Coated platen design for plasma immersion ion implantation

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6217724
  • Patent Number
    6,217,724
  • Date Filed
    Friday, December 18, 1998
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, April 17, 2001
    23 years ago
Abstract
A plasma treatment system (200) for implantation with a novel susceptor with a silicon coating (203). The system (200) has a variety of elements such as a chamber, which can have a silicon coating formed thereon, in which a plasma is generated in the chamber. The system (200) also has a susceptor disposed in the chamber to support a silicon substrate. The silicon coating reduces non-silicon impurities that may attach to the silicon substrate. In a specific embodiment, the chamber has a plurality of substantially planar rf transparent windows (26) on a surface of the chamber. The system (200) also has an rf generator (66) and at least two rf sources in other embodiments.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to the manufacture of integrated circuits. More particularly, the present invention provides a technique for selectively controlling a distribution of impurities that are implanted using a plasma immersion ion implantation or plasma ion source system for the manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuits, for example. But it will be recognized that the invention has a wider range of applicability; it can also be applied to other substrates for multi-layered integrated circuit devices, three-dimensional packaging of integrated semiconductor devices, photonic devices, piezoelectronic devices, microelectromechanical systems (“MEMS”), sensors, actuators, solar cells, flat panel displays (e.g., LCD, AMLCD), biological and biomedical devices, and the like.




Integrated circuits are fabricated on chips of semiconductor material. These integrated circuits often contain thousands, or even millions, of transistors and other devices. In particular, it is desirable to put as many transistors as possible within a given area of semiconductor because more transistors typically provide greater functionality, and a smaller chip means more chips per wafer and lower costs. Some integrated circuits are fabricated on a slice or wafer, of single-crystal (monocrystalline) silicon, commonly termed a “bulk” silicon wafer. Devices on such “bulk” silicon wafer typically use processing techniques such as ion implantation or the like to introduce impurities or ions into the substrate. These impurities or ions are introduced into the substrate to selectively change the electrical characteristics of the substrate, and therefore devices being formed on the substrate. Ion implantation provides accurate placement of impurities or ions into the substrate. Ion implantation, however, is expensive and generally cannot be used effectively for introducing impurities into a larger substrate such as glass or a semiconductor substrate, which is used for the manufacture of flat panel displays or the like.




Accordingly, plasma treatment of large area substrates such as glass or semiconductor substrates has been proposed or used in the fabrication of flat panel displays or 300 mm silicon wafers. Plasma treatment is commonly called plasma immersion ion implantation (“PIII”) or plasma source ion implantation (“PSI”). Plasma treatment generally uses a chamber, which has an inductively coupled plasma source, for generating and maintaining a plasma therein. A large voltage differential between the plasma and the substrate to be implanted accelerates impurities or ions from the plasma into the surface or depth of the substrate. A variety of limitations exist with the convention plasma processing techniques.




A major limitation with conventional plasma processing techniques is the maintenance of the uniformity of the plasma density and chemistry over such a large area is often difficult. As merely an example, inductively or transformer coupled plasma sources (“ICP” and “TCP,” respectively) are affected both by difficulties of maintaining plasma uniformity using inductive coil antenna designs. Additionally, these sources are often costly and generally difficult to maintain, in part, because such sources which require large and thick quartz windows for coupling the antenna radiation into the processing chamber. The thick quartz windows often cause an increase in rf power (or reduction in efficiency) due to heat dissipation within the window.




Other techniques such as Electron Cyclotron Resonance (“ECR”) and Helicon type sources are limited by the difficulty in scaling the resonant magnetic field to large areas when a single antenna or waveguide is used. Furthermore, most ECR sources utilize microwave power which is more expensive and difficult to tune electrically. Hot cathode plasma sources have been used or proposed. The hot cathode plasma sources often produce contamination of the plasma environment due to the evaporation of cathode material. Alternatively, cold cathode sources have also be used or proposed. These cold cathode sources often produce contamination due to exposure of the cold cathode to the plasma generated.




A pioneering technique has been developed to improve or, perhaps, even replace these conventional sources for implantation of impurities. This technique has been developed by Chung Chan of Waban Technology in Massachusetts, now Silicon Genesis Corporation, and has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,811 (“Chan”), which is hereby incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. Chan generally describes techniques for treating a substrate with a plasma with an improved plasma processing system. The improved plasma processing system, includes, among other elements, at least two rf sources, which are operative to generate a plasma in a vacuum chamber. By way of the multiple sources, the improved plasma system provides a more uniform plasma distribution during implantation, for example. It is still desirable, however, to provide even a more uniform plasma for the manufacture of substrates. Additionally, Chan's techniques can create particulate contamination during implantation processes using his plasma processing system.




From the above, it is seen that an improved technique for introducing impurities into a substrate is highly desired.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




According to the present invention, a technique including a method and system for introducing impurities into a substrate using plasma immersion ion implantation is provided. In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention provides system with a novel susceptor with a coating that reduces particulate contamination that may attach to a substrate surface during an implantation process.




In a specific embodiment, the present invention provides a plasma treatment system for implantation with a novel susceptor with a coating thereon. The system has a variety of elements such as a chamber in which a plasma is generated in the chamber. The system also has a susceptor disposed in the chamber to support a substrate such as a silicon substrate. A silicon bearing compound is coated on the susceptor for reducing impurities or non-silicon materials that may sputter off of the susceptor. In a specific embodiment, the chamber has a plurality of substantially planar rf transparent windows on a surface of the chamber. The system also has an rf generator and at least two rf sources in other embodiments. A silicon bearing compound is coated onto the interior surfaces of the chamber. This coating reduces impurities or non-silicon materials that may sputter off of the interior surfaces of the chamber during plasma immersion ion implantation.




In an alternative embodiment, the present invention provides a method for forming a substrate using a plasma immersion ion implantation system. The method includes a step of providing a silicon substrate, which has a surface, onto a susceptor within a plasma immersion ion implantation chamber. The method then introduces and/or accelerates particles in a uniform, directional manner toward and into the surface to uniformly place the ions into a selected depth across a plane of the substrate. During the introducing step, the method sputters silicon bearing compounds off of interior chamber surfaces and portions of the susceptor. These silicon bearing compounds do not detrimentally influence the implantation process and reduce a possibility of introducing any impurities or non-silicon bearing compounds that can attach to the silicon substrate surface.




Numerous advantages are achieved by way of the present invention over conventional techniques. For example, the present invention provides a relatively easy to implement device for improving implantation uniformity across a substrate such as a wafer in a specific embodiment. In some embodiments, the present invention provides a system that produces fewer non-silicon particles (e.g., aluminum, iron, chrome, nickel) that may introduce defects into a substrate, for example. In still other embodiments, the present invention can be implemented into conventional PIII systems using kits or tools to provide the novel silicon coatings. Accordingly, the present invention is generally cost effective and easy to implement. These and other advantages or benefits are described throughout the present specification and are described more particularly below.




These and other embodiments of the present invention, as well as its advantages and features are described in more detail in conjunction with the text below and attached Figs.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a simplified block diagram of a conventional plasma treatment system; and





FIGS. 2-8

are simplified diagrams of plasma treatment systems according to embodiments of the present invention











DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS




The present invention provides an improved plasma immersion ion implantation system. In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention provides an improved pedestal (or susceptor) for securing a wafer during implantation. Additionally, the present invention provides a silicon coating on interior surfaces of a chamber for reducing non-silicon impurities that can attach to a silicon wafer surface. This improved pedestal and silicon coating reduce provide fewer sputtered contamination, which can be deposited on a surface of a substrate to be processed. By way of less contamination, the present system provides improved substrates and the like.




1. Conventional Plasma Processing System




In brief overview and referring to

FIG. 1

, conventional plasma processing system


10


includes a vacuum chamber


14


having a vacuum port


18


connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). The system


10


includes a series of dielectric windows


26


vacuum sealed by o-rings


30


and attached by removable clamps


34


to the upper surface


22


of the vacuum chamber


14


. Removably attached to some of these dielectric windows


26


are rf plasma sources


40


, in a system having a helical or pancake antennae


46


located within an outer shield/ground


44


. Cooling of each antenna is accomplished by passing a cooling fluid through the antenna. Cooling is typically required only at higher power. The windows


26


without attached rf plasma sources


40


are usable as viewing ports into the chamber


14


. The removability of each plasma source


40


permits the associated dielectric window


26


to be cleaned or the plasma source


40


replaced without the vacuum within the system


10


being removed. Although glass windows are used, other dielectric material such as quartz or polyethylene may be used for the window material.




Each antenna


46


is connected to an rf generator


66


through a matching network


50


, through a coupling capacitor


54


. Each antenna


46


also includes a tuning capacitor


58


connected in parallel with its respective antenna


46


. Each of the tuning capacitors


58


is controlled by a signal D, D′, D″ from a controller


62


. By individually adjusting the tuning capacitors


85


, the output power from each rf antenna


46


can be adjusted to maintain the uniformity of the plasma generated. Other tuning means such as zero reflective power tuning may also be used to adjust the power to the antennae. The rf generator


66


is controlled by a signal E from the controller


62


. The controller


62


controls the power to the antennae


46


by a signal F to the matching network


50


.




The controller


62


adjusts the tuning capacitors


58


and the rf generator


66


in response to a signal A from a sensor


70


monitoring the power delivered to the antennae


46


, a signal B from a fast scanning Langmuir probe


74


directly measuring the plasma density and a signal C from a plurality of Faraday cups


78


attached to a substrate wafer holder


82


. The Langmuir probe


74


is scanned by moving the probe (double arrow I) into and out of the plasma. With these sensors, the settings for the rf generator


66


and the tuning capacitors


58


may be determined by the controller prior to the actual use of the system


10


to plasma treat a substrate. Once the settings are determined, the probes are removed and the wafer to be treated is introduced. The probes are left in place during processing to permit real time control of the system. Care must be taken to not contaminate the plasma with particles evaporating from the probe and to not shadow the substrate being processed.




This conventional system has numerous limitations. For example, the conventional system


10


includes wafer holder


82


that is surrounded by a quartz liner


101


. The quartz liner is intended to reduce unintentional contaminants sputtered from the sample stage to impinge or come in contact with the substrate


103


, which should be kept substantially free from contaminates. Additionally, the quartz liner is intended to reduce current load on the high voltage modulator and power supply. The quartz liner, however, often attracts impurities or ions


104


that attach themselves to the quartz liner by way of charging, as shown by FIG.


1


A. By way of this attachment, the quartz liner becomes charged, which changes the path of ions


105


from a normal trajectory


107


. The change in path can cause non-uniformities during a plasma immersion implantation process.

FIG. 1B

shows a simplified top-view diagram of substrate


103


that has high concentration regions


111


and


109


, which indicate non-uniformity. In some conventional systems, the liner can also be made of a material such as aluminum. Aluminum is problematic in conventional processing since aluminum particles can sputter off of the liner and attach themselves to the substrate. Aluminum particles on the substrate can cause a variety of functional and reliability problems in devices that are manufactured on the substrate. A wafer stage made of stainless steel can introduce particulate contamination such as iron, chromium, nickel, and others to the substrate. A paper authored by Zhineng Fan, Paul K. Chu, Chung Chan, and Nathan W. Cheung, entitled “Dose and Energy Non-Uniformity Caused By Focusing Effects During Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation,” published in Applied Physics Letters in 1998 describes some of the limitations mentioned herein.




In addition to the limitations noted above for the susceptor, numerous limitations can also exist with the chamber. For example, commonly used materials for the chamber include, among others, stainless steel or aluminum. These materials often sputter off the interior surfaces of the chamber and redeposit onto surfaces of a substrate, which is being processed. The presence of these types of materials often places non-silicon bearing impurities onto the surface of a silicon wafer, for example. These impurities can lead to functional, as well as reliability problems, with integrated circuit devices that are fabricated on the silicon substrate. Accordingly, conventional chambers also have severe limitations with conventional plasma immersion implantation systems.




2. Present Plasma Immersion Systems





FIG. 2

is a simplified overview of a plasma treatment system


200


for implanting impurities according to an embodiment of the present invention. This diagram is merely and illustration and should not limit the scope of the claims herein. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations, modifications, and alternatives. For easy reading, some of the reference numerals used in

FIG. 1

are used in FIG.


2


and others. In a specific embodiment, system


200


includes a vacuum chamber


14


having a vacuum port


18


connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). The system


10


includes a series of dielectric windows


26


vacuum sealed by o-rings


30


and attached by removable clamps


34


to the upper surface


22


of the vacuum chamber


14


. Removably attached to some of these dielectric windows


26


are rf plasma sources


40


, in one embodiment having a helical or pancake antennae


46


located within an outer shield/ground


44


. Other embodiments of the antennae using capacitive or inductive coupling may be used. Cooling of each antenna is accomplished by passing a cooling fluid through the antenna. Cooling is typically required only at higher power. The windows


26


without attached rf plasma sources


40


are usable as viewing ports into the chamber


14


. The removability of each plasma source


40


permits the associated dielectric window


26


to be cleaned or the plasma source


40


replaced without the vacuum within the system


10


being removed. Although glass windows are used in this embodiment, other dielectric material such as quartz or polyethylene may be used for the window material.




Each antenna


46


is connected to a rf generator


66


through a matching network


50


, through a coupling capacitor


54


. Each antenna


46


also includes a tuning capacitor


58


connected in parallel with its respective antenna


46


. Each of the tuning capacitors


58


is controlled by a signal D, D′, D″ from a controller


62


. By individually adjusting the tuning capacitors


85


, the output power from each rf antenna


46


can be adjusted to maintain the uniformity of the plasma generated. Other tuning means such as zero reflective power tuning may also be used to adjust the power to the antennae. In one embodiment, the rf generator


66


is controlled by a signal E from the controller


62


. In one embodiment, the controller


62


controls the power to the antennae


46


by a signal F to the matching network


50


.




The controller


62


adjusts the tuning capacitors


58


and the rf generator


66


in response to a signal A from a sensor


70


(such as a Real Power Monitor by Comdel, Inc., Beverly, Mass.) monitoring the power delivered to the antennae


46


, a signal B from a fast scanning Langmuir probe


74


directly measuring the plasma density and a signal C from a plurality of Faraday cups


78


attached to a substrate wafer holder


82


. The Langmuir probe


74


is scanned by moving the probe (double arrow I) into and out of the plasma. With these sensors, the settings for the rf generator


66


and the tuning capacitors


58


may be determined by the controller prior to the actual use of the system


10


to plasma treat a substrate. Once the settings are determined, the probes are removed and the wafer to be treated is introduced. In another embodiment of the system, the probes are left in place during processing to permit real time control of the system. In such an embodiment using a Langmuir probe, care must be taken to not contaminate the plasma with particles evaporating from the probe and to not shadow the substrate being processed. In yet another embodiment of the system, the characteristics of the system are determined at manufacture and the system does not include plasma probe.




In a specific embodiment, the present system includes a novel susceptor design


82


using a silicon coating


205


. The silicon coating


205


is defined on substantially all surfaces, including top, sides, and bottom, of the susceptor


82


, which holds silicon wafer


201


. The silicon coating includes a silicon bearing compound. In most embodiments, the silicon coating is desirable in a process using silicon wafers or the like. The coating can be made of any suitable material that is sufficiently resistant to implantation and temperature influences. As merely an example, the silicon coating can be an amorphous silicon layer, a crystalline silicon, or a polysilicon thickness for providing protection or isolating the base susceptor material


211


, as shown in

FIG. 2A

, for example. The silicon coating can be applied to the susceptor using a variety of deposition techniques such as chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, and others. The base susceptor material can be a variety of materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, and others. Accordingly, an ion


213


impinging on susceptor coating


205


can remove a silicon bearing compound that is deposited on substrate


201


. Since the coating is made of the same or similar material as the silicon substrate


201


, substantially no damage occurs to the substrate during implantation of ions


207


. The silicon coating is often about 0.5 micrometers to about 2.0 micrometers or thicker, depending upon the embodiment.




In another embodiment, the present invention also includes a silicon coating


203


that is defined on the interior surfaces of the chamber. The silicon coating includes a silicon bearing compound. In most embodiments, the silicon coating is desirable in a process using silicon wafers or the like. The coating can be made of any suitable material that is sufficiently resistant to implantation and temperature influences. The silicon coating can be applied to the susceptor using a variety of deposition techniques such as chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, and others. As merely an example, the silicon coating can be an amorphous silicon layer, a crystalline silicon, or a polysilicon thickness for providing protection or isolating the base chamber material


215


. The silicon coating is often about 0.5 micrometers to about 2.0 micrometers or thicker, depending upon the embodiment. The base chamber material can be a variety of materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, and others. Accordingly, an ion


209


impinging on silicon coating


203


can remove a silicon bearing compound from the coating that is deposited on substrate


201


. Since the coating is made of the same or similar material as the silicon substrate


201


, substantially no damage occurs to the substrate during implantation of ions


207


.




In an alternative embodiment, the interior chamber coating can be formed using a silicon liner material.

FIG. 2B

is a simplified top-view diagram of system


200


having a silicon liner according to the present invention. The system shows a variety of elements such as base chamber material


215


and silicon coating


203


or liner that is defined on the base chamber material. Additionally, the system includes a feed location


221


and an exhaust location


223


. In this specific embodiment, the system includes chamber walls that are made of panels


225


, which are circularly shaped (i.e., polygon) to form a cylindrically shaped liner. The panels are attached to each other using fasteners or welded together. Each panel is made of a plurality of flat silicon substrates


227


, which are each housed in a frame


229


. The silicon substrates can be in the form of square wafers and the frame can be made of stainless steel or the like.





FIGS. 2C and 2D

are simplified side-view diagrams of an expanded chamber sidewall or liner according to embodiments of the present invention. The expanded chamber sidewall illustrates a plurality of silicon substrates


227


, which are grouped together to form panels


253


. The panels run parallel to each other and are folded in a manner to form the cylindrically shaped liner. Each of the substrates is housed or disposed in stainless steel frame


229


and aligned vertically to form the panel. The frame runs in horizontal and vertical sections, which are normal to each other for strength and design. The chamber sidewall also includes openings


228


and


231


for facilities or chamber elements, e.g., sensors. Each substrate is housed in frame


229


, which is covered by the substrate. That is, the frame is not exposed to the interior of the chamber. A stainless steel clip


233


holds or secures each of substrate into the frame. The clip generally uses friction forces to secure the clip into the frame, which holds the substrate. In this embodiment, a portion of the stainless steel clip is exposed to the interior of the chamber.





FIG. 2E

is an expanded top-view diagram of a chamber, having the silicon coating and liner, according to embodiments of the present invention. The chamber includes a variety of elements such as panel


253


, which is made of the plurality of silicon substrates


227


. The susceptor is coated


205


also with silicon. A bottom region


251


of the chamber, which underlies the susceptor, is also lined with silicon. As shown, the panels are attached to each other to form a cylindrical liner. The cylindrical liner lines the interior periphery of the chamber to provide “walls” for the chamber. A bottom portion of the housing sits on the bottom region


251


. A top portion of the housing faces a chamber top that holds the inductive coils. Most of the interior surfaces of the chamber are lined with silicon material, including the silicon coating, silicon liner, and others. In a specific embodiment, the interior surfaces are at least 70% silicon or at least 90% silicon, but are not limited to these percentages.





FIG. 2F

is a simplified perspective diagram


200


of chamber liner, which is not in the chamber. The liner is often assembled outside of the chamber for manufacturing ease. The liner is then placed into the chamber. In particular, a chamber top is removed to expose the inner portion of the chamber. The chamber liner is lifted from an outside position, and is inserted into the chamber opening. Depending upon the application, the chamber liner can be fastened to the bottom of the chamber, as well as the top of the chamber by way of screws, snaps, and other fasteners. In one embodiment, the chamber liner can be removed from the chamber by removing the fasteners and lifting the liner out from the top portion of the chamber. A substrate in the liner can often become damaged or the like. Rather than replacing one of the silicon substrates in the chamber, the entire liner can be removed and reconditioned.




Although the above description have been generally described in terms of a silicon liner, it can be replaced by a variety of other materials. For example, the silicon liner can be replaced by quartz or other impurity free material. Depending upon the application, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations, modifications, and alternatives.




Referring to

FIG. 3

, the configuration of plasma sources


40


may be such that a plurality of physically smaller plasma sources


40


produce a uniform plasma over an area greater than that of sum of the areas of the individual sources. In the embodiment of the configuration shown, four-inch diameter plasma sources


40


spaced at the corners of a square at six inch centers produce a plasma substantially equivalent to that generated by a single twelve inch diameter source. Therefore, by providing a vacuum chamber


14


with a plurality of windows


26


, the various configurations of plasma sources


40


may be formed to produce a uniform plasma of the shape and uniformity desired. Antennae such as those depicted do not result in rf interference between sources when properly shielded as shown.




Multiple rf plasma sources can excite electron cyclotron resonance in the presence of a multi-dipole surface magnetic field. Such a surface magnetic field would, for example, be approximately 1 KG at the pole face and would drop to a few Gauss at about 10 cm. from the pole face. In such a system, electron cyclotron resonance may be established, with the electron cyclotron resonance frequency (in Hz) being given by the expression nu=2.8×10


6


(B) where B is the magnetic field strength in Gauss. Thus, if the fundamental electron cyclotron resonance frequency is 13.56 MHz (that is, the frequency supplied by the rf generator) the magnetic field required (as applied by the magnets) is 4.8 G, for resonance coupling to take place. Higher harmonics of the fundamental resonance frequency may be achieved by increasing the magnetic field proportionately. Thus for a second harmonic to be coupled, the magnetic field would have to be increased to 9.6 G. Such ECR coupling is most effective at lower pressures (P<1 mTorr). The use of the small rf plasma sources permit such magnets to be positioned so as to make electron cyclotron resonance possible.




The Faraday cups


78


used to measure the uniformity of the field and the plasma dose, in one embodiment, are positioned near one edge in the surface of the wafer holder


82


(FIG.


4


). The flat edge


86


of wafer


90


is positioned on the wafer holder


82


such that Faraday cups


78


of the wafer holder


82


are exposed to the plasma. In this way the plasma dose experienced by the wafer


90


can be directly measured. Alternatively, a special wafer


90


′, as shown in

FIG. 4A

, is fabricated with a plurality of Faraday cups


78


embedded in the wafer


90


′. This special wafer


90


′ is used to set the rf generator


66


and the tuning capacitors


58


to achieve the desired plasma density and uniformity. Once the operating parameters have been determined, the special wafer


90


′ is removed and the wafers


90


to be processed placed on the wafer holder


82


.




Referring to

FIG. 5

, although the system


200


has been described in terms of a planar array of plasma sources


40


located on the upper surface of the vacuum chamber


14


, the plasma sources


40


may be distributed over other surfaces of the vacuum chamber


14


′ to generate a uniform volume of plasma. Such a system is particularly effective in batch processing.




Referring to

FIG. 6

, in another embodiment, a quartz window


100


is not attached to the vacuum chamber


14


, but instead encloses one end of the shield


44


of the plasma source


40


′. In this embodiment, a tube


104


attached to an opening


108


in the quartz window


100


provides a gas feed to form a plasma of a specific gas. In this case, the plasma source


40


′ is not attached to a window


26


in the wall of the vacuum chamber


14


, but is instead attached to the vacuum chamber


14


itself. Such plasma sources


40


′ can produce plasmas from specific gasses as are required by many processes. Several such plasma sources


40


′ can be aligned to sequentially treat a wafer


90


with different plasmas as in the embodiment of the in line system shown in FIG.


7


. In this embodiment, wafers


90


are moved by a conveyor


112


through sequential zones, in this embodiment zones I and II, of a continuous processing line


114


. Each zone is separated from the adjacent zones by a baffle


116


. In one embodiment, the gas in zone I is SiH


4


used in Si-CVD processing, while the gas in zone II is PH


3


used in doping. In another embodiment, a cluster tool having load-locks to isolate each processing chamber from the other chambers, and equipped with a robot includes the rf plasma sources


40


of the invention for plasma CVD and plasma etching.





FIG. 8

depicts an embodiment of the system of the invention using two plasma sources. In this embodiment each source is an inductive pancake antenna 3-4 inches in diameter. Each antenna


46


is constructed of a ¼ inch copper tube and contains 5-6 turns. Each antenna


46


is connected to a matching network


50


through a respective 160 pf capacitor. The matching network


50


includes a 0.03 mu H inductor


125


and two variable capacitors


130


,


135


. One variable capacitor


130


is adjustable over the range of 10-250 pf and the second capacitor


135


is adjustable over the range of 5-120 pf. The matching network


50


is tuned by adjusting the variable capacitor


130


,


135


. The matching network


50


is in turn connected to an rf source


66


operating at 13.56 mHz. A series of magnets


140


,


145


are positioned around the circumference of the chamber in alternating polarity every 7 cm to form a magnetic bucket.




With the chamber operating at 1 m Torr pressure, the power to the antenna


46


is 25 W per antenna or about 50 W total. With the pressure in the chamber reduced to 0.1 m Torr, the power is increased to 200 W per antenna or 400 W total. The resulting plasma at 50 W total power has a substantially uniform density of 10


11


atoms/cm


3


. The uniformity and the density may be further improved using four of such sources. With the chamber operating at 1 m Torr pressure, the power to the antenna


46


is 25 W per antenna or about 50 W total. With the pressure in the chamber reduced to 0.1 m Torr, the power is increased to 200 W per antenna or 400 W total. The resulting plasma at 50 W total power has a substantially uniform density of 10


11


atoms/cm


3


. The uniformity and the density may be further improved using four of such sources.




In a specific embodiment, the present invention operates at high temperature for light particle implanting processes. The light particle process can implant a variety of materials such as hydrogen, helium, quartz, and others. The light particles, which are implanted at high temperature, do not accumulate in any of the chamber materials, e.g., silicon, silicon liner. They tend to diffuse out of such materials, which prevents “pealing” of the silicon or silicon liner material. In most embodiments, implanting of a hydrogen bearing compound (e.g., H


2


) occurs at about 400 and greater to about 500 Degrees Celsius. The high temperature operation generally does not allow any of the light particles to cause damage to the silicon or silicon liner material.




While the above description is generally described in a variety of specific embodiments, it will be recognized that the invention can be applied in numerous other ways. For example, the improved susceptor design can be combined with the embodiments of the other Figs. Additionally, the embodiments of the other Figs. can be combined with one or more of the other embodiments. The various embodiments can be further combined or even separated depending upon the application. Accordingly, the present invention has a much wider range of applicability than the specific embodiments described herein.




Although the above has been generally described in terms of a PIII system, the present invention can also be applied to a variety of other plasma systems. For example, the present invention can be applied to a plasma source ion implantation system. Alternatively, the present invention can be applied to almost any plasma system where ion bombardment of an exposed region of a pedestal occurs. Accordingly, the above description is merely an example and should not limit the scope of the claims herein. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations, alternatives, and modifications.




While the above is a full description of the specific embodiments, various modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents may be used. Therefore, the above description and illustrations should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention which is defined by the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) treatment system for implantation, said system comprising:a chamber in which a plasma is generated in said chamber, said chamber having a bottom region exposed to the plasma and lined with silicon; and a silicon coated susceptor disposed in said chamber to support a silicon substrate, said silicon coated susceptor providing fewer non-silicon bearing impurities that can be sputtered off of the susceptor during an implantation process.
  • 2. The system of claim 1 wherein said chamber comprises a plurality of substantially planar rf transparent windows on a surface of said chamber.
  • 3. The system of claim 1 further comprising:an rf generator; and at least two rf sources, each external to said vacuum chamber and each said rf source electrically connected to said rf generator and juxtaposed to a respective one of said plurality rf transparent windows, and operative to generate said plasma in the vacuum chamber; said rf sources operative to produce a local, substantially uniform plasma proximate said substrate.
  • 4. The system of claim 3 further comprising at least one tuning circuit, each said at least one tuning circuit electrically connected to one of said at least two rf sources.
  • 5. The system of claim 1 wherein said silicon coated susceptor has a coating selected from polysilicon, amorphous silicon, or crystalline silicon.
  • 6. The system of claim 5 wherein said silicon coated susceptor has a base metal selected from stainless steel or aluminum.
  • 7. The system of claim 1 wherein said silicon substrate is a silicon bearing wafer.
  • 8. The system of claim 1 wherein said chamber comprises a silicon coating defined on an interior region of said chamber, said silicon coating providing fewer non-silicon impurities onto said silicon substrate, said non-silicon impurities can be sputtered off of said chamber.
  • 9. The system of claim 8 wherein said silicon coating is selected from amorphous silicon, polysilicon, or crystalline silicon.
  • 10. The system of claim 8 wherein said chamber comprises an aluminum bearing material underlying said silicon coating.
  • 11. The system of claim 1 wherein said system is provided in a cluster tool.
  • 12. A method for forming a substrate, said method comprising steps of:providing a substrate onto a silicon coated susceptor within a plasma immersion ion implantation chamber, said substrate comprising a silicon wafer with a surface, and said chamber having a bottom surface exposed to a plasma and lined with silicon; introducing particles in a directional manner toward and through said surface of said substrate to uniformly place said ions into a selected depth across a plane of said substrate; and sputtering silicon bearing material off of said silicon coated susceptor, said silicon bearing material being attached to said surface of said substrate.
  • 13. The method of claim 12 wherein said silicon coated susceptor comprises a material selected from an amorphous silicon, polysilicon, or crystalline silicon.
  • 14. The method of claim 12 wherein said silicon coated susceptor comprises a base material selected from aluminum or stainless steel.
  • 15. The method of claim 12 wherein said substrate comprises silicon wafer.
  • 16. The method of claim 12 wherein said chamber comprises a silicon coating defined on interior surfaces of said chamber.
  • 17. The method of claim 16 wherein said silicon coating is selected from amorphous silicon, polysilicon, or crystalline silicon.
  • 18. The method of claim 12 wherein said method occurs in a cluster tool.
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/074,397 filed Feb. 11, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. The following two commonly-owned copending applications, including this one, are being filed concurrently and the other one is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes: 1. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/215,094, allowed Chu et al., entitled, “Coated Platen Design For Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation,”; and 2. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/216,035, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,660 Chu et al., entitled, “Removable Liner Design For Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation”.

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Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
60/074397 Feb 1998 US