Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090081884 | METHOD OF IMPROVING OXIDE GROWTH RATE OF SELECTIVE OXIDATION PROCESSES - A method for selective oxidation of silicon containing materials in a semiconductor device is disclosed and claimed. In one aspect, a rapid thermal processing apparatus is used to selectively oxidize a substrate by in-situ steam generation at high pressure in a hydrogen rich atmosphere. Other materials, such as metals and barrier layers, in the substrate are not oxidized. | 03-26-2009 |
20090163042 | THERMAL REACTOR WITH IMPROVED GAS FLOW DISTRIBUTION - Embodiments of the present invention provide apparatus and method for improving gas distribution during thermal processing. One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for processing a substrate comprising a chamber body defining a processing volume, a substrate support disposed in the processing volume, wherein the substrate support is configured to support and rotate the substrate, a gas inlet assembly coupled to an inlet of the chamber body and configured to provide a first gas flow to the processing volume, and an exhaust assembly coupled to an outlet of the chamber body, wherein the gas inlet assembly and the exhaust assembly are disposed on opposite sides of the chamber body, and the exhaust assembly defines an exhaust volume configured to extend the processing volume. | 06-25-2009 |
20090233453 | METHODS FOR OXIDATION OF A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - Methods of fabricating an oxide layer on a semiconductor substrate are provided herein. The oxide layer may be formed over an entire structure disposed on the substrate, or selectively formed on a non-metal containing layer with little or no oxidation of an exposed metal-containing layer. The methods disclosed herein may be performed in a variety of process chambers, including but not limited to decoupled plasma oxidation chambers, rapid and/or remote plasma oxidation chambers, and/or plasma immersion ion implantation chambers. In some embodiments, a method may include providing a substrate comprising a metal-containing layer and non-metal containing layer; and forming an oxide layer on an exposed surface of the non-metal containing layer by exposing the substrate to a plasma formed from a process gas comprising a hydrogen-containing gas, an oxygen-containing gas, and at least one of a supplemental oxygen-containing gas or a nitrogen-containing gas. | 09-17-2009 |
20090311877 | POST OXIDATION ANNEALING OF LOW TEMPERATURE THERMAL OR PLASMA BASED OXIDATION - Embodiments of the present invention provide methods of forming oxide layers on semiconductor substrates. In some embodiments, a method of forming an oxide layer on a semiconductor substrate includes forming an oxide layer on a substrate using an oxidation process having a first process gas at a first temperature less than about 800 degrees Celsius; and annealing the oxide layer formed on the substrate in the presence of a second process gas and at a second temperature. The oxidation process may be a plasma or thermal oxidation process performed at a temperature of about 800 degrees Celsius or below. In some embodiments, the post oxidation annealing process may be a spike or soak rapid thermal process, a laser anneal, or a flash anneal performed at a temperature of at least about 700 degrees Celsius, at least about 800 degrees Celsius, or at least about 950 degrees Celsius. | 12-17-2009 |
20100120245 | PLASMA AND THERMAL ANNEAL TREATMENT TO IMPROVE OXIDATION RESISTANCE OF METAL-CONTAINING FILMS - Method and apparatus are provided for treatment of a deposited material layer. In one embodiment, a method is provided for processing a substrate including depositing a metal-containing layer using an atomic layer deposition technique, exposing the metal-containing layer to a plasma treatment process at a temperature of less than about 200° C., and exposing the metal-containing layer to a thermal anneal process at a temperature of about 600° C. or greater. The plasma treatment process and/or the thermal anneal process may use a nitrating gas, which may form a passivating surface or layer with the metal-containing layer. | 05-13-2010 |
20100216317 | Methods for Forming Conformal Oxide Layers on Semiconductor Devices - Methods and apparatus for forming an oxide layer on a semiconductor substrate are disclosed. In one or more embodiments, plasma oxidation is used to form a conformal oxide layer by controlling the temperature of the semiconductor substrate at below about 100° C. Methods for controlling the temperature of the semiconductor substrate according to one or more embodiments include utilizing an electrostatic chuck and a coolant and gas convection. | 08-26-2010 |
20100267247 | Dual Frequency Low Temperature Oxidation of a Semiconductor Device - Methods and apparatus for forming an oxide layer on a semiconductor substrate are disclosed. A two frequency plasma source is used to form a plasma in a plasma reactor. In various embodiments, different quantities of power are supplied to a power source operating at the first frequency and a power source operating at the second frequency over time. | 10-21-2010 |
20100267248 | Post Treatment Methods for Oxide Layers on Semiconductor Devices - Methods and apparatus for post treating an oxide layer on a semiconductor substrate are disclosed. In one or more embodiments, the oxide layer is formed by thermal oxidation or plasma oxidation and treated with a plasma comprising helium. The helium-containing plasma may also include hydrogen, neon, argon and combinations thereof. In one or more embodiments, a SiO | 10-21-2010 |
20100330814 | METHODS OF FORMING OXIDE LAYERS ON SUBSTRATES - Methods for processing substrates are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method for processing a substrate includes providing a substrate having an oxide layer disposed thereon, the oxide layer including one or more defects; and exposing the oxide layer to a plasma formed from a process gas comprising an oxygen-containing gas to repair the one or more defects. In some embodiments, the oxide layer may be formed on the substrate. In some embodiments, forming the oxide layer further comprises depositing the oxide layer atop the substrate. In some embodiments, forming the oxide layer further comprises thermally oxidizing the surface of the substrate to form the oxide layer. In some embodiments, a processing temperature is maintained at about 700 degrees Celsius or below during the thermal oxidation of the surface. | 12-30-2010 |
20110061812 | Apparatus and Methods for Cyclical Oxidation and Etching - Apparatus and methods for the manufacture of semiconductor devices suitable for narrow pitch applications and methods of fabrication thereof are described herein. Disclosed are various single chambers configured to form and/or shape a material layer by oxidizing a surface of a material layer to form an oxide layer; removing at least some of the oxide layer by an etching process; and cyclically repeating the oxidizing and removing processes until the material layer is formed to a desired shape. In some embodiments, the material layer may be a floating gate of a semiconductor device. | 03-17-2011 |
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 |
20110217850 | METHODS FOR OXIDATION OF A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - Methods of fabricating an oxide layer on a semiconductor substrate are provided herein. The oxide layer may be formed over an entire structure disposed on the substrate, or selectively formed on a non-metal containing layer with little or no oxidation of an exposed metal-containing layer. The methods disclosed herein may be performed in a variety of process chambers, including but not limited to decoupled plasma oxidation chambers, rapid and/or remote plasma oxidation chambers, and/or plasma immersion ion implantation chambers. In some embodiments, a method may include providing a substrate comprising a metal-containing layer and non-metal containing layer; and forming an oxide layer on an exposed surface of the non-metal containing layer by exposing the substrate to a plasma formed from a process gas comprising a hydrogen-containing gas, an oxygen-containing gas, and at least one of a supplemental oxygen-containing gas or a nitrogen-containing gas. | 09-08-2011 |
20110230060 | METHOD OF IMPROVING OXIDE GROWTH RATE OF SELECTIVE OXIDATION PROCESSES - A method for selective oxidation of silicon containing materials in a semiconductor device is disclosed and claimed. In one aspect, a rapid thermal processing apparatus is used to selectively oxidize a substrate by in-situ steam generation at high pressure in a hydrogen rich atmosphere. Other materials, such as metals and barrier layers, in the substrate are not oxidized. | 09-22-2011 |
20110250764 | Method of thermally treating silicon with oxygen - A method and apparatus for oxidizing materials used in semiconductor integrated circuits, for example, for oxidizing silicon to form a dielectric gate. An ozonator is capable of producing a stream of least 70% ozone. The ozone passes into an RTP chamber through a water-cooled injector projecting into the chamber. Other gases such as hydrogen to increase oxidation rate, diluent gas such as nitrogen or O | 10-13-2011 |
20120031332 | Water cooled gas injector - A method and apparatus for oxidizing materials used in semiconductor integrated circuits, for example, for oxidizing silicon to form a dielectric gate. An ozonator is capable of producing a stream of least 70% ozone. The ozone passes into an RTP chamber through a water-cooled injector projecting into the chamber. Other gases such as hydrogen to increase oxidation rate, diluent gas such as nitrogen or O | 02-09-2012 |
20130109164 | REMOTE PLASMA RADICAL TREATMENT OF SILICON OXIDE | 05-02-2013 |
20140057455 | METHOD OF IMPROVING OXIDE GROWTH RATE OF SELECTIVE OXIDATION PROCESSES - A method for selective oxidation of silicon containing materials in a semiconductor device is disclosed and claimed. In one aspect, a rapid thermal processing apparatus is used to selectively oxidize a substrate by in-situ steam generation at high pressure in a hydrogen rich atmosphere. Other materials, such as metals and barrier layers, in the substrate are not oxidized. | 02-27-2014 |
20140079376 | THERMAL REACTOR WITH IMPROVED GAS FLOW DISTRIBUTION - Embodiments of the present invention provide apparatus and method for improving gas distribution during thermal processing. One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for processing a substrate comprising a chamber body defining a processing volume, a substrate support disposed in the processing volume, wherein the substrate support is configured to support and rotate the substrate, a gas inlet assembly coupled to an inlet of the chamber body and configured to provide a first gas flow to the processing volume, and an exhaust assembly coupled to an outlet of the chamber body, wherein the gas inlet assembly and the exhaust assembly are disposed on opposite sides of the chamber body, and the exhaust assembly defines an exhaust volume configured to extend the processing volume. | 03-20-2014 |
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 |