Flowable Gap Fill With Plasma-Tuned Air-Gap Formation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In semiconductor manufacturing, high aspect ratio gaps in semiconductor devices pose challenges in filling gaps without voids and reducing signal transmission delays due to increased resistance and capacitance, necessitating the use of insulating materials with low dielectric constants like air-gaps.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing method involving flowable chemical vapor deposition and plasma treatment is used to form and adjust the position and size of air-gaps within gaps by controlling the flowability of flowable films through varying RF power and plasma treatment conditions, ensuring complete filling without voids and optimizing signal transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional gap-fill process is used to fill high aspect ratio gaps, then the gap can be filled with insulating material, but voids form inside the gap due to difficulty in filling high aspect ratio structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical and chemical parameters of the deposition process by implementing multiple deposition steps with varying conditions (temperature, pressure, gas flow rates, RF power) to enable complete filling of high aspect ratio gaps without void formation. The flowable film's properties are dynamically adjusted through plasma treatment and annealing steps to achieve proper flow and filling behavior.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic deposition and plasma treatment cycles to progressively fill the gap. Multiple deposition steps are interspersed with plasma treatment steps that modify the film's flowability, creating a rhythmic process that ensures complete filling while preventing void formation through controlled material deposition and reactivation.
2Reliability
If conventional deposition is used to fill gaps, then insulating material is deposited, but signal transmission delay increases due to high resistance and capacitance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates an air-gap structure within the gap region, providing localized low dielectric constant properties where needed for signal transmission, while maintaining insulating material in other regions for electrical insulation. This spatial differentiation of material properties optimizes both insulation performance and signal transmission speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent forms a composite structure combining flowable film material and air-gap regions within the gap structure. This composite approach leverages the insulating properties of the deposited material while utilizing the air-gap's low dielectric constant to reduce capacitance and improve signal transmission, achieving a balance between insulation and speed requirements.
3Loss of time
If air-gap is formed to reduce dielectric constant, then signal transmission speed improves, but the complexity of the deposition process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the gap-fill process into multiple discrete deposition steps and plasma treatment steps, each with specific parameters. This segmentation allows precise control over film formation and air-gap creation, managing process complexity through structured, repeatable cycles rather than a single complex step.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains continuous process action through alternating deposition and plasma treatment steps without interruption. The flowable film is continuously deposited and reactivated in a seamless cycle, ensuring continuous material progression toward complete gap filling while maintaining control over air-gap formation, thereby managing complexity through uninterrupted process flow.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method effectively forms air-gaps with low dielectric constants, reducing signal transmission delays and maintaining insulating properties, thereby enhancing semiconductor device performance.
Implementation Method 1
performing a first plasma treatment step to the flowable film so that a flowability of the flowable film in an upper region of the gap is different from the flowability of the flowable film in a lower region of the gap
Implementation Method 2
performing a first deposition step of depositing a flowable film in the gap of the substrate while supplying a precursor and a reactant gas to the reaction space
Data Source
AI summary
A method of processing a substrate is disclosed, the method including: providing the substrate where a gap is formed on a surface thereof to a reaction space, performing a deposition step of depositing a flowable film in the gap of the substrate while supplying a precursor and a reactant gas to the reaction space, performing a plasma treatment step to the flowable film so that the flowability of the flowable film in an upper region of the gap decreases compared to a lower region of the gap, and repeating the deposition step of depositing the flowable film and the plasma treatment step to the flowable film, to form an air-gap within the gap.