Claims
- 1. A method for depositing a thin film on a substrate in a process chamber, the method comprising:
(a) providing a gaseous mixture to the chamber, the gaseous mixture comprising flows of silane, a gas that contains both fluorine and silicon, and a gas that contains oxygen; (b) generating a plasma from the gaseous mixture; (c) depositing a bulk portion of a fluorinated silicate glass (FSG) layer onto the substrate using the plasma; and (d) terminating the silane flow during deposition of a topmost portion of the FSG layer.
- 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the plasma is a high-density plasma.
- 3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising depositing a layer of silicon nitride on the topmost portion of the FSG layer.
- 4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the gas that contains both fluorine and silicon is silicon tetrafluoride (SiF4).
- 5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the gaseous mixture further comprises a flow of an inert gas.
- 6. The method according to claim 5 wherein the inert gas is argon.
- 7. A method for depositing a thin film on a substrate in a process chamber, the method comprising:
(a) providing a gaseous mixture to the chamber, the gaseous mixture comprising flows of a gas that contains both fluorine and silicon and a gas that contains oxygen, but not containing a silane; (b) generating a plasma from the gaseous mixture; (c) depositing a first portion of a fluorinated silicate glass (FSG) layer onto the substrate using the plasma; and (d) introducing a flow of silane to the gaseous mixture to deposit a second portion of the FSG layer.
- 8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the first portion is deposited on a layer of silicon nitride that has been deposited on the substrate.
- 9. The method according to claim 7 wherein the plasma is a high-density plasma.
- 10. The method according to claim 7 wherein the gas that contains both fluorine and silicon is silicon tetrafluoride (SiF4).
- 11. The method according to claim 7 wherein the gaseous mixture further comprises a flow of an inert gas.
- 12. The method according to claim 11 wherein the inert gas is argon.
- 13. The method according to claim 7 further wherein the FSG layer is deposited on a barrier layer previously formed on the substrate.
- 14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the barrier layer is a silicon nitride layer.
- 15. The method according to claim 14 wherein the FSG layer and the silicon nitride layer are deposited as part of a copper damascene process.
- 16. The method according to claim 7 further comprising:
(a) depositing a layer of copper on the substrate; and (b) heating the substrate in an in situ plasma that does not require an oxygen source, wherein both the steps of depositing a layer of copper and heating the substrate are performed prior to the step of depositing the FSG layer.
- 17. The method according to claim 7 further comprising:
(a) etching the FSG layer; (b) ashing the etched FSG layer; and (c) depositing a layer of metal on the ashed FSG layer.
- 18. The method according to claim 17 wherein the layer of metal is a layer of Ta.
- 19. The method according to claim 17 wherein the layer of metal is a layer of TaN.
- 20. The method according to claim 17 wherein the step of ashing is performed with an oxygen chemistry.
- 21. The method according to claim 17 wherein the step of ashing is performed with an ammonia chemistry.
- 22. The method according to claim 17 wherein the step of ashing is performed with a mixed oxygen-ammonia chemistry.
- 23. A method for depositing a thin film on a substrate in a process chamber, the method comprising:
(a) providing a gaseous mixture to the chamber, the gaseous mixture consisting essentially of a silane, silicon tetrafluoride, oxygen, and argon; (b) generating a high-density plasma from the gaseous mixture; (c) depositing a bulk portion of a fluorinated silicate glass (FSG) layer onto the substrate using the plasma; and (d) terminating the silane flow during deposition of a topmost portion of the FSG layer.
- 24. A method for depositing a thin film on a substrate in a process chamber, the method comprising:
(a) providing a gaseous mixture to the chamber, the gaseous mixture consisting essentially of silicon tetrafluoride, oxygen, and argon; (b) generating a high-density plasma from the gaseous mixture; and (c) depositing a first portion of a fluorinated silicate glass (FSG) layer onto the substrate using the plasma.
- 25. The method according to claim 24 further comprising introducing a flow of silane to the gaseous mixture during deposition of a second portion of the FSG film.
- 26. A method of depositing a multilayer fluorine-doped silicon glass (FSG) film over a substrate, the method comprising:
(a) flowing a first deposition gas consisting essentially of SiF4, O2, and an inert gas into a deposition chamber and forming a plasma from the first deposition gas to deposit a first layer of the FSG film; and (b) flowing a second deposition gas consisting essentially of SiH4, SiF4, O2, and an inert gas into the deposition chamber and forming a plasma from the second deposition gas to deposit a second layer of the FSG film.
- 27. The method according to claim 26 wherein the first layer of the FSG film is deposited on a silicon nitride layer and the second layer of the FSG film is deposited on the first layer.
- 28. The method according to claim 26 wherein the first layer of the FSG film is deposited on the second layer and a silicon nitride layer is deposited on the first layer.
- 29. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer-readable program embodied therein for directing operation of a substrate processing system including a process chamber, a plasma generation system, a substrate holder, and a gas-delivery system configured to introduce gases into the process chamber, the computer-readable program including instructions for operating the substrate processing system to form a thin film on a substrate disposed in the processing chamber in accordance with the following:
(a) providing a gaseous mixture to the chamber, the gaseous mixture consisting essentially of a silane, silicon tetrafluoride, oxygen, and argon; (b) generating a high-density plasma from the gaseous mixture; (c) depositing a bulk portion of a fluorinated silicate glass (FSG) layer onto the substrate using the plasma; and (d) terminating the silane flow during deposition of a topmost portion of the FSG layer.
- 30. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer-readable program embodied therein for directing operation of a substrate processing system including a process chamber, a plasma generation system, a substrate holder, and a gas-delivery system configured to introduce gases into the process chamber, the computer-readable program including instructions for operating the substrate processing system to form a thin film on a substrate disposed in the processing chamber in accordance with the following:
(a) providing a gaseous mixture to the chamber, the gaseous mixture consisting essentially of silicon tetrafluoride, oxygen, and argon; (b) generating a high-density plasma from the gaseous mixture; and (c) depositing a first portion of a fluorinated silicate glass (FSG) layer onto the substrate using the plasma.
- 31. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 30 wherein the computer-readable program further includes instructions for introducing a flow of silane to the gaseous mixture during deposition of a second portion of the FSG film.
- 32. A substrate processing system comprising:
(a) a housing defining a process chamber; (b) a high-density plasma generating system operatively coupled to the process chamber; (c) a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate during substrate processing; (d) a gas-delivery system configured to introduce gases into the process chamber, including sources for silicon tetrafluoride, oxygen, and an inert gas; (e) a pressure-control system for maintaining a selected pressure within the process chamber; (f) a controller for controlling the high-density plasma generating system, the gas-delivery system, and the pressure-control system; and (g) a memory coupled to the controller, the memory comprising a computer-readable medium having a computer-readable program embodied therein for directing operation of the substrate processing system, the computer-readable program including:
(i) instructions to control the gas-delivery system to provide a gaseous mixture to the process chamber, the gaseous mixture consisting essentially of silicon tetrafluoride, oxygen, and the inert gas; (ii) instructions to control the high-density plasma generating system to generate a high-density plasma from the gaseous mixture; and (iii) instructions to control the substrate processing system to deposit a fluorinated silicate glass layer onto the substrate using the high-density plasma.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the priority of Provisional Application No. 60/151,855, filed Sep. 1, 1999, which is herein incorporated by reference for all purposes.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60151855 |
Sep 1999 |
US |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09569744 |
May 2000 |
US |
Child |
10120713 |
Apr 2002 |
US |