Heated Substrate Plasma Doping for Abrupt Profile Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for thermal assisted plasma processing in atomic layer deposition and etching lack a clear mechanism for controlling surface reactions and solid state chemistry, hindering the adoption of advanced doping techniques for large scale integration fabrication, particularly in achieving precise control over plasma-surface interactions and thermal materials chemistry for substrates like silicon and Group III-V materials.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for controlling substrate doping through a process chamber with controlled plasma doping, where the substrate is heated to manage thermal chemistry, and operating variables are adjusted to achieve specific doping objectives, including deep dose implantation and surface chemistry control, using a combination of ion sources, biased electrodes, and a heater to facilitate diffusion of doping radicals without surface sputtering, followed by an oxidizing clean and annealing process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If high energy ion implantation is used for doping, then dopant incorporation is achieved, but substrate damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the energy parameter of ion implantation from high energy to low energy range, and introduces substrate heating as an additional parameter to compensate for the reduced implantation efficiency, achieving dopant incorporation with minimal substrate damage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines low energy ion implantation with thermal energy (heated substrate) to create a composite doping approach, where the thermal energy assists the low energy ions to achieve adequate dopant incorporation without causing damage
2Object-affected harmful factors
If plasma doping is used for shallow doping, then damage-free doping is achieved, but control over abruptness and transition sharpness is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses substrate temperature as a feedback parameter to control the doping process, where the heated substrate provides real-time thermal assistance that can be adjusted to achieve the desired doping profile abruptness and transition sharpness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic control of substrate temperature during the plasma doping process, allowing the thermal conditions to be adjusted in real-time to achieve precise control over doping profile characteristics
3Productivity
If thermal assisted plasma processing is used, then surface reactions are enhanced, but mechanism control is unclear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the unclear thermal assisted plasma mechanism with a controlled low energy ion implantation process supplemented by known thermal diffusion principles, making the reaction mechanism more predictable and controllable
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
This approach enables precise control over doping profiles, achieving shallow high-dose damage-free doping for silicon and deep high-dose profiles with abrupt transitions in Group III-V materials, improving the accuracy and effectiveness of nano-layer deposition and nano-scale etch processes while minimizing substrate damage.
Implementation Method 1
heating the substrate to a process temperature
Implementation Method 2
facilitating diffusion of doping radicals
Implementation Method 3
an annealing process that repairs substrate damage
Implementation Method 4
radical dopants are infused aided by conventionally low energy ions and film formation
Data Source
AI summary
A method of controlling doping of a substrate, the method comprising: providing the substrate in a process chamber of a doping system; performing a doping process to impart a target dose on a surface of the substrate using a abruptness depth control technique; and controlling selected operating variables of plasma doping in order to meet doping objectives.