RF component with a drug-resistant surface

Abstract

Described herein are RF components having modified surface materials to improve chemical resistance and reduce metal contamination in processing chambers. Also disclosed herein are methods of making and using the same. Some embodiments of the present disclosure include a base material having a Young's modulus of 75 GPa or greater. Some embodiments of the present disclosure include a modified surface material including one or more of aluminum, lanthanum, and magnesium.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Technical Field Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to coating of RF components for deposition chambers. More particularly, some embodiments relate to components, methods of making components, and methods of using components.

Background Art

[0002] Background Methods for providing symmetric RF active grounding may include conductive gaskets, loops, and / or other structural components. Conventionally, RF plasmas have been used in physical vapor deposition (PVD) chambers. As implementers attempt to expand the use of RF plasmas to chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chambers and the like, concerns regarding metal contamination have arisen. Most materials used to form RF components are not resistant to chamber cleaning chemicals (such as fluorine-containing radicals) used in CVD chambers.

[0003] Aluminum components are expected to perform well in a CVD chamber cleaning environment containing fluorine-containing radicals, particularly radicals generated from an RPS source that acts on NF3 gas. However, aluminum components do not have sufficient mechanical resilience to be used in a CVD chamber for an extended period, especially at high temperatures.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need in the art for new materials or material coatings that combine high resilience, chemical resistance, and reasonable cost.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] Summary One or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an RF component that includes a base material having a Young's modulus of about 75 GPa or more, along with a modified surface material that includes one or more of aluminum, lanthanum, or magnesium. The modified surface material is different from the base material. The RF component is selected from an RF gasket and an RF loop.

[0006] Additional embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a chemical vapor deposition method that includes depositing a material onto a substrate within a deposition chamber that includes an RF component having a base material with a Young's modulus of about 75 GPa or greater and a modified surface material that includes one or more of aluminum, lanthanum, or magnesium. The modified surface material is different from the base material. The deposition chamber is cleaned with a cleaning reagent. The cleaning reagent does not produce metal contamination within the deposition chamber when exposed to the RF component.

[0007] Further embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method of forming an RF component. The method includes cleaning an exposed surface of a base material having a Young's modulus of about 75 GPa or greater. A modified surface material is deposited on the base material. The modified surface material includes one or more of aluminum, lanthanum, or magnesium. The modified surface material is different from the base material.

[0008] Brief Description of the Drawings To better understand the above features of the present disclosure, a more specific description of the present disclosure, briefly summarized above, can be obtained by reference to the embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that the accompanying drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be considered as limiting its scope.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Fig. 1A

Fig. 1B

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

[0010] Detailed Description Before describing some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the details of the configurations or process steps described in the following description. The present disclosure can have other embodiments and can be implemented or executed in various ways.

[0011] As used in this specification and the appended claims, the term "substrate" refers to the surface or a part of the surface on which the process acts. It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, references to a substrate can also refer to only a part of the substrate.

[0012] As used herein, "substrate" refers to any substrate on which film processing is performed during a manufacturing process or the surface of a material formed on a substrate. For example, the substrate surface on which processing can be performed includes materials such as metals, metal alloys, and other conductive materials, depending on the application. The substrate can be exposed to a pretreatment process to polish, etch, reduce, oxidize, hydroxylate, anneal, UV cure, electron beam cure, and / or bake the substrate surface. In addition to directly performing film processing on the surface of the substrate itself, in the present disclosure, any of the disclosed film processing steps can be performed on an underlying layer formed on the substrate, as will be disclosed in more detail below, and the term "substrate surface" is intended to include an underlying layer as indicated by the context. Thus, for example, when a film / layer or a partial film / layer is deposited on the substrate surface, the exposed surface of the newly deposited film / layer can become the substrate surface for further processing steps.

[0013] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to RF components (loops, gaskets) that have sufficiently high elasticity and are also resistant to the chemicals in the chamber. Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to RF components. Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods for forming RF components that are resistant to the chemicals in the chamber. Some embodiments relate to methods of deposition and cleaning within a chamber that include RF components that are resistant to the chemicals in the chamber.

[0014] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide RF components that can withstand the cleaning chemicals of the chamber without causing metal contamination within the chamber. Some embodiments of the present disclosure advantageously provide RF components that include stainless steel or other highly elastic materials that can be utilized within a chamber environment using cleaning chemicals that include fluorine-containing radicals. Some embodiments of the present disclosure advantageously provide for the extensive use of stainless steel and other highly elastic materials to provide an improved RF distribution function. Some embodiments of the present disclosure advantageously reduce the complexity of purge and / or shield mechanisms that would otherwise be required to provide a given electrical function without causing metal contamination within the chamber.

[0015] FIG. 1A shows a portion of an exemplary RF component prior to processing according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. As used herein, an RF component can refer to any component of an RF plasma system that is exposed within a processing chamber. In some embodiments, the RF component is selected from an RF loop or an RF gasket. FIG. 1A shows a component 100 that includes a base material 110. The component can include additional materials, but at least a portion of the exposed surface 112 of the component 100 includes the base material 110.

[0016] The base material 110 can be any suitable material that has sufficiently high elasticity. In some embodiments, the base material has a Young's modulus of about 75 GPa or greater, about 100 GPa or greater, about 150 GPa or greater, or about 200 GPa or greater. In some embodiments, the base material includes stainless steel.

[0017] FIG. 1B shows the same portion of component 100 shown in FIG. 1A after processing according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure for forming component 150. As shown in FIG. 1B, the exposed surface of the base material has been processed to form a modified surface 120. The modified surface 120 is formed by the addition of the exposed surface 112 of the modified surface material.

[0018] In some embodiments, the modified surface material has diffused into the base material. As described above, the modified surface material modifies the surface of the base material. In some embodiments, the modified surface material is deposited as a continuous layer on the base material. In some embodiments, the modified surface material is deposited as a discontinuous layer on the base material. Regardless of continuity, the modified surface material creates a gradient in atomic composition, and the concentration of the modified surface material is highest at the surface of the component (modified surface 120) and gradually decreases as it moves away from the exposed surface of the base material. As shown in FIG. 1B, the concentration gradient from black (high concentration of modified surface material) to gray to white (high concentration of base material) is expected to be gradual. Although the gradient is expected to be gradual, the linear gradient shown in FIG. 1B is merely illustrative and is not intended to be limiting.

[0019] The chemical protection provided by the modified surface material does not require a continuous layer of the modified surface material on the base material. Thus, some embodiments of the present disclosure advantageously provide components that can withstand mechanical friction without losing chemical resistance. In other words, since a sufficient amount of the modified surface material has diffused into the base material of the part, the loss of the outer layer from the modified surface material does not necessarily adversely affect the chemical resistance of the entire part.

[0020] Some embodiments of the present disclosure advantageously provide a diffusion-modified surface material that provides at least a partial coating of the surface of the base material even when much of the pure modified surface material has been eroded by friction. This diffusion makes the "coating" inherently robust and increases the service life of the component against friction.

[0021] The modified surface material can be any suitable material that protects the base material 110 from the chemicals in the chamber. The modified surface material is different from the base material. In some embodiments, the modified surface material includes one or more of aluminum, lanthanum, and magnesium.

[0022] In some embodiments, the modified surface material consists essentially of a single element. In some embodiments, the modified surface material consists essentially of aluminum. As used in this context, a modified surface material that "consists essentially of a single element" modifies the base material by adding only one metallic element.

[0023] In some embodiments, the modified surface material includes a metal alloy. In some embodiments, the modified material surface includes a magnesium-aluminum alloy.

[0024] In some embodiments, the component 150 shown in FIG. 1B is resistant to corrosion by the cleaning reagent. In some embodiments, the cleaning reagent includes fluorine radicals. In some embodiments, the fluorine radicals are generated by remote (RPS) or by microwaves. In some embodiments, the fluorine radicals can be present in an NF3 plasma. In some embodiments, the cleaning reagent includes chlorine or oxygen atoms.

[0025] The modified surface material can be formed on the exposed surface 112 of the base material 110 by any suitable process. In some embodiments, the modified surface material is formed by one or more of electroplating, powder coating, physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), or ion implantation. In some embodiments, the modified surface material is formed by diffusion-bonded CVD or ALD. In these embodiments utilizing diffusion-bonded CVD or ALD, the temperature of the formation can be controlled to affect the level of diffusion of the modified surface material within the base material.

[0026] In some embodiments, the exposed surface of the base material can be cleaned prior to the formation of the modified surface material.

[0027] Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method of forming an RF component according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2, an exemplary method 200 begins at 210 by cleaning the exposed surface of the base material. The base material is as described above. In some embodiments, the base material has a Young's modulus of about 75 GPa or more.

[0028] Method 200 continues at 220 by depositing or forming a modified surface material on the base material. The modified surface material is as described above. The modified surface material is different from the base material. In some embodiments, the modified surface material includes one or more of aluminum, lanthanum, or magnesium.

[0029] Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a chemical vapor deposition chamber including an RF component according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method of chemical vapor deposition. Referring to FIG. 3, an exemplary method 300 begins at 310 by depositing a material on a substrate within a deposition chamber. The deposition chamber includes an RF component according to one or more embodiments described herein.

[0031] Method 300 continues at 320 by cleaning the deposition chamber with a cleaning reagent. The cleaning reagent is as described above. In some embodiments, the RF component is resistant to corrosion by the cleaning reagent. In some embodiments, the cleaning reagent does not cause metal contamination within the deposition chamber when exposed to the RF components.

[0032] Throughout this specification, "one embodiment", "a particular embodiment", "one or more embodiments", or "the implementation" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, the appearances of phrases such as "in one or more embodiments", "in a particular embodiment", "in one embodiment", or "in an embodiment" at various places throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment of the present disclosure. Further, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0033] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that the described embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the methods and apparatuses of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure can include modifications and variations within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An RF component comprising a base material having a Young's modulus of about 75 GPa or more, wherein the base material has a modified surface and a modified surface material diffused within the base material, the modified surface material comprising one or more of lanthanum or magnesium, the modified surface material being different from the base material, and the concentration of the modified surface material being highest at the modified surface of the base material and gradually decreasing away from the modified surface of the base material, an RF component selected from an RF gasket and an RF loop.

2. The RF component according to claim 1, wherein the base material comprises stainless steel.

3. The RF component according to claim 1, wherein the base material has a Young's modulus of about 150 GPa or more.

4. The RF component according to claim 1, wherein the modified surface material consists essentially of a single element.

5. The RF component according to claim 1, wherein the modified surface material comprises a metal alloy.

6. The RF component according to claim 1, wherein the RF component is resistant to corrosion by a cleaning reagent.

7. The RF component according to claim 6, wherein the cleaning reagent comprises fluorine radicals.

8. The RF component according to claim 7, wherein the fluorine radicals are generated remotely or by microwaves.

9. The fluorine radical is NF ３ The RF component according to claim 7, wherein the fluorine radical is present in the plasma.

10. The RF component according to claim 1, wherein the modified surface material is formed by one or more of electroplating, powder coating, physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, or ion implantation.

11. The RF component according to claim 10, wherein the base material is cleaned before the modified surface material is formed.

12. A chemical vapor deposition chamber comprising one or more of the RF components according to claim 1.

13. Depositing a material on a substrate in a deposition chamber comprising an RF component having a base material with a Young's modulus of about 75 GPa or more, wherein the base material has a modified surface and a modified surface material diffused within the base material, the modified surface material comprising one or more of lanthanum or magnesium, the modified surface material being different from the base material, and the concentration of the modified surface material being highest at the modified surface of the base material and gradually decreasing away from the modified surface of the base material; and cleaning the deposition chamber with a cleaning reagent. A chemical vapor deposition method in which the cleaning reagent does not generate metal contamination in the deposition chamber when exposed to the RF component. **Claim 14** The method according to claim 13, wherein the base material includes stainless steel. **Claim 15** The method according to claim 13, wherein the cleaning reagent includes fluorine radicals, chlorine or oxygen. **Claim 16** The fluorine radical is NF ３ The method according to claim 15, wherein the method is present in the plasma. **Claim 17** Cleaning an exposed surface of a base material having a Young's modulus of about 75 GPa or more; Depositing a modified surface material on the base material by diffusion-bonded CVD, whereby a modified surface is formed on the base material, the modified surface material diffuses into the base material, includes one or more of lanthanum or magnesium, and is different from the base material, and the concentration of the modified surface material is highest at the modified surface of the base material and gradually decreases as it moves away from the modified surface of the base material, depositing a modified surface material on the base material A method of forming an RF component, comprising:

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