US 12,431,349 B2
In-situ control of film properties during atomic layer deposition
Douglas Walter Agnew, Portland, OR (US); Joseph R. Abel, West Linn, OR (US); Ian John Curtin, Portland, OR (US); Purushottam Kumar, Hillsboro, OR (US); and Awnish Gupta, Hillsboro, OR (US)
Assigned to Lam Research Corporation, Fremont, CA (US)
Appl. No. 17/596,096
Filed by Lam Research Corporation, Fremont, CA (US)
PCT Filed Jun. 3, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/035996
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 2, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/247548, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 10, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/858,812, filed on Jun. 7, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0238325 A1, Jul. 28, 2022
Int. Cl. H01L 21/02 (2006.01); C23C 16/40 (2006.01); C23C 16/455 (2006.01); H01J 37/32 (2006.01)
CPC H01L 21/0228 (2013.01) [C23C 16/401 (2013.01); C23C 16/4554 (2013.01); C23C 16/45542 (2013.01); H01J 37/3244 (2013.01); H01L 21/02164 (2013.01); H01L 21/02274 (2013.01); H01J 2237/332 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for processing substrates, the method comprising:
providing a semiconductor substrate to a reaction chamber;
performing cycles of atomic layer deposition to deposit a film, each cycle comprising:
introducing a first reactant in vapor phase into the reaction chamber to adsorb the first reactant onto a surface of the semiconductor substrate;
introducing a dose of a second reactant in vapor phase into the reaction chamber for a dose time; and
generating a first plasma in the reaction chamber while the second reactant in vapor phase is in the reaction chamber; and
after every n cycles of the atomic layer deposition, exposing the film to a second plasma generated from flowing argon and a second gas,
wherein either
(1) the second gas is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, oxygen, and combinations thereof and a ratio of flow rate of argon to the second gas is between about 50:1 and about 1:1, or
(2) the second gas is nitrous oxide and a ratio of flow rate of argon to the second gas is between about 10:1 and about 20:1, and
wherein the second plasma is pulsed between an ON and OFF state during the exposing of the film to the second plasma.