公开(公告)号：US06689249B2

公开(公告)日：2004-02-10

申请号：US09947194

申请日：2001-09-04

Applicant: Kuang-Han Ke ,  Bryan Y. Pu ,  Hongching Shan ,  James Wang ,  Henry Fong ,  Zongyu Li ,  Michael D. Welch

Inventor： Kuang-Han Ke ,  Bryan Y. Pu ,  Hongching Shan ,  James Wang ,  Henry Fong ,  Zongyu Li ,  Michael D. Welch

IPC: C23F108

CPC classification number: H01L21/67126 ,  H01J37/32623 ,  H01J37/32633 ,  H01J37/3266 ,  H01L21/6831 ,  H01L21/6833 ,  H01L21/68721 ,  H01L21/68735 ,  H02N13/00 ,  Y10S156/915

Abstract: A ring or collar surrounding a semiconductor workpiece in a plasma chamber. According to one aspect, the ring has an elevated collar portion having an inner surface oriented at an obtuse angle to the plane of the workpiece, this angle preferably being 135°. This angular orientation causes ions bombarding the inner surface of the elevated collar to scatter in a direction more parallel to the plane of the workpiece, thereby reducing erosion of any dielectric shield at the perimeter of the workpiece, and ameliorating spatial non-uniformity in the plasma process due to any excess ion density near such perimeter. In a second aspect, the workpiece is surrounded by a dielectric shield, and the shield is covered by a non-dielectric ring which protects the dielectric shield from reaction with, or erosion by, the process gases. In a third aspect, the dielectric shield is thin enough to couple substantial power from the cathode to the plasma, thereby improving spatial uniformity of the plasma process near the perimeter of the workpiece. In a fourth aspect, azimuthal non-uniformities in process performance can be ameliorated by corresponding azimuthal variations in the dimensions of the elevated collar and/or the dielectric shield surrounding the workpiece.

Abstract translation: 围绕等离子体室中的半导体工件的环或环。 根据一个方面，所述环具有提升的套环部分，其内表面以与工件的平面成钝角定向，该角度优选为135°。 这种角度取向导致离子轰击提升的套环的内表面沿更平行于工件的平面的方向散射，从而减少工件周边处的任何介电屏蔽的侵蚀，并且改善等离子体中的空间不均匀性 由于这种周边附近的任何过量的离子密度而产生的过程。 在第二方面，工件被电介质屏蔽围绕，屏蔽被非介电环覆盖，该绝缘环保护介电屏蔽免受过程气体的反应或腐蚀。 在第三方面中，电介质屏蔽体足够薄以将来自阴极的实质功率耦合到等离子体，从而改善靠近工件周边的等离子体工艺的空间均匀性。 在第四方面，方法性能的方位不均匀性可以通过围绕工件的高架轴环和/或介电屏蔽的尺寸的相应的方位角变化来改善。

公开(公告)号：US06168726A

公开(公告)日：2001-01-02

申请号：US09200086

申请日：1998-11-25

Applicant: Zongyu Li ,  Jian Ding ,  Mehul Naik

Inventor： Zongyu Li ,  Jian Ding ,  Mehul Naik

IPC: B44C122

CPC classification number: H01L21/76828 ,  H01L21/31116 ,  H01L21/31138 ,  H01L21/76802 ,  H01L21/76807

Abstract: A process for etching an oxidized organo-silane film exhibiting a low dielectric constant and having a most preferred atomic composition of 52% hydrogen, 8% carbon, 19% silicon, and 21% oxygen. The process of etching deep holes in the organo-silane film while stopping on a nitride or other non-oxide layer is preferably performed in an inductively coupled high-density plasma reactor with a main etching gas mixture of a fluorocarbon, such as C4F8, and argon while the pedestal electrode supporting the wafer is RF biased. For very deep and narrow holes, oxygen or nitrogen may be added to volatize carbon. In an integrated process in which an oxygen plasma is used either for the film etching or for post-etch treatments such as ashing or nitride removal, the oxygen plasma should be excited only when no RF bias is applied to the pedestal electrode, and thereafter the sample should be annealed in an inert environment to recover the low dielectric constant.

Abstract translation: 具有低介电常数且具有52％氢，8％碳，19％硅和21％氧的最优选原子组成的氧化有机硅烷膜的方法。 在氮化物或其他非氧化物层上停止时蚀刻有机硅烷膜中的深孔的过程优选在具有碳氟化合物如C4F8的主蚀刻气体混合物的电感耦合高密度等离子体反应器中进行， 而支撑晶片的基座电极是RF偏置的。 对于非常深而窄的孔，可以加入氧气或氮气以挥发碳。 在其中使用氧等离子体用于薄膜蚀刻或蚀刻后处理如灰化或氮化物去除的整合方法中，只有当没有RF偏压施加到基座电极时，才应激发氧等离子体，此后， 样品应在惰性环境中退火以回收低介电常数。

公开(公告)号：US6113731A

公开(公告)日：2000-09-05

申请号：US735444

申请日：1997-01-02

Applicant: Hongching Shan ,  Roger Lindley ,  Claes Bjorkman ,  Xue Yu Qian ,  Richard Plavidal ,  Bryan Pu ,  Ji Ding ,  Zongyu Li ,  Kuang-Han Ke ,  Michael Welch

Inventor： Hongching Shan ,  Roger Lindley ,  Claes Bjorkman ,  Xue Yu Qian ,  Richard Plavidal ,  Bryan Pu ,  Ji Ding ,  Zongyu Li ,  Kuang-Han Ke ,  Michael Welch

IPC: H05H1/46 ,  H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/00 ,  H01L21/02 ,  H01L21/203 ,  H01L21/205 ,  H01L21/302 ,  H01L21/3065 ,  H01L21/687 ,  C23F1/02

CPC classification number: H01L21/67069 ,  H01J37/32623 ,  H01J37/3266 ,  H01L21/68735

Abstract: A plasma chamber having a magnet which produces a magnetic field such that, within a region parallel to and adjacent to the workpiece, the direction of the magnetic field is approximately the vector cross product of (i) the gradient of the magnitude of the magnetic field, and (ii) a vector extending perpendicularly from the workpiece surface toward the plasma. Alternatively, the plasma chamber includes a north magnetic pole and a south magnetic pole located at distinct azimuths around the periphery of the workpiece. The azimuth of the south magnetic pole relative to the north magnetic pole is clockwise around the central axis, and each magnetic pole faces a direction which is more toward than away from a central axis of the workpiece area. An additional aspect of the invention is a plasma chamber having a rotating magnetic field produced by electromagnets spaced around the periphery of the workpiece which receive successive fixed amounts of electrical current during successive time intervals. During each transition between the time intervals, the current supplied to each electromagnet is changed relatively slowly or relatively quickly according to whether the current change includes a change in polarity.

Abstract translation: 具有磁体的等离子体室产生磁场，使得在与工件平行并邻近工件的区域内，磁场的方向近似为（i）磁场强度梯度的矢量交叉积 ，和（ii）从工件表面朝向等离子体垂直延伸的矢量。 或者，等离子体室包括北磁极和位于工件周围的不同方位角处的南磁极。 南磁极相对于北磁极的方位角是围绕中心轴顺时针旋转的，每个磁极面对的方向远离工件区域的中心轴线。 本发明的另一方面是等离子体室，其具有由围绕工件周边间隔开的电磁体产生的旋转磁场，其在连续的时间间隔期间接收连续的固定量的电流。 在时间间隔期间的每个转换期间，根据电流变化是否包括极性变化，提供给每个电磁体的电流相对缓慢或相对较快地改变。

公开(公告)号：US06284149B1

公开(公告)日：2001-09-04

申请号：US09156956

申请日：1998-09-18

Applicant: Zongyu Li ,  Karsten Schneider ,  Axel Walter ,  Jian Ding

Inventor： Zongyu Li ,  Karsten Schneider ,  Axel Walter ,  Jian Ding

IPC: H01L21033

CPC classification number: H01L21/7681 ,  H01J37/321 ,  H01J37/32706 ,  H01L21/31138 ,  H01L21/76804 ,  H01L21/76807

Abstract: A plasma etching process for etching a carbon-based low-k dielectric layer in a multi-layer inter-level dielectric. The low-k dielectric may be divinyl siloxane-benzocyclobutene (BCB), which contains about 4% silicon, the remainder being carbon, hydrogen, and a little oxygen. The BCB etch uses an etching gas of oxygen, a fluorocarbon, and nitrogen and no argon. An N2/O2 ratio of between 1:1 and 3:1 produces vertical walls in the BCB. In a dual-damascene structure, the inter-level dielectric includes two BCB layers, each underlaid by a respective stop layer. Photolithography with an organic photoresist needs a hard mask of silicon oxide or nitride over the upper BCB layer. After the BCB etch has cleared all the photoresist, the bias power applied to the cathode supporting the wafer needs to be set to a low value while the separately controlled plasma source power is set reasonably high, thereby reducing faceting of the exposed hard mask. Chamber pressures of no more than 5 milliTorr increase the selectivity of BCB over photoresist. Substrate temperatures of less than 0° C. increase the BCB etch rate. A low fluorocarbon flow increases the etch rate, but a minimum amount of fluorocarbon is required for the silicon component of BCB. In a counterbore dual-damascene etch, the lower stop layer is composed of nitride, and the preferred fluorocarbon is difluoroethane (CH2F2). A silicon-free carbon-based low-k dielectric can be etched under similar chamber conditions with a etching gas of oxygen and nitrogen in about equal amounts but including no fluorocarbon nor argon.

Abstract translation: 一种用于蚀刻多层级间电介质中的碳基低k电介质层的等离子体蚀刻工艺。 低k电介质可以是二乙烯基硅氧烷 - 苯并环丁烯（BCB），其含有约4％的硅，其余是碳，氢和少量的氧。 BCB蚀刻使用氧气，碳氟化合物和氮气的蚀刻气体，而不使用氩气。 在1：1和3：1之间的N2 / O2比率在BCB中产生垂直壁。 在双镶嵌结构中，层间电介质包括两个BCB层，每个BCB层由相应的停止层覆盖。 使用有机光致抗蚀剂的光刻法需要在上BCB层上的氧化硅或氮化物的硬掩模。 在BCB蚀刻已经清除了所有光致抗蚀剂之后，施加到支撑晶片的阴极的偏置功率需要被设置为低值，而单独控制的等离子体源功率被设置得相当高，从而减少了暴露的硬掩模的刻痕。 室压不超过5毫乇可提高BCB对光致抗蚀剂的选择性。 衬底温度小于0℃会增加BCB蚀刻速率。 低碳氟化合物流量增加了蚀刻速率，但BCB的硅组分需要最少量的碳氟化合物。 在沉孔双镶嵌蚀刻中，下停止层由氮化物组成，优选的碳氟化合物是二氟乙烷（CH 2 F 2）。 可以在类似的腔室条件下用大约相等量的氧和氮的蚀刻气体蚀刻无硅碳基低k电介质，但不包括氟碳和氩。

公开(公告)号：US06284093B1

公开(公告)日：2001-09-04

申请号：US09665484

申请日：2000-09-20

Applicant: Kuang-Han Ke ,  Bryan Y. Pu ,  Hongching Shan ,  James Wang ,  Henry Fong ,  Zongyu Li ,  Michael D. Welch

Inventor： Kuang-Han Ke ,  Bryan Y. Pu ,  Hongching Shan ,  James Wang ,  Henry Fong ,  Zongyu Li ,  Michael D. Welch

IPC: H01J100

CPC classification number: H01L21/67126 ,  H01J37/32623 ,  H01J37/32633 ,  H01J37/3266 ,  H01L21/6831 ,  H01L21/6833 ,  H01L21/68721 ,  H01L21/68735 ,  H02N13/00 ,  Y10S156/915

Abstract: A ring or collar surrounding a semiconductor workpiece in a plasma chamber. According to one aspect, the ring has an elevated collar portion having an inner surface oriented at an obtuse angle to the plane of the workpiece, this angle preferably being 135°. This angular orientation causes ions bombarding the inner surface of the elevated collar to scatter in a direction more parallel to the plane of the workpiece, thereby reducing erosion of any dielectric shield at the perimeter of the workpiece, and ameliorating spatial non-uniformity in the plasma process due to any excess ion density near such perimeter. In a second aspect, the workpiece is surrounded by a dielectric shield, and the shield is covered by a non-dielectric ring which protects the dielectric shield from reaction with, or erosion by, the process gases. In a third aspect, the dielectric shield is thin enough to couple substantial power from the cathode to the plasma, thereby improving spatial uniformity of the plasma process near the perimeter of the workpiece. In a fourth aspect, azimuthal non-uniformities in process performance can be ameliorated by corresponding azimuthal variations in the dimensions of the elevated collar and/or the dielectric shield surrounding the workpiece.

Abstract translation: 围绕等离子体室中的半导体工件的环或环。 根据一个方面，所述环具有提升的套环部分，其内表面以与工件的平面成钝角定向，该角度优选为135°。 这种角度取向导致离子轰击提升的轴环的内表面沿更平行于工件的平面的方向散射，从而减少工件周边处的任何介电屏蔽的侵蚀，并且改善等离子体中的空间不均匀性 由于这种周边附近的任何过量的离子密度而产生的过程。 在第二方面，工件被电介质屏蔽围绕，屏蔽被非介电环覆盖，该绝缘环保护介电屏蔽免受过程气体的反应或腐蚀。 在第三方面中，电介质屏蔽体足够薄以将来自阴极的实质功率耦合到等离子体，从而改善靠近工件周边的等离子体工艺的空间均匀性。 在第四方面，方法性能的方位不均匀性可以通过围绕工件的高架轴环和/或介电屏蔽的尺寸的相应的方位角变化来改善。