Process gas discharged from a bypass pipe to a gas exhaust system can be prevented from diffusing back to the inside of a process chamber without having to install a dedicated vacuum pump at the downstream side of the bypass pipe. The substrate processing apparatus includes a process chamber accommodating a substrate, a gas supply system supplying process gas from a process gas source to the process chamber for processing the substrate, a gas exhaust system configured to exhaust the process chamber, two or more vacuum pumps installed in series at the gas exhaust system, and a bypass pipe connected between the gas supply system and the gas exhaust system. The most upstream one of the vacuum pumps is a mechanical booster pump, and the bypass pipe is connected between the mechanical booster pump and the rest vacuum pumps located at a downstream side of the mechanical booster pump.

Substrate Processing Apparatus

A film is formed on a substrate by performing a cycle at least twice, the cycle including a nucleus formation process for forming nuclei on the substrate and a nucleus growth suppression process for suppressing growth of the nuclei. A time required for the nucleus growth suppression process is less than or equal to a time required for the nucleus formation process. Alternatively, the nucleus formation process is further performed after the cycle is repeatedly performed a plurality of times.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device and substrate processing apparatus

Capacitors having increased capacitance include an enhanced-surface-area (rough-surfaced) electrically conductive layer or other layers that are compatible with the high-dielectric constant materials. In one approach, an enhanced-surface-area electrically conductive layer for such capacitors is formed by processing a ruthenium oxide layer at high temperature at or above 500° C. and low pressure 75 torr or below, most desirably 5 torr or below, to produce a roughened ruthenium layer having a textured surface with a mean feature size of at least about 100 Angstroms. The initial ruthenium oxide layer may be provided by chemical vapor deposition techniques or sputtering techniques or the like. The layer may be formed over an underlying electrically conductive layer. The processing may be performed in an inert ambient or in a reducing ambient. A nitrogen-supplying ambient or nitrogen-supplying reducing ambient may be used during the processing or afterwards to passivate the ruthenium for improved compatibility with high-dielectric-constant dielectric materials. Processing in an oxidizing ambient may also be performed to passivate the roughened layer. The roughened layer of ruthenium may be used to form an enhanced-surface-area electrically conductive layer. The resulting enhanced-surface-area electrically conductive layer may form a plate of a storage capacitor in an integrated circuit, such as in a memory cell of a DRAM or the like. In another approach, a tungsten nitride layer is provided as an first electrode of such a capacitor. The capacitor, or at least the tungsten nitride layer, is annealed to increase the capacitance of the capacitor.

Methods for forming and integrated circuit structures containing ruthenium and tungsten containing layers

An exemplary apparatus and method of forming a ruthenium tetroxide containing gas to form a ruthenium containing layer on a surface of a substrate is described herein. The method and apparatus described herein may be especially useful for fabricating electronic devices that are formed on a surface of the substrate or wafer. Generally, the method includes exposing a surface of a substrate to a ruthenium tetroxide vapor to form a catalytic layer on the surface of a substrate and then filling the device structures by an electroless, electroplating, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD) or plasma enhanced ALD (PE-ALD) processes. In one embodiment, the ruthenium containing layer is formed on a surface of a substrate by creating ruthenium tetroxide in an external vessel and then delivering the generated ruthenium tetroxide gas to a surface of a temperature controlled substrate positioned in a processing chamber. In one embodiment, a ruthenium tetroxide containing solvent formation process is used to form ruthenium tetroxide using a ruthenium tetroxide containing source material. In one embodiment, of a ruthenium containing layer is formed on a surface of a substrate, using the ruthenium tetroxide containing solvent. In another embodiment, the solvent is separated from the ruthenium tetroxide containing solvent mixture and the remaining ruthenium tetroxide is used to form a ruthenium containing layer on the surface of a substrate.

Ruthenium containing layer deposition method

In one embodiment, a method for depositing a conductive material on a substrate is provided which includes exposing a substrate containing a barrier layer to a volatile reducing precursor to form a reducing layer during a soak process, exposing the reducing layer to a catalytic-metal precursor to deposit a catalytic metal-containing layer on the barrier layer, and depositing a conductive layer (e.g., copper) on the catalytic metal-containing layer. The volatile reducing precursor may include phosphine, diborane, silane, a plasma thereof, or a combination thereof and be exposed to the substrate for a time period within a range from about 1 second to about 30 seconds during the soak process. The catalytic metal-containing layer may contain ruthenium, cobalt, rhodium, iridium, nickel, palladium, platinum, silver, or copper. In one example, the catalytic metal-containing layer is deposited by a vapor deposition process utilizing ruthenium tetroxide formed by an in situ process.

Deposition of an intermediate catalytic layer on a barrier layer for copper metallization

Disclosed is a semiconductor device, comprising a semiconductor substrate, a cell transistor formed in the semiconductor substrate, an interlayer dielectric film in which is formed a contact hole communicating with a part of the cell transistor, a contact plug buried in the contact hole formed in the interlayer dielectric film, a capacitor lower electrode formed of a ruthenium/tantalum laminate film consisting of a tantalum film and a ruthenium film formed on the tantalum film, the lower electrode being formed on interlayer dielectric film and connected to the contact plug, a capacitor dielectric film formed on the ruthenium film included in the capacitor lower electrode and consisting of a metal oxide, and a capacitor upper electrode formed on the capacitor dielectric film, the ruthenium film exhibiting (00n) dominant orientation, where n denotes a positive integer.

Semiconductor device with tantalum and ruthenium

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the reliability of a capacitor employing a BST (BaXSr1- XTiO3 ) layer by forming a high quality low stress ruthenium layer excellent in adhesion to an underlying layer. SOLUTION: In the method for fabricating a semiconductor device where memory cells are constituted using BST as a capacitor insulator, CVD oxides 107, 110 are deposited on a single crystal Si substrate 101 on which a cell transistor is formed, contact holes reaching the drain diffusion layer 106 of cell transistor are made therein and then arsenic doped poly-Si plugs 111 are buried in the contact holes. Subsequently, Ta 112 and Ru 113 are deposited sequentially on the oxide 110 by room temperature sputtering and patterned. Finally, BST 114 is deposited thinly on the Ru 113 by CVD and an upper electrode is formed of Ru 115. According to the method, an Ru/BST/Ru capacitor employing a laminate of Ta preferentially oriented in (311) and Ru preferentially oriented in (002) as a lower electrode can be formed.

Semiconductor device and fabrication thereof

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the device capable of forming a thin film with uniform thickness at high operating ratio by providing a heating mechanism with a resistance heating mechanism and a high frequency heating mechanism, thereby partially heating only the substrate to be deposited such as a silicon substrate. SOLUTION: As a heating means, a resistance heating heater 150 and a high frequency heater 160 are provided. The whole body of the inside of a reaction vessel 141 is heated by the resistance heating heater 150, and simultaneously, only the material which can be heated by high frequency induction is selectively heated as well by using the high frequency heater 160, and a high temp. can partially be obtained. In this way, e.g. in the case the material to be heated is subjected to high frequency induction such as a silicon substrate, only the part can be made a temp. higher than the vicinity thereof. There is no limitation in the positional relation between the resistance heating heater 150 and the high frequency heater 160, and the resistance heating heater 150 may be arranged on the inside or outside of the high frequency heater 160, or they may be arranged alternately on the same circumference of a circle. The sticking of deposits to the side wall of the reaction vessel 141 or the like and stuck materials onto the substrate caused by the peeling thereof are reduced.

Thin film forming device and method therefor

Semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor substrate, and a capacitor provided on the substrate. The capacitor has a lower electrode, a dielectric film on the lower electrode, and an upper electrode on the dielectric film. The novelty is that the dielectric film (117) has a thickness of 100 nm or less, and is made of a metal oxide consisting of a perovskite structure of ABO3 type (where A = Sr, Ba or Ca ion; and B = Ti ion), and contains Fe, Mn or Co. Also claimed is a dynamic storage device. Further claimed is the prodn. of the semiconductor device.

Semiconductor device, e.g. DRAM

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable stable use, in forming a metallic oxide film with CVD method using a liquid phase feeding method, by eliminating adverse effect due to generation of residue in a vaporizer. SOLUTION: This device for growing/forming a metallic oxide film on a base body arranged for processing inside a reaction container is provided with a raw material container 100 for storing a liquid material for which BST material is dissolved in THF, a pump 110 for transporting the liquid material from the raw material container 100, a vaporizer 120 for gasifying in the high temperature part the liquid material so transported from this pump 110, a reaction container 140 into which the gas gasified by the vaporizer 120 is introduced for the growth of the metallic oxide film, and a pump 115 for cleaning the vaporizer 120 by transporting to it THF containing no BST material.

Eguchi Kazuhiro

Papers

Semiconductor device with tantalum and ruthenium

Semiconductor device and fabrication thereof

Thin film forming device and method therefor

Semiconductor device, e.g. DRAM

Method and device for forming thin film