Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110217834 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SINGLE STEP SELECTIVE NITRIDATION - Methods and apparatus for selective one-step nitridation of semiconductor substrates is provided. Nitrogen is selectively incorporated in silicon regions of a semiconductor substrate having silicon regions and silicon oxide regions by use of a selective nitridation process. Nitrogen containing radicals may be directed toward the substrate by forming a nitrogen containing plasma and filtering or removing ions from the plasma, or a thermal nitridation process using selective precursors may be performed. A remote plasma generator may be coupled to a processing chamber, optionally including one or more ion filters, showerheads, and radical distributors, or an in situ plasma may be generated and one or more ion filters or shields disposed in the chamber between the plasma generation zone and the substrate support. | 09-08-2011 |
20120187467 | FLOATING GATES AND METHODS OF FORMATION - The present invention generally relates to a floating gate structure and method of forming the same. The floating gate structure has an upper portion which is wider than a middle portion of the floating gate structure. The upper portion may have a flared, rounded or bulbous shape instead of being pointed or having sharp corners. The reduction in pointed or sharp features of the upper portion reduces the electric field intensity near the upper portion, which decreases current leakage through the interpoly dielectric. The method includes forming a nitride cap on the upper surface of the floating gate structure to assist in shaping the floating gate. The floating gate is then formed using multiple selective oxidation and etching processes. | 07-26-2012 |
20120190185 | PLASMA TREATMENT OF SILICON NITRIDE AND SILICON OXYNITRIDE - A method of forming a semiconductor device is disclosed. Nitrogen layers of an IPD stack are deposited using silane and a nitrogen plasma to yield a nitride layer plasma treated through its entire thickness. In addition to nitriding the bottom nitride layer of the stack, the middle nitride layer may also be nitrided. Depositing silicon from silane in a nitrogen plasma may be accomplished using high density plasma, ALD, or remote plasma processes. Elevated temperature may be used during deposition to reduce residual hydrogen in the deposited layer. | 07-26-2012 |
20120208371 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTIZONE PLASMA GENERATION - Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for plasma processing a substrate to form a film on the substrate and devices disposed thereon by controlling the ratio of ions to radicals in the plasma at a given pressure. A given pressure may be maintained to promote ion production using one plasma source, and a second plasma source may be used to provide additional radicals. In one embodiment, a low pressure plasma is generated in a processing region having the substrate positioned therein, and a high pressure plasma is generated in separate region. Radicals from the high pressure plasma are injected into the processing region having the low pressure plasma, thus, altering the natural distribution of radicals to ions at a given operating pressure. The resulting process and apparatus enables tailoring of the ion to radical ratio to allow better control of forming films on high aspect ratio features, and thus improve corner rounding, conformality of sidewall to bottom trench growth, and selective growth. | 08-16-2012 |
20130120737 | APPARATUS AND METHOD TO MEASURE TEMPERATURE OF 3D SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURES VIA LASER DIFFRACTION - Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to apparatus for and methods of measuring and monitoring the temperature of a substrate having a | 05-16-2013 |
20140273539 | METHODS FOR CONFORMAL TREATMENT OF DIELECTRIC FILMS WITH LOW THERMAL BUDGET - Embodiments of methods for treating dielectric layers are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method of treating a dielectric layer disposed on a substrate supported in a process chamber includes: (a) exposing the dielectric layer to an active radical species formed in a plasma for a first period of time; (b) heating the dielectric layer to a peak temperature of about 900 degrees Celsius to about 1200 degrees Celsius; and (c) maintaining the peak temperature for a second period of time of about 1 second to about 20 seconds. | 09-18-2014 |
20140302686 | Apparatus and Method for Conformal Treatment of Dielectric Films Using Inductively Coupled Plasma - Disclosed are apparatus and methods for processing a substrate. The substrate having a feature with a layer thereon is exposed to an inductively coupled plasma which forms a substantially conformal layer. | 10-09-2014 |
20140342543 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SINGLE STEP SELECTIVE NITRIDATION - Methods and apparatus for selective one-step nitridation of semiconductor substrates is provided. Nitrogen is selectively incorporated in silicon regions of a semiconductor substrate having silicon regions and silicon oxide regions by use of a selective nitridation process. Nitrogen containing radicals may be directed toward the substrate by forming a nitrogen containing plasma and filtering or removing ions from the plasma, or a thermal nitridation process using selective precursors may be performed. A remote plasma generator may be coupled to a processing chamber, optionally including one or more ion filters, showerheads, and radical distributors, or an in situ plasma may be generated and one or more ion filters or shields disposed in the chamber between the plasma generation zone and the substrate support. | 11-20-2014 |
20140349491 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTIVE OXIDATION OF A SUBSTRATE - Methods for improving selective oxidation of polysilicon against silicon nitride in a process chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method of selectively oxidizing a substrate disposed within a process chamber includes exposing a substrate having an exposed polysilicon layer and an exposed silicon nitride layer to a hydrogen-containing gas; heating the substrate to a process temperature of at least about 850 degrees Celsius; adding an oxygen containing gas to the process chamber while maintaining the substrate at the process temperature to create a mixture of the hydrogen-containing gas and the oxygen-containing gas; and exposing the substrate to the mixture while at the process temperature to selectively form an oxide layer atop the polysilicon layer substantially without forming an oxide layer atop the silicon nitride layer. | 11-27-2014 |