operations for forming a film of a material on a substrate via an ALD process. As can be seen in FIG. 13, item 1 above corresponds to block 1358, item 2 above corresponds to block 1360, item 3 above corresponds to block 1362, and item 4 above corresponds to block 1364, and the four blocks are performed for N cycles, after which the process stops.

[0129] The simultaneous plasma generation and deposition of examples of the techniques described herein, e.g., blocks 805, 905, and 907, and 1105 and 1107, may be considered to be an activation step, i.e., 1362 of step 3 of the basic ALD cycle. As stated above, this activation step is performed in each deposition cycle, where each cycle includes the steps of igniting the plasma and then extinguishing the plasma. For example, in the first example of the technique of FIG. 8, if the overall deposition process includes N cycles, then the simultaneous plasma generation and deposition block 805 may be performed in each of the N cycles.

[0130] In a technique involving multiple simultaneous plasma generation and deposition blocks, such as the example technique of FIG. 9, the entire deposition process may be divided into two or more parts, each part having a certain number of deposition cycles, and for each part cycle, only one of the simultaneous plasma generation and deposition blocks is performed. In an example, one part may have X cycles and another part may have Y cycles, and one of the simultaneous plasma generation and deposition blocks is performed in each of the X cycles, while another simultaneous plasma generation and deposition block is performed in each of the Y cycles. In an example, referring to FIG. 9, block 907 may be performed in each of the X cycles and block 905 may be performed in each of the Y cycles, so that block 907 is performed X times and block 907 is performed Y times.

[0131] All of the other examples of the technique may be performed similarly with each simultaneous plasma generation and deposition block being performed for a certain number of deposition cycles in one part of the overall deposition process. In another example, in the sixth example of the technique of FIG. 11, the overall deposition process may have two parts, the first part having N cycles and the second part having Z cycles. FIG. 14 illustrates another example of the technique showing the same sixth example of the technique of FIG. 11. In this case, block 1405, which corresponds to block 1105, is replaced by block 1405 is performed N times in each of the N cycles of the first part, and then the block 1407 is a block 1407 is performed Z times in each of the Z cycles of the second portion.

[0132] In some other cyclical embodiments, the pedestal may be at a different position throughout each deposition cycle. For example, referring back to FIG. 8, the deposition process may again have N deposition cycles. Block 805 may be performed in each of the N deposition cycles. Additionally, the pedestal may be at a different distance during other parts of the deposition process. In an illustrative example, the first pedestal and the second pedestal may both be positioned at a third distance during the adsorption step of each cycle, and then adjusted to the first distance and the second distance during each activation step. In some other embodiments, the first pedestal and the second pedestal may both be positioned at the same distance for the activation step, i.e., simultaneous plasma generation and material deposition, and then both be positioned at the same but different distance for another step or steps of each cycle, such as the adsorption step.

[0133] In all of the examples of the techniques described herein, depending on other processing conditions, the first and second layers deposited or materials deposited simultaneously on the substrate may be the same or different. In the examples, the first and second layers deposited or materials deposited simultaneously on the substrate may have the same thickness or different densities. Similarly, in FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. 11, one or more characteristics of the plasma generated at each station may be different from each other. In the examples, referring to FIG. 8, the first plasma and the second plasma generated at different stations may have different plasma powers from each other. However, in some examples, depending on the overall processing conditions, the first plasma and the second plasma generated at different distances may have the same plasma power from each other.

[0134] In some embodiments, the techniques described herein are used in a static mode, so that the substrates remain at the same station for all of the deposition process. In some other embodiments, the techniques may be used in other processing modes, such as sequential processing. For example, two or more substrates may be loaded into the chamber, and only half of the total deposition is performed on these substrates. The first two or more substrates are then transferred to another station, two or more new substrates are loaded into the chamber, and another half of the deposition process is performed simultaneously on the first two or more substrates and the two or more new substrates. This completes the deposition on the first two or more substrates, and completes the first half of the deposition on the second two or more substrates. The first two or more substrates are then unloaded from the chamber, the second two or more substrates are transferred to another station, and a third set of two or more substrates is loaded. This process may be repeated. During this sequential process, the stations may be at different distances, as described herein. This may be considered a 2×4 technique.

[0135] Throughout the examples of the techniques described herein, unless otherwise specified, the substrates remain in a fixed position on their corresponding pedestals until unloaded, and are not moved relative to the pedestals except during loading and unloading onto the pedestals.

[0136] D. Additional Techniques for Calibration In some embodiments, a calibration deposition process may be performed to determine the showerhead-pedestal distance and correlate the distance with different material property values. The calibration deposition process may include positioning a first set of substrates at the station, positioning the pedestal at a first distance, simultaneously generating a plasma at the station that deposits material on the first set of substrates, and determining, such as by measuring, the resulting material property values, such as thickness, WER, DER, and density. A second set of substrates may then be loaded onto the pedestal, the pedestal may be set at a second distance, and the deposition process may be repeated for the second set of substrates, again determining the resulting material property values. This deposition and determination may be performed for N sets of substrates at N different distances. The material property values ​​determined for each station are correlated with the distance at which deposition occurred at that station, and this information may be used in any of the above techniques to adjust the pedestal distance to deposit known values ​​of material properties.

[0137] For example, referring back to FIG. 4, this may be considered data obtained from a calibration deposition process. In this case, deposition was performed on four sets of substrates while each set was at a different distance, and the average material thickness obtained after each deposition was measured. This determined data may then be used later to adjust the distance of each pedestal to produce a known thickness at that station. As described above, the pedestal at station 1 may be adjusted to a distance of 0.45 inches (11.4 mm) to match the thickness of station 3, which is at a distance of 0.35 inches (8.89 mm). Similarly, FIG. 5 may provide calibration data for WER at different distances that may be used later in the process to adjust the WER value at a particular station. Process-specific adjustments may be used after calibration data collection to reduce station-to-station non-uniformity.

[0138] In another example, a multi-station processing chamber may undergo inspection or maintenance, after which a first set of substrates is loaded into the chamber, deposition is performed, and material properties such as thickness are measured. If non-uniformity exists between the substrates, the distance of one or more pedestals may be adjusted to reduce the non-uniformity. In FIG. 4, if the measured thickness for station 3 is 299 Å, but the other three stations are approximately 296 Å, then the distance of station 3 may be adjusted to 0.35 inches (8.89 mm) to produce a deposition thickness of approximately 296 Å, as correlated by the calibration data in FIG. 4.

[0139] IV. Additional Equipment The techniques and apparatus described herein are not limited to multi-station chambers having only two stations, but are applicable to any number of stations, such as 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc. stations. In some such embodiments, at least some deposition may occur when two or more of the pedestals are at different distances from each other, which may also include positioning some pedestals at the same distance. Figures 15A and 15B depict an example of a sequence of pedestal movement in a second example of a multi-station processing chamber having four processing stations. Each of these four stations is the same as Figures 7 and 10A-10E, such that each station has a showerhead, a pedestal, and a substrate on the pedestal. In Figure 15A, the pedestals in all four stations are at different distances from each other, with the first station at a first distance D1, the second station at a second distance D2, the third station at a third distance D3, and the fourth station at a fourth distance D4. Simultaneous plasma generation and deposition at the four stations while the stations are all at different distances may be performed for all or part of the total deposition process for the four substrates 114A-114D. In some embodiments, two or more pedestals may be at different distances, while two or more pedestals may be at the same distance. In FIG. 15B, the first station, the second station, and the third station are all at different distances, while the third station and the fourth station are at the same distance D3. Again, simultaneous plasma generation and deposition at the four stations while the stations are at these distances may be performed for all or part of the total deposition process for the four substrates 114A-114D.

[0140] The distance adjustments described above may also be performed on a multi-station processing chamber having three or more stations. For example, similar to the second example of the technique in FIG. 9, three or more stations may all be at the same distance for a first part of the entire deposition process, including N deposition cycles, and then the distances are adjusted so that the three or more stations are at different distances from each other for another part of the deposition process, such as for X deposition cycles. Additionally, the order of these parts of the deposition process may be swapped so that the three or more stations are at different distances to begin deposition and then changed to the same distance later in the deposition process. Further, as in the sixth technique, two or more pedestals may be at different distances from each other for one part of the entire deposition process and then adjusted to another different distance in the second part of the entire deposition process. For an example, referring to FIG. 15A, four stations may be at four different distances D1-D4 for the first part of the deposition process and then all adjusted to distances D5-D8, respectively, for the second part of the deposition process.

[0141] In some embodiments, a semiconductor processing tool or apparatus may have a controller with program instructions for performing any or all of the example techniques described herein. In an illustrative example, the apparatus may have features of the substrate processing apparatus 200 of FIG. 2, including a processing chamber 210 with multiple processing stations (e.g., stations 231-234). Additionally, each pedestal within the apparatus is configured to be positioned at various distances, such as adjusted before, during, and after an operation.

[0142] The controller 238 may have program instructions to control the apparatus to deposit material on a substrate at the stations, including to perform the techniques described above. The program instructions may include providing a first substrate on a first pedestal at station 231, providing a second substrate on a second pedestal at station 232, moving the first pedestal such that the first pedestal is separated a first distance from the first showerhead, moving the second pedestal such that the second pedestal is separated a second distance from the second showerhead, and simultaneously generating a first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a first distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a first layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a second plasma at the second station while the first plasma is simultaneously generated and while the second pedestal is separated a second distance from the second showerhead, thereby depositing a second layer of material on the second substrate. The controller may also include additional instructions for adjusting the distance of each pedestal, including moving the first pedestal to a third distance, moving the second pedestal to a fourth distance, and then simultaneously generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by the third distance, thereby depositing a third layer of material on the first substrate, and while simultaneously generating the third plasma, generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by a fourth distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the second substrate.

[0143] Although the above disclosure focuses on controlling deposition parameters by adjusting the position of the pedestal, the same controls may be used to control etching characteristics in an etching process. Some semiconductor fabrication processes involve patterning and etching a variety of materials, including conductors, semiconductors, and dielectrics. Some examples include conductors, such as metals or carbon, semiconductors, such as silicon or germanium, and dielectrics, such as silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, zirconium dioxide, hafnium dioxide, silicon nitride, and titanium nitride. Atomic layer etching ("ALE") processes remove thin layers of material using sequential self-limiting reactions. In general, an ALE cycle is the minimum set of operations used to accomplish an etching process, such as etching a monolayer, in one go. The result of one ALE cycle is to etch at least a portion of a film layer on a substrate surface. Typically, an ALE cycle includes a modification operation to form a reaction layer, followed by a removal operation to remove or etch only the reaction layer. The cycle may include certain auxiliary operations, such as removing either the reactants or by-products. In general, a cycle encompasses one instance of a unique sequence of operations.

[0144] As an example, a conventional ALE cycle may include the following operations: (i) delivery of reactant gas, (ii) purging of reactant gas from the chamber, (iii) delivery of removal gas and optional plasma, and (iv) purging of the chamber. In some embodiments, etching may be performed non-conformally. The modification operation generally forms a reactive thin surface layer that is thinner than the unmodified material. In an example modification operation, the substrate may be chlorinated by introducing chlorine into the chamber. Although chlorine is used as an example of an etchant species or etching gas, it will be understood that different etching gases may be introduced into the chamber. The etching gas may be selected depending on the type and chemistry of the substrate to be etched. A plasma may be ignited and the chlorine reacts with the substrate for the etching process, i.e., the chlorine may react with the substrate or may be adsorbed onto the surface of the substrate. Species generated from the chlorine plasma may be generated directly by forming a plasma in the process chamber containing the substrate, or may be generated remotely in a process chamber not containing the substrate and delivered into the process chamber containing the substrate.

[0145] Thus, any of the above techniques and apparatus may be used for etching. In some embodiments, instead of depositing a layer of material at each station, the technique may remove a portion of material at each station. This may result in greater wafer-to-wafer non-uniformity in the etching or deposition process. For example, in FIG. 8, operation 805 may be an etching stage in which a first plasma and a second plasma are generated simultaneously while a first pedestal and a second pedestal are separated by a first distance and a second distance, respectively, to remove a first portion and a second portion of material from a first substrate and a second substrate, respectively, for a first portion of the etching process.

[0146] While the above focuses on controlling the pedestal distance for plasma-based operations, any and all of the above techniques may be applied to other aspects or stages of semiconductor processing, such as during exposure of the substrate to precursors. This may include, illustratively, during the irradiation stage of an ALD cycle, or during concurrent plasma and precursor exposure of PECVD. For example, the techniques described above and shown in Figures 8-12, 14, and 15A-15B relate to plasma generation, but the disclosed techniques naturally extend to exposure to processes in which precursors contact the substrate. In some embodiments, for a first portion of a deposition process, the techniques may include simultaneously flowing precursors over a first substrate at a first station while the first pedestal is separated from a first showerhead of the first station by a first distance, and flowing precursors over a second substrate at a second station while the second pedestal is separated from a second showerhead of the second station by a second distance different from the first distance.

[0147] In some other embodiments, a deposition processing step involving simultaneous plasma generation and exposure to precursors may include, for a first portion of a deposition process, simultaneously (i) generating a first plasma at a first station and simultaneously flowing precursors onto a first substrate while the first pedestal is separated from a first showerhead of the first station by a first distance, thereby depositing a first layer of material onto the first substrate, and (ii) generating a second plasma at a second station and simultaneously flowing precursors onto a second substrate while the second pedestal is separated from a second showerhead of the second station by a second distance different from the first distance, thereby depositing a second layer of material onto the second substrate.

[0148] In addition to the claims recited in this disclosure, the following additional implementations should be understood to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0149] Implementation 1: A multi-station deposition apparatus comprising: a processing chamber; a first processing station within the processing chamber including a first showerhead and a first pedestal configured to move vertically with respect to the first showerhead; a second processing station within the processing chamber including a second showerhead and a second pedestal configured to move vertically with respect to the second showerhead; and a controller for controlling the multi-station apparatus to deposit material onto a substrate at the first station and the second station, wherein the controller is configured to provide a first substrate to the first pedestal, provide a second substrate to the second pedestal, and control the deposition of a material onto the substrate at the first station and the second station. and moving the first pedestal so that it is separated from the first showerhead a first distance, moving the second pedestal so that it is separated from the second showerhead a second distance, and simultaneously generating a first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead the first distance, thereby depositing a first layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a second plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead a second distance different from the first distance, thereby depositing a second layer of material on the second substrate.

[0150] Implementation 2: The apparatus of Implementation 1, wherein the controller further comprises control logic to move the first pedestal such that the first pedestal is separated a third distance from the first showerhead, move the second pedestal such that the second pedestal is separated a fourth distance from the second showerhead, and simultaneously generate a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a third distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a third layer of material on the first substrate, and generate a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated a fourth distance from the second showerhead, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the second substrate.

[0151] Implementation form 3: The device of implementation form 2, wherein the third distance is different from the fourth distance.

[0152] Implementation form 4: The device of implementation form 2, wherein the third distance is the same as the fourth distance.

[0153] Implementation form 5: The apparatus of implementation form 4, wherein the controller further comprises control logic for simultaneously generating a third plasma at a third station and a fourth plasma at a fourth station before simultaneously generating a first plasma at the first station and a second plasma at the second station.

[0154] Implementation 6: The apparatus of implementation 4, wherein the controller further comprises control logic for simultaneously generating a first plasma at the first station and a second plasma at the second station, and then simultaneously generating a third plasma at the third station and a fourth plasma at the fourth station.

[0155] Implementation 7: The apparatus of implementation 1, wherein the first pedestal may be configured to apply a first chucking force to the first substrate and the second pedestal may be configured to apply a second chucking force to the second substrate, and the controller further includes control logic for causing the first pedestal to apply the first chucking force to the first substrate and the second pedestal to apply the second chucking force to the second substrate during a first portion of the deposition process.

[0156] Implementation form 8: The device of implementation form 7, wherein the first chucking force and the second chucking force are electrostatic forces.

[0157] Implementation 9: The apparatus of implementation 7, wherein the first chucking force and the second chucking are applied by vacuum.

[0158] Implementation 10: A multi-station deposition apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a processing chamber; a first processing station within the processing chamber including a first showerhead and a first pedestal configured to move vertically with respect to the first showerhead; a second processing station within the processing chamber including a second showerhead and a second pedestal configured to move vertically with respect to the second showerhead; and a controller for controlling the multi-station deposition apparatus to deposit material onto a substrate at the first station and the second station, the controller providing a first substrate on the first pedestal, providing a second substrate on the second pedestal, and controlling the first pedestal to be spaced apart from the first showerhead by a first distance. a first pedestal disposed adjacent a first station and a second pedestal disposed adjacent a second station, the first pedestal being moved such that the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by a first distance, simultaneously generating a first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by the first distance, thereby depositing a first layer of material on the first substrate, generating a second plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the first distance, thereby depositing a second layer of material on the second substrate, after simultaneously generating the first plasma and the second plasma, moving the first pedestal such that the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a second distance, and after simultaneously depositing the first plasma and the second plasma, Second a multi-station deposition apparatus comprising control logic for moving the second pedestal so that it is separated a second distance from the showerhead, and simultaneously generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a second distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a third layer of material on the first substrate, and generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated a second distance from the second showerhead, thereby depositing a fourth layer of material on the second substrate.

[0159] Implementation 11: The device of implementation 10, wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance.

[0160] Implementation 12: A multi-station deposition apparatus comprising: a processing chamber; a first processing station within the processing chamber including a first showerhead and a first pedestal configured to move vertically with respect to the first showerhead; and a second station within the processing chamber including a second showerhead and a second pedestal configured to move vertically with respect to the second showerhead, wherein the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a first distance and the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by a second distance different from the first distance.

[0161] Implementation 13: The apparatus of implementation 12, further comprising a third processing station within the processing chamber including a third showerhead and a third pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the third showerhead, wherein the third pedestal is separated from the third showerhead by a third distance that is the same as the first distance.

[0162] Implementation 14: The apparatus of implementation 13, further comprising a fourth processing station within the processing chamber including a fourth showerhead and a fourth pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the fourth showerhead, wherein the fourth pedestal is separated from the fourth showerhead by a fourth distance different from the first distance, the second distance, and the third distance.

[0163] Implementation 15: The apparatus of implementation 13, further comprising a fourth processing station within the processing chamber including a fourth showerhead and a fourth pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the fourth showerhead, wherein the fourth pedestal is separated from the fourth showerhead by a fourth distance that is equal to the first distance or the second distance.

[0164] Implementation 16: The apparatus of implementation 12, further comprising a third processing station within the processing chamber including a third showerhead and a third pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the third showerhead, wherein the third pedestal is separated from the third showerhead by a third distance different from the first distance and the second distance.

[0165] Implementation 17: The apparatus of implementation 16, further comprising a fourth processing station within the processing chamber including a fourth showerhead and a fourth pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the fourth showerhead, wherein the fourth pedestal is separated from the fourth showerhead by a fourth distance different from the first distance, the second distance, and the third distance.

[0166] Implementation 18: The apparatus of implementation 16, further comprising a fourth processing station within the processing chamber including a fourth showerhead and a fourth pedestal configured to move vertically relative to the fourth showerhead, wherein the fourth pedestal is separated from the fourth showerhead by a fourth distance that is equal to the first distance, the second distance, or the third distance.

[0167] Implementation 19: A method of depositing material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station, comprising the steps of: providing a first substrate on a first pedestal of the first station; providing a second substrate on a second pedestal of the second station; and simultaneously, for a first portion of a deposition process, flowing a precursor onto the first substrate at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from a first showerhead of the first station by a first distance, and flowing a precursor onto the second substrate at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from a second showerhead of the second station by a second distance different from the first distance.

[0168] Implementation 20: The method of Implementation 19, further comprising simultaneously, for a second portion of the deposition process, flowing a precursor onto the first substrate at a first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance, and flowing a precursor onto the second substrate at a second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by a fourth distance different from the second distance.

[0169] Implementation 21: The method of implementation 19, wherein the first portion includes N deposition cycles, each of the N deposition cycles including simultaneously flowing a precursor onto a first substrate at a first station while the first pedestals are separated by a first distance, and flowing a precursor onto a second substrate at a second station while the second pedestals are separated by a second distance.

[0170] Implementation 22: The method of embodiment 21, further comprising, for a second portion of the deposition process including deposition cycles of P, simultaneously flowing a precursor onto the first substrate at a first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance, and flowing a precursor onto the second substrate at a second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by a fourth distance, during each of the deposition cycles of P.

[0171] Implementation 23: The method of Implementation 21, further comprising, for a second portion of the deposition process after the first portion, including X deposition cycles, simultaneously, in each of the X deposition cycles, flowing a precursor onto the first substrate at a first station while the first pedestal is separated by a third distance from the first showerhead, and flowing a precursor onto the second substrate at a second station while the second pedestal is separated by a third distance from the second showerhead.

[0172] Implementation 24: The method of Implementation 21, further comprising, for a second portion of the deposition process including Y deposition cycles prior to the first portion, simultaneously flowing a precursor onto the first substrate at a first station while the first pedestal is separated by a third distance from the first showerhead, and flowing a precursor onto the second substrate at a second station while the second pedestal is separated by a third distance from the second showerhead, during each of the Y deposition cycles.

[0173] IMPLEMENTATION 25: A method of depositing material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station, comprising the steps of providing a first substrate on a first pedestal of the first station, providing a second substrate on a second pedestal of the second station, and simultaneously flowing precursors onto the first substrate at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a first distance from a first showerhead of the first station, and the second pedestal is separated a first distance from a first showerhead of the first station, for a first portion of a deposition process. and flowing a precursor onto a second substrate at a second station while the first pedestal is separated a first distance from a second showerhead of the deposition process; adjusting the first pedestal to a second distance and the second pedestal to a second distance after the first portion; and simultaneously flowing a precursor onto the first substrate at the first station while the first pedestal is separated by the second distance and flowing a precursor onto the second substrate at the second station while the second pedestal is separated by the second distance for a second portion of the deposition process.

[0174] Implementation 26: A method of depositing a material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station, comprising: providing a first substrate on a first pedestal of the first station; providing a second substrate on a second pedestal of the second station; and simultaneously, for a first portion of a deposition process, generating a first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from a first showerhead of the first station by a first distance to concurrently flow precursors onto the first substrate, thereby depositing a first layer of material onto the first substrate, and generating a second plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from a second showerhead of the second station by a second distance different from the first distance to concurrently flow precursors onto the second substrate, thereby depositing a second layer of material onto the second substrate.

[0175] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to enable a thorough understanding of the presented concepts. The presented concepts may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known processing operations have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the described concepts. It will be understood that while some concepts will be described in conjunction with specific embodiments, they are not intended to be limited to these embodiments.

[0176] Unless the contents of this disclosure clearly require otherwise, throughout the specification and claims, terms such as "comprise", "comprising" and the like should be interpreted in an inclusive sense, i.e., "including but not limited to", as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense. Words using the singular or plural also generally include the plural or singular, respectively. Additionally, the words "herein", "herein", "above", "below" and words of similar meaning refer to the application as a whole and not to any particular layer of the application. When the word "or" is used in reference to a list of two or more items, the word extends to the following interpretation of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and all of any combination of the items in the list. The term "implementation" refers not only to implementations of the techniques and methods described herein, but also to physical objects that embody structures and / or incorporate the techniques and / or methods described herein. As used herein, the term "substantially" means within 5% of a reference value unless otherwise specified. For example, substantially perpendicular means parallel within ±5%. The present invention can be realized, for example, in the following manner. Application example 1: 1. A method for depositing material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station, comprising: providing a first substrate on a first pedestal of the first station; providing a second substrate on a second pedestal at the second station; At the same time, for the first part of the deposition process, generating a first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a first distance from a first showerhead at the first station, thereby depositing a first layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a second plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from a second showerhead at the second station by a second distance different from the first distance, thereby depositing a second layer of the material on the second substrate. Steps and A method for providing the above. Application example 2: The method according to application example 1, further comprising the steps of: generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance different from the first distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by a fourth distance different from the second distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the second substrate. The method further comprises the steps: Application example 3: The method of application example 2, wherein a difference between the first distance and the third distance is substantially the same as a difference between the second distance and the fourth distance. Application example 4: The method according to application example 1, further comprising the steps of: generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the third distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the second substrate. The method further comprises the steps: Application example 5: The method according to Application Example 1, The first portion includes a deposition cycle of N; Each of the N deposition cycles comprises: simultaneously generating the first plasma at the first station while the first pedestals are separated by the first distance, thereby depositing the first layer of the material on the first substrate, and generating the second plasma at the second station while the second pedestals are separated by the second distance, thereby depositing the second layer of the material on the second substrate; igniting and extinguishing the first plasma and the second plasma. The method includes: Application example 6: The method of application example 5, for a second portion of the deposition process comprising X deposition cycles after the first portion, simultaneously during each of the X deposition cycles: generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the third distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the second substrate, wherein each of the X deposition cycles includes igniting and extinguishing the third plasma and the fourth plasma. The method further comprises the steps: Example 7: The method of application example 5, for a second portion of the deposition process including Y deposition cycles prior to the first portion, simultaneously during each of the Y deposition cycles: generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the third distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the second substrate, wherein each of the Y deposition cycles includes igniting and extinguishing the third plasma and the fourth plasma. The method further comprises the steps: Application example 8: The method of application example 5, adjusting the first pedestal between the first distance and a third distance; adjusting the second pedestal between the second distance and a fourth distance; For a second portion of the deposition process comprising Z deposition cycles, simultaneously in each of the Z deposition cycles: generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by the third distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the fourth distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the second substrate, wherein each of the Z deposition cycles includes igniting and extinguishing the third plasma and the fourth plasma. The method further comprises the steps: Example 9: The method of application example 5, wherein each of the N deposition cycles at the first station and the second station comprises: (i) adsorbing a film precursor onto the substrate at the station such that the precursor forms an adsorption limiting layer on the substrate; (ii) removing at least a portion of the unadsorbed film precursor from a volume surrounding the adsorbed precursor; (iii) reacting the adsorbed film precursor by generating a plasma at the station after removing the unadsorbed precursor from (ii) to form a layer of the material on the substrate at the station; (iv) removing the desorbed film precursors and / or reaction by-products, if present after reacting the adsorbed precursors, from the volume surrounding the film layer; A method for providing the above. Example 10: The method of application example 9, adjusting the first pedestal from the first distance to a third distance; adjusting the second pedestal from the second distance to a fourth distance; Further equipped with for each of said cycles (iii), said first platform is at said first distance and said second platform is at said second distance; wherein for one or more of (i), (ii), or (iv) of each said cycle, the first pedestal is at the third distance and the second pedestal is at the fourth distance. Example 11: The method of Example 1, further comprising providing a third substrate on a third pedestal in a third station in the multi-station deposition apparatus; The first portion of the deposition process simultaneously includes generating a third plasma at a third station while the third pedestal is separated a third distance from a third showerhead at the third station, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on a third substrate. moreover Preparation, The third distance is different from the first distance and the second distance. Application example 12: The method of application example 11, At the same time, for a second portion of the deposition process, generating a fourth plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a fourth distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a fifth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the fourth distance, thereby depositing a fifth layer of the material on the second substrate; generating a sixth plasma at the third station while the fourth plasma and the fifth plasma are simultaneously generated and while the third pedestal is separated from the third showerhead by the fourth distance, thereby depositing a sixth layer of the material on the third substrate. Steps The method further comprises: Application example 13: The method according to Application Example 1, the first plasma has a plasma characteristic having a first value; The second plasma has the plasma characteristic at a second value different than the first value. Example 14: The method of claim 13, wherein the plasma characteristic comprises plasma power. Application example 15: The method according to Application Example 1, the first layer of material on the first substrate has a property of a first value; The method, wherein the second layer of the material on the second substrate has a second value of the property substantially the same as the first value. Application example 16: The method according to Application Example 1, the first layer of material on the first substrate has a property of a first value; The method, wherein the second layer of the material on the second substrate has a second value of the property different from the first value. Example 17: The method of application example 15, wherein the property is selected from the group consisting of wet etch rate, dry etch rate, composition, thickness, density, amount of crosslinking, chemical properties, reaction completion, stress, refractive index, dielectric constant, hardness, etch selectivity, stability, and hermeticity. Application example 18: The method according to Application Example 1, the first layer of material on the first substrate has a property of a first value; The method, wherein the second layer of the material on the second substrate has the property at the first value. Example 19: The method according to Application Example 1, providing a third substrate on the first pedestal prior to providing the first substrate and the second substrate; providing a fourth substrate on the second pedestal prior to providing the first substrate and the second substrate; At the same time, for the second deposition process, generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the third substrate; generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the first distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the fourth substrate, wherein a first non-uniformity between the property of the first layer of the material on the first substrate and the property of the second layer of the material on the second substrate is less than a second non-uniformity between the property of the third layer of the material on the third substrate and the property of the fourth layer of the material on the fourth substrate. Steps and The method further comprises: Example 20: The method according to Application Example 1, the first pedestal applies a chucking force to the first substrate during the first portion of the deposition process; The second pedestal applies a chucking force to the second substrate during the first portion of the deposition process. Example 21: 1. A method for depositing material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station, comprising: providing a first substrate on a first pedestal of the first station; providing a second substrate on a second pedestal at the second station; At the same time, for the first part of the deposition process, generating a first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a first distance from a first showerhead at the first station, thereby depositing a first layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a second plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from a second showerhead at the second station by the first distance, thereby depositing a second layer of the material on the second substrate; adjusting the first pedestal to a second distance and the second pedestal to the second distance after the first portion; At the same time, for a second portion of the deposition process, generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestals are separated by the second distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated by the second distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the second substrate. Steps and A method for providing the above. Example 22: The method of application example 21, the first layer of material on the first substrate has a property of a first value; the second layer of the material on the second substrate has a second value of the property; the third layer of material on the first substrate has a third value of the property different from the first value; The method, wherein the second layer of the material on the second substrate has a fourth value of the property different from the second value. Example 23: The method of application example 21, wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance.

Claims

1. 1. A method for depositing material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station, comprising: providing a first substrate on a first pedestal at the first station; providing a second substrate on a second pedestal at the second station; In a first portion of the deposition process, generating a first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a first distance from a first showerhead at the first station, thereby depositing a first layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a second plasma at the second station simultaneously with generating the first plasma while the second pedestal is separated a second distance from a second showerhead at the second station, thereby depositing a second layer of the material on the second substrate; after a first portion of the deposition process, a property of value associated with the first layer of material on the first substrate and a property of value associated with the second layer of material on the second substrate differ by a first amount; During a second portion of the deposition process, after adjusting at least one of the first distance and the second distance, generating a third plasma at the first station; generating a fourth plasma at the second station simultaneously with generating the third plasma, after a second portion of the deposition process, a property value associated with the first layer of material on the first substrate and a property value associated with the second layer of material on the second substrate differ by a second amount less than the first amount; A method for providing the above.

2. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein in a second portion of the deposition process: generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance different from the first distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by a fourth distance different from the second distance, and simultaneously with generating the third plasma, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the second substrate. The method further comprises the steps:

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the difference between the first distance and the third distance is the same as the difference between the second distance and the fourth distance.

4. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein in a second portion of the deposition process: generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the first substrate; Concurrently with generating the third plasma, a fourth plasma is generated at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the third distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the second substrate. The method further comprises the steps:

5. 2. The method of claim 1 , The first portion includes a deposition cycle of N; Each of the N deposition cycles comprises: generating the first plasma at the first station while the first pedestals are separated by the first distance, thereby depositing the first layer of the material on the first substrate, and generating the second plasma at the second station simultaneously with the generation of the first plasma while the second pedestals are separated by the second distance, thereby depositing the second layer of the material on the second substrate; igniting and extinguishing the first plasma and the second plasma; The method includes:

6. 6. The method of claim 5, In the second portion of the deposition process, which includes X deposition cycles after the first portion, in each of the X deposition cycles: generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a fourth plasma at the second station simultaneously with generating the first plasma while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the third distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the second substrate, wherein each of the X deposition cycles includes igniting and extinguishing the third plasma and the fourth plasma. The method further comprises the steps:

7. 6. The method of claim 5, In the second portion of the deposition process including Y deposition cycles prior to the first portion, simultaneously in each of the Y deposition cycles: generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by a third distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a fourth plasma at the second station simultaneously with generating the third plasma while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the third distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the second substrate, wherein each of the Y deposition cycles includes igniting and extinguishing the third plasma and the fourth plasma. The method further comprises the steps:

8. 6. The method of claim 5, adjusting the first pedestal between the first distance and a third distance; adjusting the second pedestal between the second distance and a fourth distance; In the second portion of the deposition process, in each of Z deposition cycles, generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated from the first showerhead by the third distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a fourth plasma at the second station simultaneously with generating the third plasma while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the fourth distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the second substrate, wherein each of the Z deposition cycles includes igniting and extinguishing the third plasma and the fourth plasma. The method further comprises the steps:

9. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the N deposition cycles at the first station and the second station comprises: (i) adsorbing a film precursor onto the substrate at the station such that the adsorbed film precursor forms an adsorption limiting layer on the substrate; (ii) removing at least a portion of the unadsorbed film precursor; (iii) after removing the unadsorbed film precursor material in (ii), reacting the adsorbed film precursor material by generating a plasma at the station to form a reaction layer of the material on the substrate at the station; (iv) removing the desorbed film precursor and / or reaction by-products, if present, after reacting the adsorbed film precursor; A method for providing the above.

10. 10. The method of claim 9, adjusting the first pedestal from the first distance to a third distance; adjusting the second pedestal from the second distance to a fourth distance; Further equipped with in (iii) of each of said cycles, said first platform is at said first distance and said second platform is at said second distance; wherein in one or more of (i), (ii), or (iv) of each said cycle, the first platform is at the third distance and the second platform is at the fourth distance.

11. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a third substrate on a third pedestal in a third station in the multi-station deposition apparatus; the first portion of the deposition process further comprising generating a fifth plasma at a third station while the third pedestal is separated a third distance from a third showerhead at the third station, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on a third substrate; The third distance is different from the first distance and the second distance.

12. 12. The method of claim 11, During the second portion of the deposition process, generating a third plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a fourth distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the first substrate; generating a fourth plasma at the second station simultaneously with generating the third plasma while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the fourth distance, thereby depositing a fifth layer of the material on the second substrate; generating a sixth plasma at the third station while the third plasma and the fourth plasma are being generated and while the third pedestal is separated from the third showerhead by the fourth distance, thereby depositing a sixth layer of the material on the third substrate. Steps The method further comprises:

13. 2. The method of claim 1 , the first plasma has a plasma characteristic having a first value; The second plasma has the plasma characteristic at a second value different than the first value.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the plasma characteristic comprises plasma power.

15. 2. The method of claim 1 , After the second portion of the deposition process, A method according to claim 1, wherein the nature of the value associated with the second layer of the material on the second substrate is the same as the nature of the value associated with the first layer of the material on the first substrate.

16. 2. The method of claim 1 , the first layer of material on the first substrate has a property of a first value; The method, wherein the second layer of the material on the second substrate has a second value of the property that is different from the first value.

17. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the property is selected from the group consisting of wet etch rate, dry etch rate, composition, thickness, density, amount of crosslinking, reaction behavior with respect to process gases, stress, refractive index, dielectric constant, hardness, etch selectivity, stability, and hermeticity.

18. 2. The method of claim 1 , the first layer of material on the first substrate has a property of a first value; The method, wherein the second layer of the material on the second substrate has the property at the first value.

19. 2. The method of claim 1 , providing a third substrate on the first pedestal prior to providing the first substrate and the second substrate; providing a fourth substrate on the second pedestal prior to providing the first substrate and the second substrate; In the second deposition process, generating a fifth plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a third distance from the first showerhead, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the third substrate; generating a sixth plasma at the second station simultaneously with generating the fifth plasma while the second pedestal is separated from the second showerhead by the first distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the fourth substrate, wherein a first non-uniformity between the property of the first layer of the material on the first substrate and the property of the second layer of the material on the second substrate is less than a second non-uniformity between the property of the third layer of the material on the third substrate and the property of the fourth layer of the material on the fourth substrate. Steps and The method further comprises:

20. 2. The method of claim 1 , the first pedestal applies a chucking force to the first substrate during the first portion of the deposition process; The second pedestal applies a chucking force to the second substrate during the first portion of the deposition process.

21. 1. A method for depositing material onto a substrate in a multi-station deposition apparatus having a first station and a second station, comprising: providing a first substrate on a first pedestal at the first station; providing a second substrate on a second pedestal at the second station; Simultaneously generating a first plasma at the first station and a second plasma at the second station during a first portion of a deposition process, generating the first plasma at the first station while the first pedestal is separated a first distance from a first showerhead at the first station, thereby depositing a first layer of the material on the first substrate; generating the second plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated from a second showerhead at the second station by the first distance, thereby depositing a second layer of the material on the second substrate; after a first portion of the deposition process, a property of a value associated with the first layer of material on the first substrate and a property of a value associated with the second layer of material on the second substrate differ by a first amount; adjusting the first pedestal to a second distance and the second pedestal to the second distance after the first portion; after said adjusting, simultaneously generating a third plasma at the first station and a fourth plasma at the second station during a second portion of the deposition process, generating the third plasma at the first station while the first pedestals are separated by the second distance, thereby depositing a third layer of the material on the first substrate; generating the fourth plasma at the second station while the second pedestal is separated by the second distance, thereby depositing a fourth layer of the material on the second substrate; after a second portion of the deposition process, a property value associated with the third layer of material on the first substrate and a property value associated with the fourth layer of material on the second substrate differ by a second amount less than the first amount; A method for providing the above.

22. 22. The method of claim 21, a nature of a value associated with the third layer of the material on the first substrate differs from a nature of a value associated with the first layer of the material on the first substrate; A method wherein a property of a value associated with the fourth layer of the material on the second substrate is different than a property of a value associated with the second layer of the material on the second substrate.

23. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance.

24. 16. The method of claim 15, During a first portion of the deposition process, the first distance and the second distance are the same; adjusting at least one of the first distance and the second distance includes adjusting the first distance to a third distance and maintaining the second distance equal to the first distance.

25. 2. The method of claim 1 , After the first portion of the deposition process, the property of a value associated with the first layer of material on the first substrate includes a property of a value associated with a first portion of the first layer of material on the first substrate; the property of a value associated with the second layer of material on the second substrate includes a property of a value associated with a first portion of the second layer of material on the second substrate; a first portion of the second layer of material on the second substrate corresponds to a first portion of the first layer of material on the first substrate; After the second portion of the deposition process, the property of value associated with the first layer of material on the first substrate includes a property of value associated with a second portion of the first layer of material on the first substrate; the property of a value associated with the second layer of material on the second substrate includes a property of a value associated with a second portion of the second layer of material on the second substrate; A method wherein a second portion of the second layer of material on the second substrate corresponds to a second portion of the first layer of material on the first substrate.

26. 2. The method of claim 1 , the properties associated with the first layer of material on the first substrate include a thickness of the first layer of material on the first substrate; the properties associated with the second layer of material on the second substrate include a thickness of the second layer of material on the second substrate; after a second portion of the deposition process, a thickness of the first layer of material on the first substrate and a thickness of the second layer of material on the second substrate differ by a second amount that is less than the first amount.

27. 27. The method of claim 26, The method, wherein adjusting at least one of the first distance and the second distance comprises decreasing the first distance.

28. 27. The method of claim 26, The method, wherein adjusting at least one of the first distance and the second distance comprises increasing the first distance.

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