Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130005140 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING ETCH SELECTIVITY OF VARIOUS MATERIALS - A method for filling a recessed feature of a substrate includes a) at least partially filling a recessed feature of a substrate with tungsten-containing film using at least one of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD); b) at a predetermined temperature, using an etchant including activated fluorine species to selectively etch the tungsten-containing film more than an underlying material of the recessed feature without removing all of the tungsten-containing film at a bottom of the recessed feature; and c) filling the recessed feature using at least one of CVD and ALD. | 01-03-2013 |
20150024592 | VOID FREE TUNGSTEN FILL IN DIFFERENT SIZED FEATURES - Methods of depositing tungsten in different sized features on a substrate are provided herein. The methods involve depositing a first bulk layer of tungsten in the features, etching the deposited tungsten, depositing a second bulk tungsten, which is interrupted to treat the tungsten after the smaller features are completely filled, and resuming deposition of the second bulk layer after treatment to deposit smaller, smoother tungsten grains into the large features. The methods also involve depositing tungsten in multiple cycles of dep-etch-dep, where each cycle targets a group of similarly sized features using etch chemistry specific for that group, and depositing in groups from smallest sized features to the largest sized features. Deposition using methods described herein produce smaller, smoother grains with void-free fill for a wide range of sized features in a substrate. | 01-22-2015 |
20150056803 | TUNGSTEN FEATURE FILL - Described herein are methods of filling features with tungsten and related systems and apparatus. The methods include inside-out fill techniques as well as conformal deposition in features. Inside-out fill techniques can include selective deposition on etched tungsten layers in features. Conformal and non-conformal etch techniques can be used according to various implementations. The methods described herein can be used to fill vertical features, such as in tungsten vias, and horizontal features, such as vertical NAND (VNAND) word lines. Examples of applications include logic and memory contact fill, DRAM buried word line fill, vertically integrated memory gate/word line fill, and 3-D integration with through-silicon vias (TSVs). | 02-26-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100144140 | METHODS FOR DEPOSITING TUNGSTEN FILMS HAVING LOW RESISTIVITY FOR GAPFILL APPLICATIONS - Methods of filling gaps or recessed features on substrates are provided. According to various embodiments, the methods involve bulk deposition of tungsten to partially fill the feature followed by a removing a top portion of the deposited tungsten. In particular embodiments, the top portion is removed by exposing the substrate to activated fluorine species. By selectively removing sharp and protruding peaks of the deposited tungsten grains, the removal operation polishes the tungsten along the feature sidewall. Multiple deposition-removal cycles can be used to close the feature. The filled feature is less prone to coring during CMP. | 06-10-2010 |
20100159694 | METHOD FOR DEPOSITING THIN TUNGSTEN FILM WITH LOW RESISTIVITY AND ROBUST MICRO-ADHESION CHARACTERISTICS - Methods of forming low resistivity tungsten films with good uniformity and good adhesion to the underlying layer are provided. The methods involve forming a tungsten nucleation layer using a pulsed nucleation layer process at low temperature and then treating the deposited nucleation layer prior to depositing the bulk tungsten fill. The treatment operation lowers resistivity of the deposited tungsten film. In certain embodiments, the depositing the nucleation layer involves a boron-based chemistry in the absence of hydrogen. Also in certain embodiments, the treatment operations involve exposing the nucleation layer to alternating cycles of a reducing agent and a tungsten-containing precursor. The methods are useful for depositing films in high aspect ratio and/or narrow features. The films exhibit low resistivity at narrow line widths and excellent step coverage. | 06-24-2010 |
20100267230 | METHOD FOR FORMING TUNGSTEN CONTACTS AND INTERCONNECTS WITH SMALL CRITICAL DIMENSIONS - Provided are methods of void-free tungsten fill of high aspect ratio features. According to various embodiments, the methods involve a reduced temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process to fill the features with tungsten. In certain embodiments, the process temperature is maintained at less than about 350° C. during the chemical vapor deposition to fill the feature. The reduced-temperature CVD tungsten fill provides improved tungsten fill in high aspect ratio features, provides improved barriers to fluorine migration into underlying layers, while achieving similar thin film resistivity as standard CVD fill. Also provided are methods of depositing thin tungsten films having low-resistivity. According to various embodiments, the methods involve performing a reduced temperature low resistivity treatment on a deposited nucleation layer prior to depositing a tungsten bulk layer and/or depositing a bulk layer via a reduced temperature CVD process followed by a high temperature CVD process. | 10-21-2010 |
20100267235 | METHODS FOR DEPOSITING ULTRA THIN LOW RESISTIVITY TUNGSTEN FILM FOR SMALL CRITICAL DIMENSION CONTACTS AND INTERCONNECTS - Provided are methods of void-free tungsten fill of high aspect ratio features. According to various embodiments, the methods involve a reduced temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process to fill the features with tungsten. In certain embodiments, the process temperature is maintained at less than about 350° C. during the chemical vapor deposition to fill the feature. The reduced-temperature CVD tungsten fill provides improved tungsten fill in high aspect ratio features, provides improved barriers to fluorine migration into underlying layers, while achieving similar thin film resistivity as standard CVD fill. Also provided are methods of depositing thin tungsten films having low-resistivity. According to various embodiments, the methods involve performing a reduced temperature low resistivity treatment on a deposited nucleation layer prior to depositing a tungsten bulk layer and/or depositing a bulk layer via a reduced temperature CVD process followed by a high temperature CVD process. | 10-21-2010 |
20110159690 | DEPOSITING TUNGSTEN INTO HIGH ASPECT RATIO FEATURES - Methods and apparatuses for filling high aspect ratio features with tungsten-containing materials in a substantially void-free manner are provided. In certain embodiments, the method involves depositing an initial layer of a tungsten-containing material followed by selectively removing a portion of the initial layer to form a remaining layer, which is differentially passivated along the depth of the high-aspect ration feature. In certain embodiments, the remaining layer is more passivated near the feature opening than inside the feature. The method may proceed with depositing an additional layer of the same or other material over the remaining layer. The deposition rate during this later deposition operation is slower near the feature opening than inside the features due to the differential passivation of the remaining layer. This deposition variation, in turn, may aid in preventing premature closing of the feature and facilitate filling of the feature in a substantially void free manner. | 06-30-2011 |
20120009785 | Depositing Tungsten Into High Aspect Ratio Features - Methods and apparatuses for filling high aspect ratio features with tungsten-containing materials are provided. The method involves providing a partially fabricated semiconductor substrate and depositing a tungsten-containing layer on the substrate surface to partially fill one or more high aspect ratio features. The method continues with selective removal of a portion of the deposited layer such that more material is removed near the feature opening than inside the feature. In certain embodiments, removal may be performed at mass-transport limited conditions with less etchant available inside the feature than near its opening. Etchant species are activated before being introduced into the processing chamber and/or while inside the chamber. In specific embodiments, recombination of the activated species is substantially limited and/or controlled during removal, e.g., operation is performed at less than about 250° C. and/or less than about 5 Torr. | 01-12-2012 |
20120015518 | METHOD FOR DEPOSITING THIN TUNGSTEN FILM WITH LOW RESISTIVITY AND ROBUST MICRO-ADHESION CHARACTERISTICS - Methods of forming low resistivity tungsten films with good uniformity and good adhesion to the underlying layer are provided. The methods involve forming a tungsten nucleation layer using a pulsed nucleation layer process at low temperature and then treating the deposited nucleation layer prior to depositing the bulk tungsten fill. The treatment operation lowers resistivity of the deposited tungsten film. In certain embodiments, the depositing the nucleation layer involves a boron-based chemistry in the absence of hydrogen. Also in certain embodiments, the treatment operations involve exposing the nucleation layer to alternating cycles of a reducing agent and a tungsten-containing precursor. The methods are useful for depositing films in high aspect ratio and/or narrow features. The films exhibit low resistivity at narrow line widths and excellent step coverage. | 01-19-2012 |
20120115329 | DEPOSITING TUNGSTEN INTO HIGH ASPECT RATIO FEATURES - Methods and apparatuses for filling high aspect ratio features with tungsten-containing materials in a substantially void-free manner are provided. In certain embodiments, the method involves depositing an initial layer of a tungsten-containing material followed by selectively removing a portion of the initial layer to form a remaining layer, which is differentially passivated along the depth of the high-aspect ration feature. In certain embodiments, the remaining layer is more passivated near the feature opening than inside the feature. The method may proceed with depositing an additional layer of the same or other material over the remaining layer. The deposition rate during this later deposition operation is slower near the feature opening than inside the features due to the differential passivation of the remaining layer. This deposition variation, in turn, may aid in preventing premature closing of the feature and facilitate filling of the feature in a substantially void free manner. | 05-10-2012 |
20120164832 | METHOD FOR DEPOSITING TUNGSTEN FILM HAVING LOW RESISTIVITY, LOW ROUGHNESS AND HIGH REFLECTIVITY - Top-down methods of increasing reflectivity of tungsten films to form films having high reflectivity, low resistivity and low roughness are provided. The methods involve bulk deposition of tungsten followed by a removing a top portion of the deposited tungsten. In particular embodiments, removing a top portion of the deposited tungsten involve exposing it to a fluorine-containing plasma. The methods produce low resistivity tungsten bulk layers having lower roughness and higher reflectivity. The smooth and highly reflective tungsten layers are easier to photopattern than conventional low resistivity tungsten films. Applications include forming tungsten bit lines. | 06-28-2012 |
20130171822 | TUNGSTEN FEATURE FILL WITH NUCLEATION INHIBITION - Described herein are methods of filling features with tungsten, and related systems and apparatus, involving inhibition of tungsten nucleation. In some embodiments, the methods involve selective inhibition along a feature profile. Methods of selectively inhibiting tungsten nucleation can include exposing the feature to a direct or remote plasma. In certain embodiments, the substrate can be biased during selective inhibition. Process parameters including bias power, exposure time, plasma power, process pressure and plasma chemistry can be used to tune the inhibition profile. The methods described herein can be used to fill vertical features, such as in tungsten vias, and horizontal features, such as vertical NAND (VNAND) wordlines. The methods may be used for both conformal fill and bottom-up/inside-out fill. Examples of applications include logic and memory contact fill, DRAM buried wordline fill, vertically integrated memory gate/wordline fill, and 3-D integration using through-silicon vias. | 07-04-2013 |
20130302980 | TUNGSTEN FEATURE FILL - Described herein are methods of filling features with tungsten and related systems and apparatus. The methods include inside-out fill techniques as well as conformal deposition in features. Inside-out fill techniques can include selective deposition on etched tungsten layers in features. Conformal and non-conformal etch techniques can be used according to various implementations. The methods described herein can be used to fill vertical features, such as in tungsten vias, and horizontal features, such as vertical NAND (VNAND) word lines. Examples of applications include logic and memory contact fill, DRAM buried word line fill, vertically integrated memory gate/word line fill, and 3-D integration with through-silicon vias (TSVs). | 11-14-2013 |
20130330926 | DEPOSITING TUNGSTEN INTO HIGH ASPECT RATIO FEATURES - Methods and apparatuses for filling high aspect ratio features with tungsten-containing materials in a substantially void-free manner are provided. In certain embodiments, the method involves depositing an initial layer of a tungsten-containing material followed by selectively removing a portion of the initial layer to form a remaining layer, which is differentially passivated along the depth of the high-aspect ration feature. In certain embodiments, the remaining layer is more passivated near the feature opening than inside the feature. The method may proceed with depositing an additional layer of the same or other material over the remaining layer. The deposition rate during this later deposition operation is slower near the feature opening than inside the features due to the differential passivation of the remaining layer. This deposition variation, in turn, may aid in preventing premature closing of the feature and facilitate filling of the feature in a substantially void free manner. | 12-12-2013 |
20140017891 | METHOD FOR DEPOSITING TUNGSTEN FILM HAVING LOW RESISTIVITY, LOW ROUGHNESS AND HIGH REFLECTIVITY - Top-down methods of increasing reflectivity of tungsten films to form films having high reflectivity, low resistivity and low roughness are provided. The methods involve bulk deposition of tungsten followed by a removing a top portion of the deposited tungsten. In particular embodiments, removing a top portion of the deposited tungsten involve exposing it to a fluorine-containing plasma. The methods produce low resistivity tungsten bulk layers having lower roughness and higher reflectivity. The smooth and highly reflective tungsten layers are easier to photopattern than conventional low resistivity tungsten films. Applications include forming tungsten bit lines. | 01-16-2014 |
20140162451 | METHODS FOR DEPOSITING ULTRA THIN LOW RESISTIVITY TUNGSTEN FILM FOR SMALL CRITICAL DIMENSION CONTACTS AND INTERCONNECTS - Provided are methods of void-free tungsten fill of high aspect ratio features. According to various embodiments, the methods involve a reduced temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process to fill the features with tungsten. In certain embodiments, the process temperature is maintained at less than about 350° C. during the chemical vapor deposition to fill the feature. The reduced-temperature CVD tungsten fill provides improved tungsten fill in high aspect ratio features, provides improved barriers to fluorine migration into underlying layers, while achieving similar thin film resistivity as standard CVD fill. Also provided are methods of depositing thin tungsten films having low-resistivity. According to various embodiments, the methods involve performing a reduced temperature low resistivity treatment on a deposited nucleation layer prior to depositing a tungsten bulk layer and/or depositing a bulk layer via a reduced temperature CVD process followed by a high temperature CVD process. | 06-12-2014 |
20140349477 | METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR VOID-FREE TUNGSTEN FILL IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR FEATURES - Disclosed herein are methods of filling a 3-D structure of a semiconductor substrate with a tungsten-containing material. The 3-D structure may include sidewalls, a plurality of openings in the sidewalls leading to a plurality of features having a plurality of interior regions. The methods may include depositing a first layer of the tungsten-containing material within the 3-D structure such that the first layer partially fills a plurality of interior regions of the 3-D structure, etching vertically and horizontally after depositing the first layer, and depositing a second layer of the tungsten-containing material within the 3-D structure after the vertical and horizontal etching such that the second layer fills at least a portion of the interior regions left unfilled by the first layer. Also disclosed herein are apparatuses for filling a 3-D structure of a semiconductor substrate with a tungsten-containing material having a controller with instructions for etching vertically and horizontally. | 11-27-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080318251 | Mammalian Sweet And Amino Acid Heterodimeric Taste Receptors - The present invention provides isolated nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of sweet or amino acid taste receptors comprising two heterologous G-protein coupled receptor polypeptides from the T1R family of sensory G-protein coupled receptors, antibodies to such receptors, methods of detecting such nucleic acids and receptors, and methods of screening for modulators of sweet and amino acid taste receptors. | 12-25-2008 |
20090098580 | MAMMALIAN SWEET TASTE RECEPTORS - The present invention provides isolated nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of sweet taste receptors comprising two heterologous G-protein coupled receptor polypeptides from the T1R family of sensory G-protein coupled receptors, antibodies to such receptors, methods of detecting such nucleic acids and receptors, and methods of screening for modulators of sweet taste receptors. | 04-16-2009 |
20110151483 | Mammalian Sweet and Amino Acid Heterodimeric Taste Receptors Comprising T1R3 and T1R1 - The present invention provides isolated nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of sweet or amino acid taste receptors comprising T1R3 and T1R1, two heterologous G-protein coupled receptor polypeptides from the T1R family of sensory G-protein coupled receptors, antibodies to such receptors, methods of detecting such nucleic acids and receptors, and methods of screening for modulators of sweet and amino acid taste receptors. | 06-23-2011 |
20110244514 | Mammalian Sweet Taste Receptors - The present invention provides isolated nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of sweet taste receptors comprising two heterologous G-protein coupled receptor polypeptides from the T1R family of sensory G-protein coupled receptors, antibodies to such receptors, methods of detecting such nucleic acids and receptors, and methods of screening for modulators of sweet taste receptors. | 10-06-2011 |
20140024043 | Mammalian Sweet and Amino Acid Heterodimeric Taste Receptors Comprising T1R3 and T1R1 - The present invention provides isolated nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of sweet or amino acid taste receptors comprising T1R3 and T1R1, two heterologous G-protein coupled receptor polypeptides from the T1R family of sensory G-protein coupled receptors, antibodies to such receptors, methods of detecting such nucleic acids and receptors, and methods of screening for modulators of sweet and amino acid taste receptors. | 01-23-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20140333358 | RE-CIRCULATING TIME-TO-DIGITAL CONVERTER (TDC) - A re-circulating time-to-digital converter (TDC) can include a triggered reference ring oscillator (TRRO) and a delay module. The triggered reference ring oscillator can, when triggered by a reference signal edge, generate a periodic ring oscillator signal with a ring oscillator period that is a selected ratio of a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) period. The delay module can store, in a plurality of latches, samples of a VCO signal docked by the periodic ring oscillator signal. Each latch can generate an output of the sample, and each latch output can represent a time difference polarity between VCO signal and TRRO signal. In another example, the re-circulating TDC can include the triggered reference ring oscillator, a digital frequency lock module, and a TDC post-process module. The digital frequency lock module can generate a ring oscillator control signal, which sets the ring oscillator period for the triggered reference ring oscillator. The TDC post-process module can generate a TDC output, which can be a binary representation of a phase difference between a reference signal and a VCO signal. | 11-13-2014 |
20150381337 | SEGMENTED DIGITAL-TO-TIME CONVERTER CALIBRATION - This application discusses, among other things, calibration systems for ameliorating nonlinearity of a digital-to-time converter (DTC). In an example, a calibration system can include a calibration path configured to represent a segment of the DTC, a time-to-digital circuit configured to receive an output of the calibration path and the processed frequency information and to provide timing error information of the segment, and a calibration engine configured to receive controller modulation information from a main controller, to provide calibration modulation information to the DTC, to receive the timing error information, and to provide compensation information to a correction circuit coupled to the DTC using the timing error information. | 12-31-2015 |