Substrate processing method

Abstract

A substrate processing method according to an aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of: preparing a substrate in which an oxide film and a nitride film are at least partially exposed; passivating the surface of the substrate so that more passivation elements are contained in the oxide film than in the nitride film; and selectively forming an oxide layer on the nitride film by performing a cycle of atomic layer deposition at least once.

Description

Substrate processing method

[0001] The present invention relates to semiconductor manufacturing, and more particularly, to a substrate processing device and a substrate processing method for etching an insulating film on a substrate.

[0002] To manufacture semiconductor devices, various processes are performed in various substrate processing equipment. For example, a substrate may be loaded into a vacuum process chamber and a thin film may be deposited or etched on the substrate. Another example is a process in which a chemical solution is supplied to the substrate in a wet atmosphere to clean or etch the substrate.

[0003] Meanwhile, when one or more thin film patterns are formed on a substrate, multiple thin films may be exposed on the substrate. For example, insulating films such as oxide films and nitride films may be exposed on the substrate. Subsequently, a process may be required to selectively etch one of these insulating films or to additionally grow an insulating film only on one of the insulating films.

[0004] <Prior Art Literature>

[0005] <Patent Document>

[0006] (Patent Document 1) Patent Publication No. 10-2023-0078514

[0007] The present invention aims to solve various problems, including the aforementioned ones, and provides a substrate processing method for selectively forming an oxide layer on a nitride film during the manufacture of highly integrated devices. However, these tasks are exemplary and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereby.

[0008] A substrate processing method according to one aspect of the present invention for solving the above problem comprises the steps of preparing a substrate in which an oxide film and a nitride film are at least partially exposed, the step of passivating the surface of the substrate so that the oxide film contains a greater amount of a passivation element than the nitride film, and the step of selectively forming an oxide layer on the nitride film by performing a cycle by atomic layer deposition at least once.

[0009] In the above substrate processing method, the passivation processing step and the oxide layer forming step can be sequentially repeated multiple times until the thickness of the oxide layer reaches a target value.

[0010] In the above substrate processing method, the passivation element includes fluorine or chlorine, and in the step of forming the oxide layer, the passivation element in the oxide film prevents the formation of the oxide layer on the oxide film, so that the oxide layer can be selectively formed on the nitride film.

[0011] In the above substrate processing method, the substrate is processed in a process chamber, and the passivation processing step can be performed by supplying a passivation gas into the process chamber.

[0012] In the above substrate processing method, the passivation processing step includes a step of supplying at least one of a fluorine-containing gas and a hydrogen-containing gas to a remote plasma reactor outside the process chamber, and the passivation gas may include radicals activated within the remote plasma reactor.

[0013] In the above substrate processing method, the passivation processing step includes a step of supplying hydrogen-containing gas to the process chamber while supplying at least fluorine-containing gas to a remote plasma reactor outside the process chamber, and the passivation gas may include the radicals, the hydrogen-containing gas, and reactants thereof.

[0014] In the above substrate processing method, the passivation processing step includes a step of supplying hydrogen-containing gas and oxygen-containing gas to the process chamber while supplying at least fluorine-containing gas to a remote plasma reactor outside the process chamber, and the passivation gas may include the radicals, the hydrogen-containing gas, the oxygen-containing gas, and reactants thereof.

[0015] In the above substrate processing method, the fluorine-containing gas may include NF3 gas, and the radical may include a fluorine radical.

[0016] In the above substrate processing method, the fluorine-containing gas may include NF3 gas, the hydrogen-containing gas may include NH3 gas, the radical may include fluorine radicals, and the reactant may include ammonium fluoride.

[0017] In the above substrate processing method, a surface cleaning step may be included before performing the passivation treatment step after the step of forming the oxide layer.

[0018] In the above substrate processing method, in the passivation processing step, the temperature of the substrate is 50 to 300 o It can be maintained in the C range.

[0019] In the above substrate processing method, in the passivation processing step, the temperature of the substrate is 100 to 200 o It can be maintained in the C range.

[0020] In the above substrate processing method, the temperature of the substrate in the passivation processing step can be maintained lower than the temperature of the substrate in the oxide layer forming step.

[0021] According to the substrate processing method according to some embodiments of the present invention, which is performed as described above, an oxide layer can be selectively formed on the nitride film by performing a passivation treatment in advance. Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited by such effects.

[0022] Figure 1 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] FIGS. 3 to 5 are schematic cross-sectional views of a substrate showing a substrate processing method according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0025] FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematic cross-sectional views of a substrate showing a substrate processing method according to some other embodiments of the present invention.

[0026] Figures 8a and 8b are graphs showing the fluorine content in thin films according to the pretreatment steps of the substrate.

[0027] FIG. 9 is a graph showing the change in thickness of an oxide layer on thin films within a substrate according to the number of cycles of an oxide layer formation step in a substrate processing method according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0028] FIG. 10 is a TEM cross-sectional photograph showing the change in thickness of an oxide layer on thin films in a substrate before and after forming an oxide layer according to embodiments of the present invention, and photographs showing the composition distribution.

[0029] FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a substrate processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Hereinafter, various preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0031] The embodiments of the present invention are provided to more fully explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. The following embodiments may be modified in various ways, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Rather, these embodiments are provided to more faithfully and completely explain the present disclosure and to fully convey the spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art. In addition, the thickness and size of each layer in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience and clarity of explanation.

[0032] FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing method according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 to 7 are schematic cross-sectional views of a substrate showing a substrate processing method according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0033] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3 to 7, a substrate processing method according to one embodiment of the present invention may include a step of preparing a substrate (S) (S10), a step of passivating a surface of the substrate (S) (S20), and a step of selectively forming an oxide layer (58) on a nitride film (54) (S30).

[0034] For example, in step (S10), the substrate (S) includes a semiconductor wafer (52), and a semiconductor element may be formed on the semiconductor wafer (52). The semiconductor wafer (52) may include a single crystal structure of a semiconductor material, such as silicon, germanium, silicon-germanium, etc., and may further include a semiconductor epitaxial layer, etc.

[0035] In some embodiments, the nitride film (54) and the oxide film (56) may be at least partially exposed on the substrate (S). For example, the semiconductor wafer (52) may include silicon, the oxide film (56) may include a silicon oxide film, and the nitride film (54) may include a silicon nitride film.

[0036] For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the substrate (S) may include a nitride film (54) and an oxide film (56) formed in a pattern on a semiconductor wafer (52). The pattern of the nitride film (54) and the oxide film (56) may have various shapes on the semiconductor wafer (52).

[0037] As another example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the substrate (S) may include nitride films (54) and oxide films (56) laminated on a semiconductor wafer (52). The nitride films (54) and oxide films (56) may be exposed by at least one trench (57). Sidewalls of the nitride films (54) and oxide films (56) may be exposed on the substrate (S) by the trench (57).

[0038] Meanwhile, the passivation treatment step (S20) can treat the surface of the substrate (S) so that the oxide film (56) contains a greater amount of the passivation element than the nitride film (54). The passivation element is called a pretreatment element in that it is performed before the formation of the oxide layer (58), and the passivation treatment step (S20) can also be called a pretreatment step.

[0039] For example, the passivating element may include an element with a high electronegativity, such as an element with an electronegativity of 3 or higher. Typically, the passivating element may include fluorine (F) or chlorine (Cl). Since fluorine or chlorine has a high affinity for oxygen, such a passivating element may prevent oxygen from being adsorbed on a portion of the substrate (S) in the subsequent step (S30) of forming an oxide layer (58), thereby preventing the formation of an oxide layer (58).

[0040] For example, when the passivation element includes fluorine (F), as illustrated in FIG. 4, a large amount of fluorine may be included on the surface of the oxide film (56). When the substrate (S) is passivated, the nitride film (54) and the oxide film (56) are treated together, but after the treatment, a large amount of fluorine may remain on the surface of the oxide film (56) than on the nitride film (54). Initially, the amount of fluorine adsorbed in the nitride film (54) is greater than that in the oxide film (56), but the fluorine in the nitride film (54) is removed more quickly, so that ultimately, more fluorine remains on the surface of the oxide film (56). This may be due to the higher electronegativity of FO than that of FN, resulting in a stronger bonding of FO. The fluorine remaining on the surface of the oxide film (56) may delay or prevent the subsequent formation of an oxide layer (58) on the oxide film (56). Alternatively, it may be understood that the nitride film (54) reacts more actively with the source gas or precursor because there are more dangling bonds on the surface of the nitride film (54) than the oxide film (56), so that fluorine (F) is quickly removed within the nitride film (54).

[0041] Figures 8a and 8b are graphs showing changes in the fluorine peak ratio after pretreatment with NF3 gas, after H2 plasma treatment, and after H2 annealing.

[0042] As shown in Fig. 8a, it can be seen that the fluorine peak is high on the surface of the nitride film (54), for example, the SiN film, after pre-cleaning, but is greatly reduced (72% reduction) after H2 plasma treatment and hydrogen annealing.

[0043] As shown in Fig. 8b, the fluorine peak is high on the surface of the oxide film (56), for example, the SiO2 film, after pre-cleaning, and it is shown that more than 50% remains on the surface even after H2 plasma treatment and hydrogen annealing.

[0044] From the results of FIGS. 8a and 8b, it can be seen that in step (S20), when passivation treatment is performed using a gas containing fluorine, more fluorine is contained on the surface of the nitride film (54) than on the oxide film (56).

[0045] Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 5 or FIG. 7, in the step (S30) of forming an oxide layer (58), an oxide layer (58) may be selectively formed on the nitride film (54). In FIG. 5, an oxide layer (58) may be formed on the upper surface of the nitride film (54), and in FIG. 7, an oxide layer (58) may be formed on the side wall of the nitride film (54). In the step of forming this oxide layer (58), a passivation element in the oxide film (56) may prevent the formation of the oxide layer (58) on the oxide film (56), so that the oxide layer (58) may be selectively formed on the nitride film (54).

[0046] In some embodiments, the step (S30) of forming the oxide layer (58) may be performed by performing at least one cycle of atomic layer deposition (ALD). For example, a cycle of atomic layer deposition for forming the oxide layer (58) may include a step of providing a source gas onto the substrate (S), a step of supplying a purge gas onto the substrate (S), a step of providing a reaction gas onto the substrate (S), and a step of supplying a purge gas onto the substrate (S). The oxide layer (58) may be formed to a desired thickness by repeating this cycle multiple times.

[0047] For example, when performing a cycle by atomic layer deposition, the source gas may include a silane gas containing silicon, such as diisoprophylamino silane (DIPAS) gas, the reaction gas may include a gas containing oxygen, such as O3 gas, and the purge gas may include an inert gas, such as Ar or N2 gas. When performing atomic layer deposition to form an oxide layer (58), the substrate (S) is heated to about 150 to 500 oC temperature range, and in some embodiments about 150 to 250 o C can be maintained at a temperature range. In this case, the oxide layer (58) may include silicon oxide. For example, if both the oxide film (56) and the oxide layer (58) are formed of silicon oxide, they may not be distinguished from each other.

[0048] As shown in Fig. 9, when the cycle by atomic layer deposition after the passivation (pretreatment) treatment is repeated 15 times, it can be seen that the oxide layer (58) is hardly grown on the oxide film (56), e.g., SiO2, until the 60th cycle, but the oxide layer (58) is continuously grown on the nitride film (54), e.g., SiN.

[0049] As illustrated in Fig. 10, when the cycle by atomic layer deposition is performed up to 200 cycles, it can be seen that the oxide layer (58), e.g., the SiO2 layer, grows to about 23 nm on the nitride film (54), e.g., the SiN film, whereas the SiO2 layer grows to about 7 nm on the oxide film (56), e.g., the SiO2 film. From this, it can be seen that after the passivation treatment step (S20), when the cycle is repeated for a long time, the oxide layer (58) grows on the nitride film (54) more than three times faster than the oxide film (56).

[0050] From the above-described results, it can be seen that after the passivation treatment step (S20), the oxide layer (58) is hardly formed on the oxide film (56) for a certain number of cycles, and then grows slowly when a certain number of cycles are repeated. On the other hand, it can be seen that the oxide layer (58) grows more rapidly on the nitride film (54) as the cycles are repeated.

[0051] Therefore, according to the substrate processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, after the passivation processing step (S20), it is possible to selectively grow an oxide layer (58) on a nitride film (54) while ensuring that the oxide layer (58) is hardly grown on the oxide film (56) to a certain thickness. Therefore, this substrate processing method may also be called an area selective deposition (ASD) method.

[0052] Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing method according to another embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing method according to this embodiment utilizes the substrate processing method of Fig. 1, and therefore, any duplicate descriptions in the two embodiments are omitted.

[0053] Referring to FIG. 2, the substrate processing method may sequentially repeat a plurality of times a step (S10) of preparing a substrate (S), a step (S20) of passivating the substrate (S), and a step (S30) of selectively forming an oxide layer (58) on a nitride film (54). For example, the repetition of steps (S20, S30) may be performed until the thickness of the oxide layer (58) reaches a target value. More specifically, a step (S40) of determining whether the oxide layer (58) has reached a target thickness may follow the step (S30) of forming the oxide layer (58).

[0054] If it is determined that the target thickness has been reached (Yes) at this step (S40), substrate processing may be terminated. Conversely, if it is determined that the target thickness has not been reached (No), the process may return to the step (S20) of passivating the substrate (S). Accordingly, steps (S20, S30) may be repeated until the oxide layer (58) reaches the target thickness.

[0055] For example, the step of forming an oxide layer (58) can be performed so that the thickness of the oxide layer (58) is 10 to 12 A. Thereafter, before repeating the step of forming the oxide layer (58), a step (S20) of passivating the substrate (S) can be added. Accordingly, the formation of an oxide layer (58) on the oxide film (56) can be continuously prevented.

[0056] In some embodiments, the substrate processing method may optionally include a step (S50) of cleaning the surface of the substrate (S) before returning to the step (S20) of passivating the substrate (S) after the step (S30) of forming the oxide layer (58). Accordingly, the surface of the oxide film (56) may be cleaned before the step (S20) of passivating the substrate (S). For example, this cleaning step (S50) may be performed using an etching gas, such as NF3 gas, to partially etch the surface of the substrate (S).

[0057] Below, a substrate processing device (100) used in the aforementioned substrate processing method is described as an example.

[0058] FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a substrate processing device (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0059] Referring to FIG. 11, the substrate processing device (100) may include a process chamber (110), a gas injection unit (120), a substrate support unit (130), and a remote plasma reactor (150).

[0060] More specifically, a reaction space (112) in which a substrate (S) can be processed may be formed in the process chamber (110). The process chamber (110) may be connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) through an exhaust pipe (114) so ​​as to form a vacuum atmosphere. Furthermore, the process chamber (110) may include an entrance for loading the substrate (S) into or unloading the reaction space (112) and a gate structure (not shown) for opening and closing the entrance. The process chamber (110) may be provided in various shapes, and may include, for example, a side wall portion defining the reaction space (112) and a cover portion located on an upper portion of the side wall portion, such as a top lid.

[0061] The gas injection unit (120) may be coupled to the process chamber (110) to supply process gas supplied from the outside of the process chamber (110) to the reaction space (112). More specifically, the gas injection unit (120) may be coupled to the process chamber (110) so as to face the substrate support unit (130). For example, the gas injection unit (120) may be installed at the top of the process chamber (110) to inject process gas onto a substrate (S) mounted on the substrate support unit (130).

[0062] In some embodiments, the gas injection unit (120) may include an inlet (122) through which a process gas is introduced, and a distribution plate (124) for injecting the process gas introduced through the inlet (122) and dispersed within the inlet into the reaction space (112). Furthermore, the gas injection unit (120) may further include a blocker plate for distributing the process gas passing through the inlet (122). For example, a connecting pipe (152) connecting the remote plasma reactor (150) and the gas injection unit (120) may be installed in the inlet (122), and the process gas may be supplied into the gas injection unit (120) through one side of the connecting pipe (152).

[0063] In some embodiments, the gas injection unit (120) may have various shapes, such as a shower head shape, a nozzle shape, etc. When the gas injection unit (120) is a shower head shape, the gas injection unit (120) may be coupled to the process chamber (110) in a shape that partially covers the upper portion of the process chamber (110). For example, the gas injection unit (120) may be coupled to the cover or top lid of the process chamber (110).

[0064] The substrate support (130) may be coupled to the process chamber (110) to support the substrate (S) within the processing space (112). For example, the substrate support (130) may be installed in the process chamber (110) facing the gas injection unit (120). Furthermore, the substrate support (130) may be provided with a heater (182) for heating the substrate (S). For example, the heater (182) may be provided within the substrate support (130).

[0065] The shape of the upper plate of the substrate support member (130) generally corresponds to the shape of the substrate (S), but is not limited thereto, and may be provided in various shapes larger than the substrate (S) so as to stably place the substrate (S). In one example, the shaft of the substrate support member (130) may be connected to an external motor (not shown) so as to be able to rise and fall, and in this case, a bellows tube (not shown) may be connected to maintain airtightness. Furthermore, since the substrate support member (130) is configured to place the substrate (S) thereon, it may also be called a substrate placer, a susceptor, etc.

[0066] The plasma power supply (140) may be connected to the process chamber (110) to supply RF (radio frequency) power for forming a plasma atmosphere in the reaction space (112) inside the process chamber (110). For example, the plasma power supply (140) may be connected to the gas injection unit (120), in which case the gas injection unit (120) may be referred to as a power supply electrode or an upper electrode. For example, the plasma power supply (140) may include a high frequency (HF) power source and / or a low frequency (LF) power source.

[0067] A remote plasma reactor (150) may be placed outside the process chamber (110) so as to be connected to the gas injection unit (120). The remote plasma reactor (150) may be connected to the gas injection unit (120) through a connection pipe (152). Furthermore, process gas may be introduced into the remote plasma reactor (150) through an inlet pipe (154). The remote plasma reactor (150) may also be referred to as a remote plasma generator.

[0068] Furthermore, a plasma power supply (140) for applying power may be connected to the remote plasma reactor (150). For example, the plasma power supply (140) may include at least one radio frequency (RF) power supply for applying at least one RF power to the process chamber (110). The remote plasma reactor (150) may form a plasma atmosphere using an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) method, a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) method, a toroidal plasma method, a microwave (MW) method, or the like.

[0069] The remote plasma reactor (150) can be supplied with at least one process gas through an inlet pipe (154), and can generate radicals by activating the process gas and generating radicals by applying plasma power to form a plasma atmosphere inside. For example, these radicals can be supplied to the gas injection unit (120) through a connection pipe (152) and injected onto the substrate (S) through the gas injection unit (120). Optionally, the connection pipe (152) can be heated to prevent the generation or adsorption of byproducts. For example, the connection pipe (152) can be wrapped with a heater jacket.

[0070] In some embodiments, the gas injection unit (120) may be supplied with additional process gas through a side pipe (153) connected to the middle of the connecting pipe (152) rather than through the remote plasma reactor (150). The process gas supplied through the side pipe (153) and the process gas or radicals supplied through the remote plasma reactor (150) may be mixed or react with each other in the connecting pipe (152) to produce reactants.

[0071] Below, a substrate processing method using a substrate processing device (100) is described.

[0072] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7 and 11 together, the substrate (S) can be processed within the process chamber (110). For example, the substrate (S) can be processed while being seated on a substrate support (130) within the process chamber (110).

[0073] More specifically, a step of introducing a substrate (S) into a process chamber (110) and placing it on a substrate support (130) may be performed. Subsequently, a step (S20) of passivating the substrate (S) within the process chamber (110) and a step (S30) of forming an oxide layer (58) on a nitride film (54) by performing a cycle using atomic layer deposition may follow.

[0074] The step (S20) of passivating the substrate (S) can be performed by supplying a passivation gas into the process chamber (110). For example, the passivation gas can be supplied to the substrate (S) by injecting it into the reaction space (112) within the process chamber (110) through a gas injection unit (120).

[0075] In some embodiments, the passivation treatment step (S20) may include supplying a first gas (G1), for example, at least a fluorine-containing gas, to a remote plasma reactor (150) outside the process chamber (110). The passivation gas may include radicals activated within the remote plasma reactor (150). For example, the fluorine-containing gas may include NF3 gas, and the radicals may include fluorine radicals. Optionally, the first gas (G1) may further include an inert gas, such as Ar gas, in addition to the NF3 gas.

[0076] In the step (S20) of passivating the substrate (S) as above, the temperature of the substrate (S) is 30 to 300 o C range. For example, the temperature of the substrate (S) can be controlled by adjusting the temperature of the substrate support (130) using a heater (182). The temperature of the substrate (S) is 30 o If the temperature is maintained below C, the content of fluorine contained in the oxide film (56) may be insufficient, and accordingly, an oxide layer (58) may be formed not only on the nitride film (54) but also on the oxide film (56). Maintaining the temperature of the substrate (S) too high may cause difficulties due to a large temperature difference with the subsequent atomic layer deposition step.

[0077] In some embodiments, the passivation treatment step (S20) may include a step of supplying a first gas (G1), for example, at least a fluorine-containing gas, to a remote plasma reactor (150) outside the process chamber (110), while supplying a second gas (G2), for example, a hydrogen-containing gas, to the process chamber (110). For example, the first gas (G1) may be supplied into the remote plasma reactor (150) through an inlet pipe (154), and the second gas (G2) may be supplied to a gas injection unit (120) within the process chamber (110) through a side pipe (153).

[0078] The passivation gas may include radicals activated in the remote plasma reactor (150) and hydrogen-containing gas supplied through the side pipe (153). Furthermore, the passivation gas may include radicals, hydrogen-containing gas, and their reactants. For example, the fluorine-containing gas may include NF3 gas, the hydrogen-containing gas may include NH3 gas, the radicals may include fluorine radicals, and the reactant may include ammonium fluoride (NH3(HF)x).

[0079] In some embodiments, in the step (S20) of passivating the substrate (S), the temperature of the substrate (S) is 100 to 200 o C range. The temperature of the substrate (S) can be maintained at 100 o If the temperature of the substrate (S) is maintained below C, the reaction between fluorine radicals and NH3 gas may be insufficient, so the temperature of the substrate (S) is raised to 100 to form ammonium fluoride as a reactant. o C or higher, more specifically 140 o It can be maintained above C.

[0080] In some embodiments, the temperature of the substrate (S) in the step (S20) of passivating the substrate (S) may be maintained lower than the temperature of the substrate (S) in the step (S30) of forming an oxide layer (58) on the substrate (S). Furthermore, the ratio of the temperature of the substrate (S) in the step (S20) of passivating the substrate (S) to the temperature of the substrate (S) in the step (S30) of forming an oxide layer (58) on the substrate (S) may be in a range of 0.25 or more and less than 1.0.

[0081] In some embodiments, the passivation treatment step (S20) may include supplying a first gas (G1), for example, at least a fluorine-containing gas, to a remote plasma reactor (150) outside the process chamber (110), while supplying a second gas (G2), for example, a hydrogen-containing gas and an oxygen-containing gas, to the process chamber (110).

[0082] The passivation gas may include radicals activated in the remote plasma reactor (150) and hydrogen-containing gas and oxygen-containing gas supplied through the side pipe (153). Furthermore, the passivation gas may include radicals, hydrogen-containing gas, oxygen-containing gas, and reactants thereof. For example, the fluorine-containing gas may include NF3 gas, the hydrogen-containing gas may include NH3 gas, the oxygen-containing gas may include O2 gas, the radicals may include fluorine radicals, and the reactants may include ammonium fluoride (NH3(HF)x), N2H2O2F, NHO2F2, etc.

[0083] According to the substrate processing device (100) described above and the substrate processing method using the same, on a substrate (S) on which a heterogeneous insulating film, for example, a nitride film (54) and an oxide film (56), are formed, an oxide layer (58) can be selectively formed on the nitride film (54).

[0084] While the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, these are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and equivalent alternative embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true scope of technical protection of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A step of preparing a substrate with an oxide film and a nitride film at least partially exposed; A step of passivating the surface of the substrate so that the oxide film contains a greater amount of passivation element than the nitride film; and A step of selectively forming an oxide layer on the nitride film by performing at least one cycle of atomic layer deposition, Method of substrate processing.

2. In paragraph 1, A substrate processing method, wherein the passivation processing step and the oxide layer forming step are sequentially repeated multiple times until the thickness of the oxide layer reaches a target value.

3. In paragraph 1, The above passivating element contains fluorine or chlorine, In the step of forming the oxide layer, the passivation element in the oxide film prevents the formation of the oxide layer on the oxide film, so that the oxide layer is selectively formed on the nitride film. Method of substrate processing.

4. In paragraph 1, The above substrate is processed within a process chamber, The above passivation treatment step is performed by supplying a passivation gas into the process chamber. Method of substrate processing.

5. In paragraph 4, The step of performing the passivation treatment includes the step of supplying at least one of a fluorine-containing gas and a hydrogen-containing gas to a remote plasma reactor outside the process chamber, A method for treating a substrate, wherein the passivation gas comprises radicals activated within the remote plasma reactor.

6. In paragraph 5, The step of performing the passivation treatment includes the step of supplying hydrogen-containing gas to the process chamber while supplying at least fluorine-containing gas to a remote plasma reactor outside the process chamber, A method for processing a substrate, wherein the passivation gas comprises the radical, the hydrogen-containing gas, and a reactant thereof.

7. In paragraph 5, The step of performing the passivation treatment includes the step of supplying hydrogen-containing gas and oxygen-containing gas to the process chamber while supplying at least fluorine-containing gas to a remote plasma reactor outside the process chamber, A method for processing a substrate, wherein the passivation gas comprises the radical, the hydrogen-containing gas, the oxygen-containing gas, and reactants thereof.

8. In paragraph 5, A method for treating a substrate, wherein the fluorine-containing gas comprises NF3 gas, and the radical comprises a fluorine radical.

9. In paragraph 6, The above fluorine-containing gas includes NF3 gas, The above hydrogen-containing gas includes NH3 gas, The above radicals include fluorine radicals, The above reactant comprises ammonium fluoride, Method of substrate processing.

10. In paragraph 2, A substrate processing method, comprising a step of cleaning the surface of the substrate before performing the step of passivation treatment after the step of forming the oxide layer.

11. In paragraph 5, In the above passivation treatment step, the temperature of the substrate is 50 to 300 o A method of substrate processing that is maintained within the C range.

12. In paragraph 6, In the above passivation treatment step, the temperature of the substrate is 100 to 200 o A method of substrate processing that is maintained within the C range.

13. In paragraph 5, A substrate processing method, wherein the temperature of the substrate in the passivation processing step is maintained lower than the temperature of the substrate in the oxide layer forming step.

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