This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-187875, filed on Aug. 28, 2012; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a trench formation method and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device.
When manufacturing semiconductor devices such as power devices, there are cases where it is necessary to make trenches having depths of several tens of μm (microns). In particular, when manufacturing super junction-type medium-to-high voltage devices, there are cases where it is necessary to make trenches that are deep and have substantially perpendicular side surfaces. In such a case, it is necessary for the widths of the trenches to have high uniformity in the wafer plane to guarantee the characteristics of the devices that are manufactured.
In general, according to one embodiment, a trench formation method uses a plasma source to make a trench in a silicon substrate by alternately repeating a depositing step and an etching step. The method includes implementing the depositing step and the etching step to satisfy formula 1, formula 2 and formula 3 recited below, where a distance between the silicon substrate and a region where plasma is to be confined is x (mm), an RF power to induce the plasma is w (kW), a pressure of the depositing step is y (Pa), and a tolerable limit of fluctuation in a plane of the silicon substrate of a width of the trench to be made is z0 (μm).
In general, according to one embodiment, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes making a trench in a silicon substrate by alternately repeating a depositing step and an etching step using a plasma source. The making of the trench includes implementing the depositing step and the etching step to satisfy formula 1, formula 2 and formula 3 recited below, where a distance between the silicon substrate and a region where plasma is to be confined is x (mm), an RF power to induce the plasma is w (kW), a pressure of the depositing step is y (Pa), and a tolerable limit of fluctuation in a plane of the silicon substrate of a width of the trench to be made is z0 (μm).
An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.
The method for manufacturing the semiconductor device according to the embodiment will now be described with reference to
First, as shown in
Then, as shown in
Continuing as shown in
Then, as shown in
First, a depositing step is implemented using the apparatus 10. Namely, a deposition gas, e.g., a fluorocarbon gas such as C4F8, etc., is supplied to the apparatus 10. In this state, RF (Radio Frequency) waves of a constant output (RF power) are introduced to the apparatus 10. Thereby, a portion of the deposition gas inside the apparatus 10 is ionized; and plasma 11 is formed in a space (a confinement space) that is separated from the silicon substrate 1 by a constant distance.
As a result, as shown in
Then, an etching step is implemented using the same apparatus 10. Namely, the supply of the deposition gas is stopped; and an etching gas, e.g., a gas containing fluorine such as SF6, etc., is supplied to the apparatus 10. At this time, the RF power is maintained at a constant value. Thereby, a portion of the etching gas inside the apparatus 10 becomes the plasma 11 and is confined in a space that is separated from the silicon substrate 1 by a constant distance.
As a result, as shown in
Then, the depositing step is implemented again. Namely, the supply of the etching gas is stopped; and the deposition gas described above is introduced to the apparatus 10. The RF power is maintained at the constant value. Thereby, as shown in
Continuing, the etching step is implemented again. Thereby, as shown in
Thereafter, the depositing step and the etching step described above are alternately repeated without opening the apparatus 10 to the ambient air. Thereby, the silicon substrate 1 can be progressively excavated downward by making the recesses on top of one another while using the deposition film 4 to suppress the enlargement of the recesses in the lateral direction. As a result, as shown in
At this time, the ranges of RF power w (kW), a distance x (mm), and a deposition pressure y (Pa) satisfy each of Formula 1 recited below, Formula 2 recited below, and Formula 3 recited below, where the distance between the silicon substrate 1 which is the member to be etched and the region inside the apparatus 10 where the plasma is to be confined is x (mm (millimeters)), the RF power is w (kW (kilowatts))), the pressure (the deposition pressure) of the depositing step inside the apparatus 10 is y (Pa (pascals)), and the tolerable limit of the fluctuation in the plane of the silicon substrate 1 of the width of the trench 6 to be made is z0 (μm).
For example, an example of the apparatus 10 may have a flame body (not shown). An opening is formed on a bottom face, that is the silicon substrate 1 side face, of the flame body. In this case, an interior region of the flame body corresponds to the region where the plasma is to be confined, and the distance between the opening of the flame body and the silicon substrate 1 is x.
2.785w2+0.01788y2−0.4180wy−12.25w+0.9081y+13.61≦z0 [Formula 1]
−0.010x+0.039y+0.37≦z0 [Formula 2]
0.000656x2+0.00638y2+0.523w2−0.0181xy+0.0369xw+0.00436yw−0.118x−0.0485y−3.69w+6.55≦z0 [Formula 3]
Subsequently, as shown in
Effects of the embodiment will now be described.
According to the embodiment, the depositing step and the etching step are repeated at conditions to satisfy Formula 1 to Formula 3 recited above when making the trench 6 in the silicon substrate 1. Thereby, the fluctuation in the plane of the silicon substrate 1 of the width of the trench 6 can be suppressed to be not more than z0 (μm) recited above; and the trench 6 can be made with high precision. As a result, the semiconductor device 8 having good characteristics can be manufactured stably.
The derivation process of Formula 1 to Formula 3 recited above will now be described.
Formula 1 to Formula 3 recited above are formulas determined by the following experiments.
First, similarly to the embodiment described above, a resist mask was formed on a silicon wafer. Multiple openings having trench configurations were made in the resist mask with widths of 1.8 μm and an arrangement period of 8 μm. Then, as described above, trenches were made in the upper surface of the silicon wafer which is the substrate to be etched with depths of 50 μm by repeating an etching step and a depositing step using an inductively coupled plasma etching apparatus.
At this time, the five parameters of (1) to (5) recited below were extracted as the parameters that affect the widths of the trenches.
(1) The distance between the silicon wafer and the region where the plasma is to be confined (gap amount): x (mm)
(2) The pressure of the etching step (etching pressure): u (Pa)
(3) The plasma induction RF power (RF power): w (kW)
(4) The bias power of the etching step (bias power): v (W)
(5) The pressure of the depositing step (deposition pressure): y (Pa)
Then, trenches were made in the entire surface of the silicon wafer for each combination of the parameters while varying the values of the parameters of (1) to (5) recited above. Subsequently, the widths of the trenches were measured.
As shown in
As shown in
In other words, for one silicon wafer, the width of the trench was measured at five points in the plane and three points in the depth direction for a total of fifteen points. Then, the difference of the maximum value and the minimum value of the five points in the plane described above were calculated for each of the widths WT1, WM, and WB1; and the differences were taken to be the in-plane fluctuation for each of the widths WT1, WM, and WB1. As a result, it was ascertained that the RF power and the deposition pressure greatly affect the in-plane fluctuation of the width WT1; the gap amount and the deposition pressure greatly affect the in-plane fluctuation of the width WM; and the gap amount, the deposition pressure, and the RF power greatly affect the in-plane fluctuation of the width WB1.
The value of the trench width of the third axis in each of
The in-plane fluctuation of the width WT1 of the third axis of
The in-plane fluctuation of the width WM of the third axis of
The in-plane fluctuation of the width WB1 illustrated by the contours in
As shown in
The relationship between the RF power, the deposition pressure, and the in-plane fluctuation of the width WT1 shown in
z=2.785w2+0.01788y2−0.4180wy−12.25w+0.9081y+13.61 [Formula 4]
As shown in
The relationship between the gap amount, the deposition pressure, and the in-plane fluctuation of the width WM shown in
z=−0.01003x+0.03929y+0.3692 [Formula 5]
As shown in
The relationship of the in-plane fluctuation of the width WB1 with the gap amount, the deposition pressure, and the RF power shown in
z=0.0006558x2+0.006377y2+0.5227w2−0.01813xy+0.03686xw+0.00436yw−0.1178x−0.04847y−3.692w+6.551 [Formula 6]
According to Formula 4 recited above, the ranges of the RF power w and the deposition pressure y such that the fluctuation amount z of the width WT1 is not more than z0 are the range satisfying Formula 7 recited below.
2.785w2+0.01788y2−0.4180wy−12.25w+0.9081y+13.61≦z0 [Formula 7]
From Formula 5 recited above, the values of the gap amount x and the deposition pressure y such that the fluctuation amount z of the width WM is not more than z0 are in the range of Formula 8 recited below.
−0.01003x+0.03929y+0.3692≦z0 [Formula 8]
From Formula 6 recited above, the values of the gap amount x, the deposition pressure y, and the RF power w such that the fluctuation amount z of the width WB1 is not more than z0 are in the range of Formula 9 recited below.
0.0006558x2+0.006377y2+0.5227w2−0.01813xy+0.03686xw+0.00436yw−0.1178x−0.04847y−3.692w+6.551≦z0 [Formula 9]
Summarizing the description recited above, the in-plane fluctuation z at all of the widths WT1, WM, and WB1 of the trenches can be the value z0 or less by the RF power w, the gap amount x, and the deposition pressure y having values satisfying Formulas 7 to 9 recited above. Formulas 7 to 9 recited above correspond to Formulas 1 to 3 recited above.
Also, significant figures of Formulas 1 to 3 to be needed for a form accuracy of a trench are two. However, it is preferably that a significant figure of Formula 1 is four, a significant figure of Formula 2 is two, a significant figure of Formula 3 is three. Thereby, each of the above parameters can be calculated in one higher significant figure than a significant figure to be needed for a form accuracy of a trench, and a trench having high form accuracy can be formed certainly.
Formulas 7 to 9 recited above represent the possible regions of the RF power w, the gap amount x, and the deposition pressure y in wxy space with respect to the tolerable in-plane fluctuation z0 of the trench width. As an example, the possible regions of the RF power w, the gap amount x, and the deposition pressure y when z0=0.3 (μm) are shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Then, the combinations of the RF power, the gap amount x, and the deposition pressure y that satisfy all of Formulas 7 to 9 recited above are the combinations for which the in-plane fluctuation of all of the widths WT1, WM, and WB1 is not more than 0.3 (μm), which corresponds to the overlapping portion of the regions shown in
Although an example is illustrated in the embodiments described above in which a power semiconductor device having a super junction structure is manufactured, the invention is not limited thereto and is favorably applicable to methods for manufacturing semiconductor devices in which a deep trench is made in a silicon substrate. For example, the invention is applicable to form a trench in MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) device and so on. Although an example is illustrated in the embodiments described above in which the silicon substrate is a silicon wafer, this is not limited thereto. It is sufficient for at least a portion of the silicon substrate to be made of silicon where the trench is made.
According to the embodiments described above, a trench formation method and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device having highly uniform patterning dimensions in the plane can be realized.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2012-187875 | Aug 2012 | JP | national |