US 12,110,589 B2
Methods for metal oxide post-treatment
Tatsuya E. Sato, San Jose, CA (US); Wei Liu, San Jose, CA (US); and Li-Qun Xia, Cupertino, CA (US)
Assigned to Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US)
Appl. No. 16/631,979
Filed by Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US)
PCT Filed Aug. 1, 2018, PCT No. PCT/US2018/044771
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jan. 17, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/028120, PCT Pub. Date Feb. 7, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/540,020, filed on Aug. 1, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2020/0165725 A1, May 28, 2020
Int. Cl. C23C 16/455 (2006.01); C23C 16/40 (2006.01); H01L 21/02 (2006.01)
CPC C23C 16/45553 (2013.01) [C23C 16/403 (2013.01); C23C 16/4554 (2013.01); C23C 16/45548 (2013.01); H01L 21/02178 (2013.01); H01L 21/0228 (2013.01); H01L 21/0234 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
forming an aluminum oxide film on a substrate surface by ALD using water as an oxidant; and
exposing the aluminum oxide film to a decoupled plasma consisting essentially of He, to lower the wet etch rate of the aluminum oxide film to less than 50 Å/min,
wherein the decoupled plasma is a remote directional plasma, the remote directional plasma formed in a plasma assembly having a slot with edges through which the plasma flows, the plasma having a high ion energy and concentration adjacent the edges of the slot.