Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using periodic high voltage bias.

Abstract

Embodiments include a method of processing a substrate. In one embodiment, the method includes flowing one or more source gases into a processing chamber and inducing a plasma from the source gases using a plasma source operating in a first mode. In one embodiment, the method can further include biasing the substrate using a DC power supply operating in a second mode. In one embodiment, the method can further include depositing a film on the substrate. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 965,621, filed April 27, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments relate to the field of semiconductor processing equipment, and in particular embodiments to processing tools for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition that apply a pulsed high voltage bias to a substrate. [Background technology]

[0003] Carbon films are typically formed by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes. The plasma generated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition processes can be capacitively coupled plasma (CCP), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), microwave plasma, etc. However, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition processes using plasma sources such as these have several drawbacks. One drawback is that plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition typically needs to be performed at high substrate temperatures to form high quality films. For example, the substrate temperature typically exceeds 500°C.

[0004] Another drawback of existing plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition processes is that both the density of the plasma and the maximum ion energy of the plasma increase with increasing plasma power. In particular, the plasma density and the maximum ion energy are not independent, and the maximum ion energy is not large. For example, the typical ion energy of such plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition processes is usually 1,000 eV or less. In addition, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition has a wide ion energy distribution due to the oscillating RF sheath potential. Therefore, optimization of the deposition process by controlling the population of ions at a given ion energy is not possible. The wide distribution of ion energies makes the process results difficult to predict. Therefore, it is difficult to tune the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process to provide the desired high-quality film properties. Summary of the Invention

[0005] An embodiment includes a method of processing a substrate. In one embodiment, the method includes flowing one or more source gases into a processing chamber and inducing a plasma from the source gases using a plasma source operating in a first mode. In one embodiment, the method may further include biasing the substrate using a DC power supply operating in a second mode. In one embodiment, the method may further include depositing a film on the substrate.

[0006] An embodiment may also include a method of processing a substrate, comprising flowing one or more source gases into a processing chamber and inducing a plasma from the source gases using a plasma source. In one embodiment, the method may also include biasing the substrate using a pulsed DC power supply. In one embodiment, the pulsed DC power supply provides pulses of at least a first voltage and a second voltage. In one embodiment, the method further includes depositing a film on the substrate.

[0007] An embodiment may also include a processing tool for depositing a film on a workpiece. In one embodiment, the processing tool includes a chamber body. In one embodiment, the processing tool further includes a plasma source. In one embodiment, the plasma source operates in a first mode, the plasma source induces a plasma from one or more process gases flowing into the chamber body. In one embodiment, the processing tool further includes a chuck in the chamber body for supporting the workpiece. In one embodiment, the chuck is electrically coupled to a DC power source, and the DC power source operates in a second mode. In one embodiment, the film includes components of only one or more process gases.

[0008] The above summary does not contain an exhaustive list of all embodiments. It is intended to include all suitable combinations of the various embodiments summarized above, as well as all systems and methods that may be practiced as disclosed in the following detailed description and as particularly pointed out in the claims filed herewith. Such combinations have certain advantages not specifically recited in the above summary. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] Graph of RF power vs. effective DC voltage according to one embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a graph of film density and film stress at two different voltages according to one embodiment; [Diagram 3] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a processing tool including a chuck electrically coupled to a DC power supply, according to one embodiment; [Figure 4A] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a chuck including pins for contacting the backside of a substrate, the pins being electrically coupled to a DC power source, according to one embodiment. [Figure 4B] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a chuck including an embedded conductive mesh electrically coupled to a DC power supply, according to one embodiment. [Figure 4C] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a chuck including a conductive coating electrically coupled to a DC power supply, according to one embodiment; [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a process flow diagram of a substrate processing recipe using a DC bias chuck, according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a process flow diagram of a substrate processing recipe using a DC bias chuck at more than one voltage, according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system that may be used in conjunction with a processing tool that includes a DC bias chuck, according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] A device according to embodiments described herein includes a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processing tool. In a particular embodiment, the chuck of the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition processing tool is biased with a pulsed high voltage DC power supply. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known aspects have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the embodiments. Furthermore, it should be understood that the various embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings are illustrative representations and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0011] As discussed above, conventional plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) processes do not provide the ability to tune the process to provide high quality film properties. High quality film properties may refer to high density, high refractive index, and low film stress. Accordingly, embodiments described herein may include a PECVD processing tool that further includes a pulsed DC bias applied to the substrate being processed. The use of a pulsed DC bias can improve film properties. For example, a carbon film formed with the process described herein has a density of 2.0 g / cm 3 The film may have a density of 1.0 or more, a refractive index of 2.0 or more, and a film stress of less than 500 MPa. Such film properties may also be obtained by low temperature processing, such as less than about 200° C.

[0012] A pulsed DC bias that applies a periodic voltage across the plasma sheath above the substrate can accelerate ions from the plasma to the substrate at high energy (e.g., up to 20 keV). This results in an in-situ injection effect, resulting in increased film density. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the pulsed DC bias of the plasma sheath can ensure that substantially all ions that impinge on the substrate are of the same energy. This is a significant improvement over an oscillating RF sheath potential that results in a distribution of ion energies, as discussed above. Thus, the ion energy distribution can be tuned to a single energy (e.g., from about 1 keV to 20 keV). For example, a pulsed voltage of 6 kV can result in a flux of primarily 6 keV ions to the substrate. In some embodiments, the pulsed voltage can alternate between a first voltage and a second voltage to provide a particular result in film properties. For example, a first pulsed voltage of 2 kV can be alternated with a second pulsed voltage of 8 kV to obtain desired film properties.

[0013] Although a bias can be applied to the substrate using an RF power source (i.e., providing an effective DC bias on the substrate), it has been found that a pulsed DC power source as described herein provides improved film properties. In particular, biasing the substrate using an RF power source requires much more power to obtain the required effective DC bias. As shown in FIG. 1, as the RF power increases, the effective DC voltage becomes flat. Thus, much more RF power is required to obtain the high DC voltages disclosed herein (e.g., greater than 1 kV). In addition to the cost of running the process at such high power, most of the power ends up heating the substrate. This makes low temperature PECVD processes such as those disclosed herein infeasible.

[0014] For films produced by PECVD, a trade-off exists between film quality and film stress. An example of the relationship is shown in Figure 2. As shown, as the film density ρ increases, the film stress τ also increases. Thus, there is a trade-off to obtain a high quality film (i.e., a film with a high density ρ) since the film stress τ also increases. However, the magnitude of the film stress τ can be reduced by applying a DC voltage to the substrate. For example, V 2 The line representing V 1 The magnitude of the film stress τ for a given film density ρ is smaller than the line representing V 2 is V 1 will be greater than.

[0015] 3, a cross-sectional view of a processing tool 300 is shown, according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, the processing tool 300 can include a chamber body 380. The chamber body 380 can be any suitable vacuum chamber of any size to accommodate processing of one or more substrates 350. In one embodiment, the chamber body 380 can include a lid 341. In one embodiment, the lid 341 can support a gas distribution plate 340, such as a showerhead. In one embodiment, the gas distribution plate 340 can be electrically coupled to an RF power source 365. In some embodiments, the RF power source 365 can be electrically coupled to an electrode separate from the gas distribution plate 340. Although not shown, it should be appreciated that one or more exhaust ports can also be formed through the chamber body 380. In one embodiment, the pressure within the chamber body 380 can be maintained between about 1 mTorr and 500 mTorr, depending on the process being performed.

[0016] In one embodiment, the substrate 350 in the chamber body 380 may be supported by a chuck 352. The chuck 352 may be an electrostatic chuck in some embodiments. In one embodiment, the chuck 352 may include a heating and / or cooling system to provide a desired substrate temperature during processing. For example, the heating and / or cooling system may maintain a substrate temperature below 800° C. In some embodiments, the substrate temperature may be maintained below 200° C. Embodiments may include substrate temperatures between about −250° C. and 800° C. The process kit 330 may be coupled to the chuck 352 around an outer edge of the substrate 350. In one embodiment, the chuck 352 may be coupled to a pedestal 354 that includes a port outside the chamber body 380.

[0017] In one embodiment, the chuck 352 may be electrically coupled to a DC power source 360. In one embodiment, the DC power source 360 ​​may be a pulsed DC power source. An embodiment may include a pulsed DC power source 360 ​​having a pulse frequency between about 1 kHz and 100 kHz. In one embodiment, the DC power source 360 ​​may be between -20 kV and 20 kV. An embodiment may also include a DC power source 360 ​​that is adjustable to different voltages between about -20 kV and 20 kV. In some embodiments, multiple pulsed DC power sources 360 may be electrically coupled to the chuck 352. In one embodiment, the pulsed DC power source may have a duty cycle between 1% and 100%. For example, at a 1% duty cycle with a frequency of 1 kHz, the DC power source is on for 0.01 seconds and off for 0.99 seconds. In some embodiments, the DC power source may be on all the time.

[0018] In one embodiment, a DC voltage from power supply 360 may be coupled to the substrate via electrical contact pins, a contact mesh, direct contact with the biased surface of chuck 352, or may be capacitively coupled through chuck 352. A more detailed description of various coupling embodiments is described below with respect to Figures 4A-4C.

[0019] It should be understood that the above-described processing tool 300 is exemplary in nature and that many different processing tool configurations can be used in conjunction with the embodiments described herein. For example, the processing tool 300 can include a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) source, an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source, or a microwave plasma source. Embodiments also include processing tool configurations in which the plasma is top-fired, bottom-fired, or both.

[0020] In one embodiment, the DC bias of the plasma sheath by the pulsed DC power supply 360 can be performed in a continuous wave mode, synchronous with the DC bias pulse, asynchronous with the DC bias pulse, or in a pulsed mode while the source plasma is kept on all the time with the DC bias. In one embodiment, the duty cycle of the DC bias matches the duty cycle of the plasma source. In one embodiment, the duty cycle of the plasma source is different from the duty cycle of the DC bias. For example, the DC bias and the source plasma can be on at the same time, and one of the DC bias or the source plasma can be turned off before the other. In one embodiment, the source plasma and the pulsed DC bias can have different frequencies and the same duty cycle. In one embodiment, the source plasma and the pulsed DC bias can have different frequencies and different duty cycles.

[0021] 4A, a cross-sectional view of a chuck 452 supporting a substrate 150 is shown, according to one embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, the chuck 452 may be electrically coupled to a pulsed DC power supply 460. In a particular embodiment, the chuck 452 may include a plurality of conductive pins 461. The plurality of conductive pins 461 may be electrically coupled to the DC power supply 460. In one embodiment, the conductive pins 461 may directly contact the backside of the substrate 450. Thus, a DC bias pulse may be directly coupled to the substrate 450. In one embodiment, the pins 461 may be formed of any suitable conductive material. In one embodiment, the pins may be aluminum. An embodiment may also include a conductive pin 461 that includes multiple layers of material.

[0022] In the illustrated embodiment, the conductive pins 461 are shown as extending above a top surface of the chuck 452. In such an embodiment, the substrate 450 may be supported completely by the conductive pins 452. In additional embodiments, the top surface of the conductive pins 461 may be substantially coplanar with the top surface of the chuck 452. In such an embodiment, the substrate 450 may be supported by the conductive pins 461 and the chuck 452.

[0023] Although the conductive pin 461 is shown as having a rectangular cross-section, it should be appreciated that embodiments may include conductive pins of any shape. In some embodiments, the conductive pin 461 may be substantially planar. Such embodiments may be considered conductive pads rather than pins. Additionally, embodiments may include a plurality of conductive traces formed on a surface of the chuck 452 that is electrically coupled to the DC power supply 460.

[0024] 4B, a cross-sectional view of a chuck 452 supporting a substrate 150 is shown, according to one embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, a conductive mesh 462 embedded within the chuck 452 may be electrically coupled to a DC power source 460. In such an embodiment, the conductive mesh 462 may be electrically coupled to a substrate 450 supported by the chuck 452. Embedding the conductive mesh 462 may provide an advantage over other embodiments, as the conductive mesh is completely protected from the processing environment. Additionally, embedding the conductive mesh 462 allows the substrate 450 to be completely supported by the chuck 452 without any other components between them.

[0025] In one embodiment, the conductive mesh 462 may include one or more of any suitable conductive material. In one embodiment, the conductive mesh may be copper, aluminum, etc. In one embodiment, the conductive mesh 462 may have any desired density. In some embodiments, the conductive mesh 462 may be a network of conductive plates and / or conductive traces, optionally embedded within the chuck 452.

[0026] 4C, a cross-sectional view of a chuck 452 supporting a substrate 150 is shown, according to one embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, a conductive coating 463 is formed on a surface of the chuck 452. The conductive coating 463 may be electrically coupled to a DC power source 460. In one embodiment, the conductive coating 463 may be any suitable conductive material or layer of a conductive material. In one embodiment, the conductive coating 463 may include aluminum.

[0027] In the illustrated embodiment, the conductive coating 463 is formed on all surfaces of the chuck 452. However, it should be appreciated that the conductive coating 463 may be formed on only a portion of the surfaces of the chuck 452. For example, the conductive coating 463 may optionally be formed only on the top surface of the chuck 452. In such an embodiment, the substrate 450 may rest entirely on the conductive coating 463. The conductive coating 463 may electrically couple the DC power source 460 to the substrate 450.

[0028] In additional embodiments, if the chuck comprises a conductive material, the conductive coating may be omitted. For example, the conductive material of the chuck 452 may be electrically coupled to the DC power source 460. In such embodiments, the DC power source 460 may be electrically coupled to the substrate 450 by the chuck 452 itself.

[0029] 5, a process flow diagram of a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process 590 is shown according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, the PECVD process 590 can be performed using a processing tool that includes a pulsed DC power source to bias the substrate. For example, the processing tool 300 described above can be used to perform the PECVD process 590.

[0030] In one embodiment, the PECVD process 590 may include operation 591, which includes flowing a process gas into a process chamber. It should be appreciated that one or more process gases may be flowed into the process chamber to provide the desired feedstock to form a particular film. For example, in a PECVD process 590 for forming a carbon film, the process gas may be acetylene, methane, propylene, ethylene, cyclopropane, ethane, propane, benzene ... X H Y In embodiments where a silicon film is desired, the process gas may include one or more of silane, disilane, trisilane, tetrasilane, hydrogen, and any inert gas. In embodiments where a silicon oxide film is desired, the process gas may include one or more of silane, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), and in embodiments where a nitride film is desired, the process gas may include one or more of silane, NH 3 , N 2 , H 2 and any inert gas. X F Y In embodiments where a film is desired, the process gas is (CH X F YIn embodiments where a metal or metal oxide film is desired, the process gas may include one or more organometallic compounds. Embodiments may also include other source gases as needed to enable reactions, such as oxygen-containing source gases, and / or inert gases. In an embodiment, the film deposited on the substrate may include only components derived from one or more source gases. For example, the film formed is a separate film deposited on the substrate and is not simply a surface modification of an existing film or material on the substrate.

[0031] Referring now to operation 592, the PECVD process 590 may include exciting a plasma in the processing chamber using a plasma source. In an embodiment, the plasma source may be a CCP source, an ICP source, a microwave plasma source, or any other source. In an embodiment, the source plasma frequency may be between 100 kHz and 100 GHz. In an embodiment, the plasma source may be top fired, bottom fired, or both. As described below, the plasma source may be operated in a pulsed mode. When operated in a pulsed mode, it should be appreciated that the frequency of the pulses is a different frequency than the frequency of the emitted electromagnetic radiation. For example, the pulse frequency may be between 1 kHz and 100 kHz, and the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the source plasma may be between about 100 kHz and 100 GHz.

[0032] Referring now to operation 593, the PECVD process 590 may include biasing the substrate with a pulsed DC bias. In one embodiment, the pulsed DC bias may be between about 1 kV and 20 kV. In one embodiment, the frequency of the pulses may be between 1 kHz and 100 kHz. It should be appreciated that the pulsed DC bias allows the ion energy to be adjusted to a particular level. For example, the use of a pulsed DC bias results in a flux of ions toward the substrate that all have substantially the same ion energy. Furthermore, due to the high ion energy (e.g., up to about 20 keV), an ion bombardment effect is obtained. The ion bombardment effect results in a film with high density, improved optical properties, and relatively low film stress. Additionally, since the ion energy is primarily derived from the DC bias, the PECVD process 590 allows for independent control of the ion energy and the plasma density.

[0033] In one embodiment, the plasma source can be operated in a first mode and the DC power supply can be operated in a second mode. In one embodiment, the first mode includes a first frequency and a first duty cycle and the second mode is a pulsed mode including a second frequency and a second duty cycle. In one embodiment, the PECVD process 590 can include a first frequency equal to the second frequency and a first duty cycle equal to the second duty cycle. In one embodiment, the PECVD process 590 can include a first frequency equal to the second frequency and a first duty cycle different from the second duty cycle. In one embodiment, the PECVD process 590 can include a first frequency different from the second frequency and the first duty cycle can be equal to the second duty cycle. In one embodiment, the PECVD process 590 can include a first frequency different from the second frequency and the first duty cycle can be different from the second duty cycle. In one embodiment, the first and second duty cycles may be between 1% and 99%.

[0034] In one embodiment, the DC bias can be operated in a second mode including a pulse and the source plasma can be operated in a first mode including a continuous wave mode. In one embodiment, the DC bias pulse can be operated with the source plasma always on. In one embodiment, the DC bias pulse can be operated with the source plasma asynchronous with the DC bias pulse. In one embodiment, the DC bias pulse can be operated with the source plasma in a pulsed mode while the DC bias is always on.

[0035] According to embodiments, the PECVD process 590 can be performed using low substrate temperatures. For example, the PECVD process 590 can be performed using substrate temperatures between about −250° C. and 800° C. In certain embodiments, the substrate temperature can be less than 200° C. It is noted that such low-temperature processes using RF-only plasma systems cannot produce films of comparable high quality to those enabled by the embodiments described herein. To increase the quality of the RF CCP films, for example by increasing the maximum ion energy, a significant increase in RF power is required, as shown in FIG. 1. For example, to achieve an effective DC bias of 7.5 kV, about 17 kW of RF power can be required. Such low-temperature processes are currently not feasible with existing RF-only PECVD processes, since the power source applied to the plasma heats the substrate.

[0036] Films formed by PECVD process 590 show superior film quality compared to similar PECVD processes without the use of a substrate pulsed with a DC bias. For example, superior film quality of films formed by PECVD process 590 was demonstrated by using acetylene or methane source gases to form a plasma between 2 mTorr and 15 mTorr using a 100 W to 1,000 W power supply (162 MHz top-fire CCP) with or without a 1 kV substrate bias from a pulsed DC power supply. The films without DC bias had a refractive index of 1.9 and a density of 1.5 g / cm. 3 The film formed by the PECVD process 590 had a refractive index of 2.5 and a density of 2.0 g / cm 3 , the magnitude of the film stress was about 500 MPa. Notably, it is noted that the improved film quality is due, at least in part, to the large flux of ions at specific high ion energies that result in ion bombardment of the surface of the substrate.

[0037] The embodiments described herein include PECVD processes that include the ability to precisely adjust ion energy. Thus, PECVD processes according to the embodiments described herein allow for the formation of films with ion fluxes of alternating ion energies. One example of such a PECVD process 690 is described with respect to the flow diagram of FIG.

[0038] In one embodiment, the PECVD process 690 may include operation 691, which includes flowing a process gas into the process chamber. It should be appreciated that one or more process gases may be flowed into the process chamber to provide the desired feedstock to form a particular film. For example, in a PECVD process 690 to form a carbon film, the process gas may include one or more of acetylene, methane, or other carbon-containing source gases. In embodiments where other films are desired, the process gas may include tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) (to form silicon or silicon oxide films), silane and nitrogen (to form SiN films), fluorocarbons (CH X F YThe source gases may include one or more of: organometallic compounds (forming a film), or organometallic compounds (forming a metal or metal oxide film). Embodiments may also include other source gases required to enable the reaction, such as an oxygen-containing source gas, and / or an inert gas.

[0039] Referring now to operation 692, the PECVD process 690 may include exciting a plasma in the processing chamber using a plasma source. In an embodiment, the plasma source may be a CCP source, an ICP source, a microwave plasma source, or any other source. In an embodiment, the source plasma frequency may be between 100 kHz and 100 GHz. In an embodiment, the plasma source may be top fired, bottom fired, or both.

[0040] Next, referring to operation 693, the PECVD process 690 may include biasing the substrate with a pulsed DC bias at a first voltage. In one embodiment, the first pulsed DC bias may be between about -20 kV and 20 kV. In one embodiment, the frequency of the pulses may be between 1 kHz and 100 kHz. It should be appreciated that the pulsed DC bias allows the ion energy to be adjusted to a particular level. For example, the use of a pulsed DC bias results in a flux of ions toward the substrate that all have substantially the same first ion energy.

[0041] Next, referring to operation 694, the PECVD process 690 may include biasing the substrate with a pulsed DC bias at a second voltage. In one embodiment, the second pulsed DC bias may be between about -20 kV and 20 kV. In one embodiment, the frequency of the pulses may be between 1 kHz and 100 kHz. It should be appreciated that the pulsed DC bias allows the ion energy to be tunable to a particular level. For example, using the pulsed DC bias results in a flux of ions toward the substrate that all have substantially the same second ion energy. In one embodiment, the second voltage may be different from the first voltage. In one embodiment, the first voltage may be 2 kV and the second voltage may be 8 kV.

[0042] In one embodiment, the first pulsed DC voltage can be pulsed for a first period of time and the second pulsed DC voltage can be pulsed for a second period of time. In some embodiments, the PECVD process 690 can end after the second period of time without repeating the first pulsed DC voltage. In other embodiments, the pulsed DC voltage can alternate between the first pulsed DC voltage and the second pulsed DC voltage any number of times. In one embodiment, more than two pulsed DC voltages can be used in the PECVD process 690. For example, a first pulsed DC voltage, a second pulsed DC voltage, and a third pulsed DC voltage can be used to bias the substrate during the PECVD process 690. It should be appreciated that embodiments can also include a first voltage of 0V, a second voltage, a third voltage, and the like. For example, the first voltage can be between -20kV and 20kV and the second voltage can be 0V.

[0043] It should be appreciated that the PECVD processes described in the embodiments herein can be operated in any order. For example, PECVD process 590 includes three separate processing operations (591, 592, and 593) and PECVD process 690 includes four separate processing operations (691, 692, 693, and 694). However, it should be appreciated that the processing operations can be performed in any order and need not be performed sequentially. For example, two or more processing operations can be performed simultaneously or at least partially simultaneously.

[0044] Referring now to FIG. 7, a block diagram of an exemplary computer system 760 of a processing tool is shown, according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, the computer system 760 is coupled to the processing tool and controls processing within the processing tool. The computer system 760 may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a local area network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet. The computer system 760 may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer system 760 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, switch, or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be performed by the machine. Furthermore, although only a single machine is shown for computer system 760, the term "machine" is also intended to include a collection of machines (e.g., computers) that individually or jointly execute a set(s) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein.

[0045] The computer system 760 may include a computer program product or software 722 having a non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that can be used to program the computer system 760 (or other electronic device) to perform processes according to the embodiments. A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium includes a machine (e.g., computer) readable storage medium (e.g., read-only memory ("ROM"), random access memory ("RAM"), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, etc.), a machine (e.g., computer) readable transmission medium (electrical, optical, acoustic, or other form of propagated signal (e.g., infrared signal, digital signal, etc.)), etc.

[0046] In one embodiment, computer system 760 includes a system processor 702, a main memory 704 (e.g., read only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.), a static memory 706 (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a secondary memory 718 (e.g., data storage device), which communicate with each other via a bus 730.

[0047] The system processor 702 represents one or more general-purpose processing devices, such as a microsystem processor, a central processing unit, or the like. More specifically, the system processor may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microsystem processor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microsystem processor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microsystem processor, a system processor executing other instruction sets, or a system processor executing a combination of instruction sets. The system processor 702 may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal system processor (DSP), a network system processor, or the like. The system processor 702 is configured to execute processing logic 726 for performing the operations described herein.

[0048] The computer system 760 may further include a system network interface device 708 for communicating with other devices or machines. The computer system 760 may also include a video display unit 710 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode display (LED), or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 712 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 714 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generating device 716 (e.g., a speaker).

[0049] The secondary memory 718 may include a machine-accessible storage medium 731 (or, more specifically, a computer-readable storage medium) on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 722) embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The software 722 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 704 and / or within the system processor 702 during its execution by the computer system 760, with the main memory 704 and the system processor 702 also constituting machine-readable storage media. The software 722 may further be transmitted or received over the network 720 via the system network interface device 708.

[0050] While in the exemplary embodiment, the machine-accessible storage medium 731 is shown as being a single medium, the term "machine-readable storage medium" should be interpreted to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database and / or associated caches and servers) that store one or more sets of instructions. The term "machine-readable storage medium" should also be interpreted to include any medium that can store or encode a set of instructions for execution by a machine, causing the machine to perform any one or more methodologies. Thus, the term "machine-readable storage medium" should be interpreted to include, but is not limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media.

[0051] In the foregoing specification, certain exemplary embodiments have been described. It will be apparent that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the following claims. The specification and drawings are, therefore, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Claims

1. 1. A method for processing a substrate, comprising: flowing one or more source gases into the processing chamber; inducing a plasma from the source gas with a plasma source operating in a first mode; biasing the substrate with a pulsed DC power supply operating in a second mode and providing alternating pulses of a first voltage and a second voltage; and depositing a film on the substrate; Including, the pulse frequency of the pulsed DC power supply is between 1 kHz and 100 kHz, and the first voltage and the second voltage are between 1 kV and 20 kV; The method wherein the temperature of the substrate is less than 200°C.

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first mode comprises a first frequency and a first duty cycle, and the second mode is a pulsed mode comprising a second frequency and a second duty cycle.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first frequency is equal to the second frequency.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first duty cycle is equal to the second duty cycle.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first duty cycle is different from the second duty cycle.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first frequency is different from the second frequency.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first duty cycle is the same as the second duty cycle.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first duty cycle is different from the second duty cycle.

9. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second duty cycle is between 1% and 99%.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second mode includes the first voltage and the second voltage.

11. 1. A method for processing a substrate, comprising: flowing one or more source gases into the processing chamber; inducing a plasma from the source gas with a plasma source; biasing the substrate with a pulsed DC power supply providing alternating pulses of a first voltage and a second voltage; and depositing a film on the substrate; Including, the pulse frequency of the pulsed DC power supply is between 1 kHz and 100 kHz, and the first voltage and the second voltage are between 1 kV and 20 kV; The method wherein the temperature of the substrate is less than 200°C.

12. The one or more source gases may be acetylene, methane, propylene, ethylene, cyclopropane, ethane, propane, and any other C ｘ H ｙ The method of claim 11 , further comprising one or more of the following gases to deposit a carbon film on the substrate:

13. The one or more source gases may be silane, disilane, trisilane, tetrasilane, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), N ２ O, O ２ , and H ２ and one or more inert gases, and a silicon or silicon oxide film is deposited on the substrate.

14. The one or more source gases include silane, NH ３ , N ２ , and H ２ and one or more inert gases, and a silicon nitride film is deposited on the substrate.

15. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first voltage is 2 kV and the second voltage is 8 kV.

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