Frequency and amplitude modulation of implant dose for stress management

Abstract

The embodiments of this disclosure relate to techniques and apparatus for reducing out-of-plane distortion (OPD) in a substrate, as well as the effects of controlling OPD and modifying the substrate to correct the impact of OPD on subsequent substrate processing operations performed on the substrate. The embodiments of this application employ novel techniques to reduce OPD in a substrate without adding to or modifying substrate portions that would cause problems in subsequent substrate manufacturing processes.

Description

Frequency and degree modulation of implant dose for stress management The present disclosure relates generally to stress control in substrates, and more particularly to stress compensation that reduces out-of-plane distortion in substrates. Memory devices are essential components in today's digital electronic devices. As technology advances, most electronic components require increased memory capacity. At the same time, smaller memory devices are also required to meet market demand for smaller electronic components containing memory devices. In recent years, conventional (2D) NAND memory devices have encountered many challenges, including issues related to voltage drop (e.g., depletion of electrons in the current-carrying element due to the continuous scaling of cell dimensions), loss of retention, and overall reliability. To address these challenges in scaling planar (2D) NAND memory devices to achieve higher densities at a lower cost per bit, ultra-high-density, three-dimensional (3D) stacked memory structures have been introduced. Such 3D memory structures are sometimes referred to as bit-cost scalable (BiCS) architectures and include vertically integrated strings of memory cells. Typically, the vertically aligned memory cells are formed from an array of alternating conductor and insulator layers, where the conductive layers correspond to the word lines of the memory structure. As the number of vertically stacked memory cells in 3D NAND devices increases (e.g., as wafer density increases), the stress induced within the stacked memory cells increases, increasing substrate bow and introducing numerous performance issues. Local variations in the material composition of the vertically stacked memory cells can induce stress that can deform or warp the semiconductor substrate on which the structures are formed. Substrate flatness or bow has a significant impact on semiconductor device manufacturing because it can affect the ability of photolithography systems to effectively form device patterns on the substrate surface. Even moderate variations in surface topography within the photolithography exposure area can alter device feature patterns or affect overlay between subsequent layers. This ultimately leads to potential die yield loss. To accurately form device patterns, it is important to form the pattern on the substrate while maintaining a relatively flat or planar substrate. Substrate bow is also important for other related manufacturing processes, as substrate deformation or warpage can cause difficulties in subsequent processing steps, such as wafer bonding or packaging. A common concern in fabricating such components and structures on substrates is the generation of in-plane distortion (IPD), which affects the overlay of a layer relative to an underlying reference layer. IPD is a complex quantity that is affected by the out-of-plane distortion (OPD) of the substrate and the alignment scheme employed in photolithography. Wafer processing can produce complex OPD patterns on the substrate at any given processing stage, which can tend to affect subsequent processing operations. For example, a semiconductor substrate can be patterned into a regular array of die regions corresponding to the die to be cut from the semiconductor wafer. In certain examples, the complex pattern of OPD can produce overlay errors in subsequent photolithography masking operations. Therefore, there is a need for an improved method and resulting structure that can reduce or eliminate the distortions found in substrates. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for changing the shape of a substrate. The method includes: generating an ion beam profile based on a measured shape of an ion beam; resampling the ion beam profile to generate a blur kernel by adjusting the resolution of the ion beam profile to match the resolution of out-of-plane distortion (OPD) data measured on the substrate; calculating curvature data from the OPD data; filtering the curvature data by applying the blur kernel to the curvature data; generating an inverse filter by Fourier transforming the ion beam profile and resampling the Fourier transformed ion beam profile by matching the resolution of the Fourier transformed ion beam profile to the resolution of the curvature data; applying the inverse filter to the filtered curvature data to generate corrected curvature data; and calculating an implant dose map based on an empirically generated dose sensitivity curve and the corrected curvature data. Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a method for changing a deformed shape of a substrate. The method includes: receiving out-of-plane distortion (OPD) data of a backside surface of a substrate; calculating an implant dose profile to be delivered to the backside surface of the substrate, including generating an ion beam profile based on a measured shape of an ion beam, resampling the ion beam profile by adjusting a resolution of the ion beam profile to match a resolution of the out-of-plane distortion (OPD) data measured on the substrate to generate a blur kernel, calculating curvature data from the OPD data, filtering the curvature data by applying the blur kernel to the curvature data, generating an inverse filter by Fourier transforming the ion beam profile and resampling the Fourier transformed ion beam profile by matching the resolution of the Fourier transformed ion beam profile to the resolution of the curvature data, applying the inverse filter to the filtered curvature data to generate corrected curvature data, and calculating the implant dose profile based on an empirically generated dose sensitivity curve and the corrected curvature data; depositing a distortion correction layer on the backside surface of the substrate; and applying the ion beam having the calculated implant dose profile to the distortion correction layer. Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a substrate including a semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes a plurality of semiconductor device layers formed on a front surface of the substrate, wherein the semiconductor device layers include at least one layer including a compressive or tensile stress that produces a deformed shape in the substrate, the deformed shape including a varying amplitude at each of a plurality of frequencies; and a distortion correction structure formed on a back surface of the substrate and including a distortion correction layer including a first material disposed on the back surface and having a thickness, and implanted dopant species unevenly distributed on the back surface of the first material, the first material disposed on the back surface of the substrate, wherein a dose of the implanted dopant species is uneven, and the combination of the first material and the implanted dopant species added to the first material is configured to correct the deformed shape formed in the substrate. In the following description, details are set forth by way of example to facilitate understanding of the disclosed subject matter. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the disclosed embodiments are exemplary and not exhaustive of all possible embodiments. Therefore, it should be understood that reference to the described examples is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Any changes and further modifications to the described devices, instruments, methods, and any further applications of the principles of the present disclosure are fully contemplated, as would be generally expected by a person skilled in the art of the disclosure. In particular, it is fully conceivable that features, components, and / or steps described with respect to one embodiment may be combined with features, components, and / or steps described with respect to other embodiments of the present disclosure. As used herein, the term "approximately" may refer to a variation of + / - 10% of a nominal value. It should be understood that such variations may be included in any values ​​provided herein. Embodiments described herein relate to techniques and apparatus for correcting complex out-of-plane distortion (OPD) shapes formed in substrates. These embodiments employ novel techniques to reduce complex OPDs formed in substrates by generating an implant profile that accounts for both amplitude and spatial frequency variations in the deformed substrate. It has been found that as the amount of spatial frequency variation in the deformed substrate increases, correcting for amplitude variations caused by higher-order spatial frequencies becomes increasingly difficult. Embodiments of the present disclosure include a distortion correction process that includes depositing a film having a thickness T DCL The distortion correction layer 201 as deposited is then exposed to an implant dose profile configured to account for and correct for complex OPD formed in the substrate. As described above, in one application example, as the number of vertically stacked memory cells in a 3D NAND device increases (e.g., as wafer density increases), the stress generated within the stacked memory cells increases, which increases the complexity and amount of OPDs within the substrate and, therefore, increases what is often referred to as "wafer bow" or "substrate bow." To compensate for the complex substrate distortion shapes generated by spatial frequency variations, an implant dose profile can be developed that separately accounts for each spatial frequency present in the substrate deformation shape, including, for example, first, second, third, and fourth order deformation shapes. Thus, using this technique, complex OPDs formed in the substrate can be corrected by individually applying each individually derived implant dose profile to the freshly deposited distortion correction layer 201, thereby correcting the complex substrate deformation shape. However, individually applying each individually derived implant dose profile is time-consuming and expensive. Thus, as described above, the novel techniques disclosed herein are configured to reduce complex OPDs formed in a substrate by generating an implant dose profile that accounts for amplitude and spatial frequency variations that occur in a deformed substrate. To eliminate or minimize complex distorted shapes formed in deformed substrates, a distortion-correcting structure and a process sequence for forming the structure have been developed and disclosed herein. FIG. 1A is a side cross-sectional view of a substrate having significant overall substrate bow caused by large OPD. Substrate 101 as shown in FIG. 1A provides an example of a substrate including a first-order deformed shape, such that for a 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor wafer, the deformed shape shown has a wavelength (λ) of 600 mm. As another example, FIG. 1B is a side cross-sectional view of a substrate including a second-order deformed shape, such that for a 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor wafer, the deformed shape shown has a wavelength (λ) of 300 mm. The amount of deflection caused by OPD can be measured at the center or neutral axis of substrate 101, as shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B . In one example, substrate 101 includes a device structure formed on a device side surface 102 of substrate 101, which is used to form a 3D memory device. FIG2 is a side cross-sectional view of the substrate 101 after a newly deposited distortion correction layer 201 is formed on the back surface 103 of the substrate 101 as shown in FIG1B. The newly deposited distortion correction layer 201 includes a thickness T DCL In one example, the as-deposited distortion correction layer 201 comprises a silicon nitride (SiN) layer having a thickness of less than 10,000 angstroms (Å), such as less than 5,000 Å, or less than 4,000 Å, less than 2,000 Å, or even less than 1,500 Å. FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of substrate 101 after performing the distortion correction structure forming process shown in FIGs. 4A-4B on a substrate having a complex deformed shape including amplitude and spatial frequency variations. FIG4A illustrates one embodiment of a distortion correction structure forming process, referred to herein as method 400, for forming a distortion correction structure 202 for compensating for a complex deformed shape found in a substrate 101, according to one or more embodiments described herein. Method 400 begins at activity 402 where OPD data of a complex deformed shape of a backside surface of the substrate 101 is received. The OPD data for an example substrate is shown in FIG5A. The OPD data can be measured as a spatial map of displacement in the Z direction of the substrate 101 using substrate bow measurement techniques. In one example, the OPD data is measured using a WAFERSight 3D imager available from KLA of Milpitas, California. TM The measurement technique is performed using a tool or other similar substrate bow measurement tool. FIG5B shows exemplary power spectral density (PSD) data calculated by Fourier transforming the OPD data shown in FIG5A into the spatial frequency domain. The PSD data includes a plot of the OPD power amplitude at various spatial frequencies found in a deformed substrate. In the X direction (i.e., frequency f x ) and Y direction (i.e., frequency f y ), and the amplitude information at each plotted spatial frequency in the X-Y plot is shown by color, with red representing the maximum amplitude and dark blue representing the lowest amplitude. In this example, the X- and Y-axes define the variation in spatial frequency of the deformed shape in each measured direction. The higher power spectral density (PSD), plotted on a dB scale, comprises the red region near the origin of the plot in Figure 5B, and the lower power spectral frequency density comprises the dark blue region farthest from the origin. For reference, the square at the origin represents a spatial frequency with a wavelength of 600 mm, and the squares located farthest from the origin along each of the X and Y axes represent spatial frequencies with a wavelength of 8 mm (corresponding to a subsampled pixel size of 4 mm). It should be noted that this is due to limitations in the measurement technique performed by the bow measurement tool and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure provided herein. Figure 5G shows the curvature of the wafer after various activities performed in method 400, and Figure 5H shows the corresponding PSD data. The PSD data shown here is provided merely as an example of processing the substrates described herein and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure provided herein. At activity 404, a system controller (not shown) within one or more distortion correction structure processing tools determines the amount of correction required to correct for amplitude and spatial frequency variations in the deformed substrate resulting from the application of the non-uniform implant dose profile. The process for determining the non-uniform implant dose profile, which is performed during subsequent processing activities, is further described in conjunction with method 450 illustrated in FIG. 4B . The amount of correction required to be provided by applying the implant profile to the as-deposited distortion correction layer 201 is based on the data collected during activity 402. The system controller described herein may include a central processing unit (CPU) and support circuitry operable in conjunction with memory (e.g., non-volatile memory). The support circuitry is coupled to the CPU in a conventional manner and includes cache memory, clock circuitry, input / output subsystems, and the like, as well as combinations thereof coupled to various components within one or more distortion correction structure processing tools to facilitate control thereof. The CPU is one of any form of general-purpose computer processor used in an industrial environment to control various components and subprocessors of a processing system. Typically, the memory is in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium (e.g., non-volatile memory) containing instructions that, when executed by the CPU, facilitate the operation of one or more distortion correction structure processing tools. The computer instructions in the memory are in the form of a program product, such as a program that implements one or more portions of the method of the present disclosure. At activity 406, an as-deposited distortion correction layer 201 is formed on the backside surface of the substrate 101. The process of forming the as-deposited distortion correction layer 201 may include depositing a dielectric-containing layer on the backside surface 103 using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, or other useful deposition processes. In one example, the as-deposited distortion correction layer 201 may include a silicon nitride (SiN)-containing layer formed by a PVD or CVD process. 3N 4). In some embodiments, the system controller determines the desired thickness T of the distortion correction layer 201 as deposited based on the data collected during activity 402. DCL Thickness T DCL The thickness T of the as-deposited distortion correction layer 201 may be selected based on the profile of the implant dose to be provided during activity 308 and thus adjusted based on the implant dose parameters used during activity 408. DCL In some cases, it is desirable to set the thickness of the as-deposited distortion correction layer 201 to be thick enough to ensure that the implanted ions provided during the implantation process performed during activity 408 do not cause the implanted ions to implant into the back side of the substrate 101. In some non-limiting examples, the as-deposited distortion correction layer 201 is silicon nitride (Si x N y ) film layer, which has a thickness T DCL Less than 4,000 Å, such as less than 2,000 Å, or between 1,000 Å and 2,000 Å. At activity 408, the as-deposited distortion-correcting layer 201 is exposed to a non-uniform dose of implanted ions based on the non-uniform implant dose profile determined during activity 404, such that the modified as-deposited distortion-correcting layer 201 (herein referred to as distortion-correcting layer 203) corrects the complex substrate deformation shape. According to some non-limiting embodiments, suitable implanted ions provided from an ion beam can include any ion species capable of inducing stress variations after implantation at a suitable ion energy, including ions such as phosphorus, boron, argon, nitrogen, krypton, indium, and boron difluoride, with the ion energy being tailored to the specific ion species used. The dose of implanted ions is applied to the as-deposited distortion-correcting layer 201 using an ion implantation energy source to correct the complex substrate deformation shape and thereby reduce or minimize in-plane distortion (IPD) that can affect device fabrication and other device patterning processes. Non-limiting examples of ion implantation energy sources include ion beams that can be scanned relative to the backside surface 103 of the substrate 101. In various embodiments, the ion implantation energy source can transfer the non-uniform dose to the substrate involved in a non-uniform direct write process. In this context, a "direct write" process, including a direct write implantation process, may refer to a process that employs relative motion of an ion beam or other beam to produce an adjustable non-uniform dose, defined by an implantation profile determined on the substrate surface. In some embodiments, the direct write process may involve exposure to photons, such as a laser beam, and may be used to globally adjust stress in the as-deposited distortion-correction layer 201 to adjust the complex curvature of the substrate, thereby adjusting the substrate's OPD. In some embodiments, the system controller determines the desired implantation process parameters, such as ion energy (keV), dose (atoms / cm²), and / or even atomic species, based on data collected during activity 402 and even the thickness of the as-deposited distortion-correction layer 201. In some embodiments, method 400 is complete after performing activity 408, such that the substrate 101 can then be transferred to one or more subsequent processing steps, such as additional 3D memory device (e.g., 3D NAND device) processing steps. In one non-limiting example, the implantation process includes implanting argon (Ar) atoms into silicon nitride (SiN) at a constant energy varying between 50 and 100 keV. x N y ) was deposited with a distortion correction layer having a thickness of approximately 1,300 Å and a 1 × 10 12 and 1 × 10 15 The dose between atoms / cm². Distortion correction determines the process FIG4B illustrates an embodiment of a process performed during activity 404, which is referred to herein as method 450. Method 450 begins with activity 452 by generating a Gaussian ion beam profile based on the measurement of the ion beam shape used to deliver the implant dose profile to the desired portion of the substrate surface during activity 408. An example of a Gaussian ion beam profile is shown in FIG5C. At activity 454, the Gaussian ion beam profile generated during activity 452 is resampled such that the resolution of the resampled Gaussian ion beam profile matches the resolution and properties of the OPD data received during activity 402. An example of a resampled Gaussian ion beam profile is shown in FIG5D. The process of resampling the Gaussian ion beam profile will require correcting various properties of the Gaussian filter generated in activity 454 based on known characteristics of the data provided in the received OPD data. First, wafer curvature data is calculated from the OPD data. Various curvature metrics such as Gaussian curvature, mean curvature, or X / Y curvature can be used, and the methods described herein can be applied to any of these curvature metrics. The resampled Gaussian ion beam profile (referred to as a "blur kernel") is then applied to the curvature data, as shown in FIG5G. The corresponding PSD data is shown in FIG5H. The application of the blur kernel involves convolution of the curvature data (in the spatial domain) with the blur kernel (in the spatial domain). When convolved with the curvature data received in activity 402, the blur kernel acts as a spatial low-pass filter, taking into account that the ion beam cannot physically address spatial frequencies greater than the limit imposed by the spatial characteristics of the beam itself. In activity 456, the Gaussian ion beam profile generated in activity 452 is Fourier transformed into the spatial frequency domain, as shown in Figure 5E, and then resampled to match the resolution and properties of the OPD data received during activity 402, as shown in Figure 5F. The resampled Fourier-transformed Gaussian ion beam profile (referred to as an "inverse Gaussian filter") is then applied to the low-pass filtered curvature data generated in activity 454 (shown in Figure 5G) to produce corrected curvature data, as shown in Figure 6A. The corresponding PSD data is shown in Figure 6B. This filtering process accounts for variations in dose sensitivity to curvature within spatial frequency by essentially increasing the spectral amplitude at higher frequencies (i.e., effectively a spatial high-pass filter). While the spread of this Gaussian filter is defined by the beam characteristics, its gain is anchored at a fundamental spatial wavelength of 600 mm (corresponding to a wafer diameter of 300 mm) and was determined heuristically by experimentation. The filtering process performed in activity 456 essentially consists of a simple multiplication of the spectrum in the low-pass filtered curvature data (in the spatial frequency domain) with an inverse Gaussian filter (in the spatial frequency domain), rather than a convolution of the two data sets, as it is performed in the frequency domain and can therefore replace the computationally expensive step of convolution in the spatial domain. When comparing the PSD data shown in Figure 5H with the corresponding PSD data for the corrected curvature data shown in Figure 6B, it can be seen that the higher frequencies shown in Figure 6B are further emphasized (i.e., increased in amplitude) at the same frequencies shown in Figure 5H because, as mentioned above, higher frequencies are more difficult to correct due to their greater mechanical stiffness. While not intending to be bound by theory, the process performed during activity 456 serves to amplify the energy in the spectral data at higher spatial frequencies, while also being subject to the constraints imposed by the physical spot size of the ion beam itself, as shown in Figure 5C. Furthermore, the resampling Gaussian filter is tuned to the beam characteristics to account for the fact that the beam cannot physically process spatial frequencies greater than the limit imposed by its own spot size. At activity 458, the system controller calculates an implant dose profile based on an empirically generated dose sensitivity curve and the corrected curvature data, such that frequency and amplitude variations found in a warped substrate are accounted for. FIG5I shows an empirically generated dose sensitivity curve at a wavelength of 600 mm, corresponding to a 300 mm length scale of the silicon wafer, which defines the effect of providing increasing amounts of uniform implant dose to the distortion correction layer of the distortion correction structure. The dose sensitivity curve graph shown in FIG5I was created using a fixed ion energy level applied across the entire backside surface of the substrate 101. At higher spatial frequencies, the dose sensitivity is expected to decrease exponentially, which needs to be accounted for when calculating the dose distribution. This is achieved by applying an inverse Gaussian filter to the low-pass filtered curvature data. Applying the dose sensitivity curve to the corrected curvature profile then allows for the generation of an implant dose profile, whereby the generated implant dose profile can then be used as described above in activity 408. The generated implant dose profile allows for adjustment for amplitude variations found within the complex deformed shape of the substrate without requiring separate adjustment for spatial frequency variations, as the frequency components of the implant dose profile have already been accounted for using method 450. Figures 6C and 6D are the corrected curvature data and corresponding PDS data, respectively, generated during activity 456 with an increased gain level (5 times that of the data shown in Figures 6A and 6B). Figures 6E and 6F are the corrected curvature data and corresponding PDS data, respectively, generated during activity 456 with an increased gain level (100 times that of the data shown in Figures 6A and 6B). The increased gain is used to further emphasize the lower spatial frequencies in the final implant dose profile. By a priori compensating the spectrum, applying the increased gain substantially compensates for the reduced dose sensitivity at higher spatial frequencies. Overall substrate bow correction process The embodiments described below relate to techniques and components for reducing global out-of-plane distortion (OPD) in substrates, as well as controlling the effects of OPD and modifying the substrate to correct for the effects of OPD on subsequent substrate processing operations performed on the substrate. The present embodiments employ novel techniques to reduce OPD in substrates without adding or modifying portions of the substrate that would otherwise cause problems in subsequent substrate manufacturing processes. The processes described below can be performed prior to performing the aforementioned methods 400 and 450 and are therefore used to compensate for global substrate curvature prior to the complex deformed shape that is sought to be eliminated by the aforementioned methods. It has been discovered that increasing the thickness of the layer used to compensate for large global distortions of the substrate (i.e., FIG. 1A ) creates numerous processing issues during subsequent substrate processing steps. It has been discovered that the need for thick stress-compensating layers to compensate for large global substrate bows increases the likelihood of damage or breakage during subsequent processing steps. To address the large global deformations found in substrates, a distortion-correcting structure and a process sequence for forming the structure have been developed and are disclosed below. FIG. 7 illustrates a method 700 for forming a distortion correction structure 802 for compensating for OPD found in substrate 101, according to one or more embodiments described herein. Method 700 may be performed before performing activity 402 of method 400. In embodiments where method 700 is performed before performing method 400, the process performed in activity 406 is unnecessary because the distortion correction layer has already been formed during activity 706 of method 700. FIG. 8 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of substrate 101 during the stage of the method for forming distortion correction structure 802 shown in FIG. 7, according to one or more embodiments described herein. Generally, the process for forming distortion correction structure 802 includes depositing a layer having a thickness T DCL The distortion correction layer 801 is formed, and the deposited distortion correction layer 801 formed on the backside surface 103 (FIGS. 1A and 8) of the substrate 101 is then exposed to a uniform implant dose to correct the overall OPD in the substrate 101. Method 700 begins at activity 702 where the OPD of substrate 101 is measured using conventional substrate bow measurement techniques. Conventional measurement techniques can be performed using a WaferSight™ tool from KLA of Milpitas, California, a metrology system from MTI Instruments of Albany, New York, or other similar substrate bow measurement tools. At activity 704, a system controller (not shown) within one or more distortion-correcting structure processing tools determines a desired amount of correction required for one or more portions of the distortion-correcting structure 802 to be formed on the backside surface of the substrate 101. The determined amount of correction required is based on the information collected during activity 702. In activity 706, an as-deposited distortion correction layer 801 is formed on the backside surface of the substrate 101. The process of forming the as-deposited distortion correction layer 801 can include depositing a dielectric-containing layer on the backside surface 103 using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, or other useful deposition processes. The thickness T of the as-deposited distortion correction layer 801 is selected using the previous activities. DCL , so that it is less than the thickness required to fully compensate for the overall OPD of the substrate 101, and also has a thickness that will ensure that the distortion correction structure 802 will not cause problems in any subsequent manufacturing process, such as a process that requires the use of an electrostatic chuck. In one example, the freshly deposited distortion correction layer 801 may include silicon nitride (SiN) formed by a CVD process. 3N 4). In some embodiments, the system controller determines the desired thickness T of the deposited distortion correction layer 801 based on the data collected during activity 702. DCL Thickness T DCL The thickness T of the as-deposited distortion correction layer 801 may be selected based on the profile of the implant dose to be provided during activity 708 and, therefore, adjusted based on the implant dose parameters used during activity 708. DCL In some cases, it is desirable to set the thickness of the as-deposited distortion correction layer 801 to be thick enough to ensure that the implanted atoms provided during the implantation process performed during activity 708 do not cause the implanted atoms to be implanted into the back side of the substrate 101. In some non-limiting examples, the as-deposited distortion correction layer 801 is silicon nitride (Si x N y ) film layer, which has a thickness T DCL Less than 4,000 Å, such as less than 2,000 Å, or between 1,000 Å and 2,000 Å. As described above, in embodiments where method 700 is performed before method 400 , the process performed in activity 406 is unnecessary because the distortion correction layer 201 is already formed during activity 706 of method 700 , replacing the just-deposited distortion correction layer 201 . At activity 708, the as-deposited distortion-correcting layer 801 is exposed to a uniform dose of implanted atoms such that the modified as-deposited distortion-correcting layer 801 (herein referred to as distortion-correcting layer 803) corrects the overall OPD. According to some non-limiting embodiments, suitable implanted ions provided from an ion beam can include any ion species capable of inducing a stress change after implantation at a suitable ion energy, including ions such as phosphorus, boron, argon, nitrogen, krypton, indium, and boron difluoride, with the ion energy being tailored to the exact ion species used. The dose of implanted ions is applied to the as-deposited distortion-correcting layer 801 using an ion implantation energy source to correct the overall OPD and thereby reduce or minimize in-plane distortion (IPD) that affects device fabrication and other device patterning processes. Non-limiting examples of ion implantation energy sources include an ion beam that can be scanned relative to the backside surface 103 of the substrate 101. In various embodiments, the ion implantation energy source can transfer the dose into the substrate in connection with a uniform direct write process. In this context, a "direct write" process, including a direct write implantation process, may refer to a process that employs relative motion of an ion beam or other beam for producing a uniform dose across the surface of the substrate. In some embodiments, a direct write process using an ion implantation energy source may involve exposure to electrons, such as an electron beam, or photons, such as a laser beam, which may be used to globally adjust the stress in the as-deposited distortion correction layer 801 to adjust the curvature of the substrate, thereby adjusting the OPD of the substrate. In some embodiments, the system controller determines the desired implantation process parameters, such as ion energy (keV), dose (atoms / cm2), and / or even atomic species, based on the data collected during activity 702 and the thickness of the as-deposited distortion correction layer 801. In some embodiments, method 700 is completed after performing activity 708, such that the substrate 101 may then be transferred to one or more subsequent processing steps, such as the processes performed during method 400. In one non-limiting example, the implantation process includes implanting argon (Ar) ions at a constant energy (e.g., 65 keV) into silicon nitride (Si x N y ) was deposited with a distortion correction layer having a thickness of approximately 1,300 Å and a 1 × 10 13 to 1 × 10 14 In another non-limiting example, the implantation process includes implanting Ar ions at a constant energy (e.g., 70 keV) into a silicon nitride (SiN) layer having a thickness of approximately 2,000 Å. x N y) in a freshly deposited distortion correction layer to correct for an overall OPD of approximately 300µm. In one embodiment of active 708 , as the incoming overall substrate curvature increases, higher implant dopant doses and / or larger implant species are used to correct the curvature, while typically adjusting the implant energy to ensure the total dose remains within the as-deposited distortion-correcting layer 801 . After performing the steps within method 700 , activity 402 of method 400 may then be performed. While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope of the same is to be determined by the claims hereinafter. 101: Substrate 102: Component side surface 103: Backside surface 201: Distortion correction layer 202: Distortion correction structure 203: Distortion correction layer 400: Method 402: Activity 404: Activity 406: Activity 408: Activity 450: Method 452: Activity 454: Activity 456: Activity 458: Activity 700: Method 702: Activity 704: Activity 706: Activity 708: Activity 801: Distortion correction layer OPD: Out-of-plane distortion T DCL :thickness This patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee. In order to understand in detail the manner in which the above-described features of the present disclosure can be understood, a more particular description of the present disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the drawings illustrate only exemplary embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, as other equally effective embodiments may be admitted. FIG. 1A shows a substrate including global out-of-plane distortion. FIG. 1B shows an example substrate including more complex out-of-plane distortion. FIG. 2 shows a substrate with more complex out-of-plane distortion after a distortion correction layer is added to the back surface of the substrate. FIG. 3 illustrates the substrate shown in FIG. 2 after a distortion correction process has been performed thereon according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 4A illustrates a method 400 of forming a distortion correction structure according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 4B illustrates a method 450 for determining an implant profile for use with method 400 to form a distortion-correcting structure, according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 5A shows out-of-plane distortion (OPD) data for an exemplary substrate. FIG. 5B shows power spectral density (PSD) data corresponding to the OPD data shown in FIG. 5A . FIG. 5C is a three-dimensional (3D) representation of a Gaussian ion beam that may be used in one or more methods described herein, according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 5D illustrates a resampled Gaussian ion beam profile (“blur kernel”) generated based on the 3D shape of the Gaussian ion beam profile shown in FIG. 5C , according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 5E illustrates a Fourier transformed resampled Gaussian ion beam profile generated based on the resampled Gaussian ion beam profile shown in FIG. 5D , according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 5F illustrates an inverse Gaussian filter generated based on the Fourier transformed resampled Gaussian beam profile shown in FIG. 5E according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 5G illustrates curvature data of an exemplary substrate formed by applying one or more methods described herein to the OPD data shown in FIG. 5A , according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 5H shows PSD data corresponding to the curvature data shown in FIG. 5G . FIG. 51 shows an empirically generated dose sensitivity curve for a 600 mm wavelength used in one or more methods described herein, according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 6A illustrates corrected curvature data of an exemplary substrate formed by applying one or more methods described herein to the OPD data shown in FIG. 5A , according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 6B shows PSD data corresponding to the corrected curvature data shown in FIG. 6A . FIG. 6C illustrates corrected curvature data of an exemplary substrate formed by applying one or more methods described herein to the OPD data shown in FIG. 5A , according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 6D shows PSD data corresponding to the corrected curvature data shown in FIG. 6C . FIG. 6E illustrates corrected curvature data for an exemplary substrate formed by applying one or more methods described herein to the OPD data shown in FIG. 5A , according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 6F shows the PSD data corresponding to the corrected curvature data shown in FIG. 6E . FIG. 7 illustrates a method 700 of forming a distortion correction structure for altering overall substrate curvature prior to performing the method shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B , according to one or more embodiments described herein. FIG. 8 illustrates a portion of a distortion correction structure formation process performed on the substrate shown in FIG. 7 according to one or more embodiments described herein. To facilitate understanding, like reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate like elements in the drawings. It is contemplated that elements and features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments without further recitation. Domestic deposit information (please note in the order of deposit organization, date, and number) None Foreign deposit information (please note in the order of deposit country, organization, date, and number) None

Claims

1. A method for altering the shape of a substrate, comprising the steps of: generating an ion beam profile based on a measurement shape of an ion beam; resampling the ion beam profile to generate a blur kernel by adjusting a resolution of the ion beam profile to match a resolution of out-of-plane distortion (OPD) data measured on the substrate; calculating curvature data based on the OPD data; filtering the curvature data by applying the blur kernel to the curvature data; resampling the Fourier-transformed ion beam profile by performing a Fourier transform on the ion beam profile and matching a resolution of the Fourier-transformed ion beam profile to a resolution of the curvature data to generate an inverse filter; applying the inverse filter to the filtered curvature data to generate corrected curvature data; and calculating an implantation dose map based on an empirically generated dose sensitivity curve and the corrected curvature data.

2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein the ion beam profile includes a Gaussian ion beam profile.

3. The method as described in claim 2, wherein the step of filtering the curvature data includes the following step: using the filtering process as a low-pass filter.

4. The method as described in claim 1, further comprising the step of: delivering a varying amount of an implantation dopant to a back surface of the substrate based on the calculated implantation dose map.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, further comprising the step of depositing a dielectric layer on the back surface of the substrate before delivering the varying amount of implanted dopant to the back surface of the substrate.

6. The method as described in claim 5, wherein the dielectric layer comprises silicon nitride having a thickness of less than 4,000 Å.

7. The method as described in claim 6, wherein the implanted dopant comprises phosphorus, boron, argon, nitrogen, krypton, indium, or boron difluoride.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the implantation dose map includes an implantation dose profile specifying an ion energy and an ion dose to be applied to at least two or more regions on a back surface of the substrate.

9. A method for altering the deformable shape of a substrate, comprising the steps of: receiving out-of-plane distortion (OPD) data of a back surface of the substrate; calculating an implantation dose profile delivered to the back surface of the substrate, comprising the steps of: generating an ion beam profile based on a measurement shape of an ion beam; resampling the ion beam profile to generate a blur kernel by adjusting a resolution of the ion beam profile to match a resolution of the out-of-plane distortion (OPD) data measured on the substrate; calculating curvature data based on the OPD data; filtering the curvature data by applying the blur kernel to the curvature data; resampling the Fourier-transformed ion beam profile by performing a Fourier transform on the ion beam profile and by matching a resolution of the Fourier-transformed ion beam profile to a resolution of the curvature data to generate an inverse filter; applying the inverse filter to the filtered curvature data to generate corrected curvature data; and calculating an implantation dose profile based on an empirically generated dose sensitivity curve and the corrected curvature data. A distortion correction layer is deposited on the back surface of the substrate; and an ion beam having the calculated implantation dose profile is applied to the distortion correction layer.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the distortion correction layer includes a first material having a compressive or tensile stress when freshly deposited on the back surface of the substrate and having a thickness.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the step of applying the ion beam includes the following steps: implanting a dopant species on the surface of the first material deposited on the back side surface of the substrate by exposing a surface of the first material to the ion beam, the ion beam having a calculated implantation dose profile scanned on the surface of the first material.

12. The method as described in claim 11, wherein the calculated implantation dose profile includes at least one of ion energy and the dose of the plasma.

13. The method as described in claim 11, wherein the dopant is argon (Ar) or phosphorus (P).

14. The method of claim 11, wherein a front surface of the substrate includes a plurality of semiconductor element layers configured to form at least a portion of a 3D memory element.

15. The method of claim 9 further includes the steps of: receiving overall substrate bending measurement information, the overall substrate bending measurement information including overall out-of-plane distortion information formed in the substrate, the substrate including a plurality of semiconductor element layers formed on a front surface of the substrate; and determining at least one overall distortion correction parameter for a distortion correction structure formed on the back surface of the substrate.

16. A substrate containing semiconductor elements, comprising: A plurality of semiconductor element layers are formed on a front surface of a substrate, wherein the semiconductor element layers include at least one layer, the at least one layer including a compressive or tensile stress that generates a deformation shape in the substrate, the deformation shape including a varying amplitude at each of a plurality of frequencies. A distortion correction structure is formed on a back surface of the substrate and includes a distortion correction layer comprising: a first material disposed on the back surface and having a thickness; and an implanted dopant species unevenly distributed on the back surface of the first material, the first material being disposed on the back surface of the substrate, wherein: a dose of the implanted dopant species is uneven; the combination of the first material and the implanted dopant species added to the first material is configured to correct the deformed shape formed in the substrate; and the uneven dose of the implanted dopant species is defined by an implanted dose profile calculated based on an empirically generated dose sensitivity curve and a corrected curvature data generated using an inverse filter.

17. The substrate containing semiconductor elements as described in claim 16, wherein a plurality of semiconductor element layers are configured to form at least a portion of a 3D memory element.

18. The substrate containing semiconductor elements as claimed in claim 16, wherein the implanted dose profile is determined by: generating an ion beam profile based on a measurement shape of an ion beam; resampling the ion beam profile by adjusting a resolution of the ion beam profile to match a resolution of out-of-plane distortion (OPD) data measured on the substrate to generate a blur kernel; calculating curvature data from the OPD data; filtering the curvature data by applying the blur kernel to the curvature data; generating the inverse filter by performing a Fourier transform on the ion beam profile and resampling the Fourier-transformed ion beam profile by matching a resolution of the Fourier-transformed ion beam profile to a resolution of the curvature data; applying the inverse filter to the filtered curvature data to generate the corrected curvature data; and calculating the implanted dose profile based on the empirically generated dose sensitivity curve and the corrected curvature data.

19. The substrate containing a semiconductor element as described in claim 18, wherein the first material comprises silicon nitride having a thickness of less than 4,000 Å.

Images