A method and apparatus for depositing a low dielectric constant film by reaction of an organosilicon compound and an oxidizing gas comprising carbon at a constant RF power level. Dissociation of the oxidizing gas can be increased prior to mixing with the organosilicon compound, preferably within a separate microwave chamber, to assist in controlling the carbon content of the deposited film. The oxidized organosilane or organosiloxane film has good barrier properties for use as a liner or cap layer adjacent other dielectric layers. The oxidized organosilane or organosiloxane film may also be used as an etch stop and an intermetal dielectric layer for fabricating dual damascene structures. The oxidized organosilane or organosiloxane films also provide excellent adhesion between different dielectric layers.

Plasma processes for depositing low dielectric constant films

Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition(PECVD) is being increasingly used for the fabrication of transparent dielectric optical films and coatings. This involves single-layer, multilayer, graded index, and nanocomposite optical thin filmsystems for applications such as optical filters, antireflective coatings, optical waveguides, and others. Beside their basic optical properties (refractive index, extinction coefficient, optical loss), these systems very frequently offer other desirable “functional” characteristics. These include hardness, scratch, abrasion, and erosion resistance, improved adhesion to various technologically important substrate materials such as polymers, hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity, long-term chemical, thermal, and environmental stability, gas and vapor impermeability, and others. In the present article, we critically review the advances in the development of plasma processes and plasmasystems for the synthesis of thin film high and low index optical materials, and in the control of plasma–surface interactions leading to desired film microstructures. We particularly underline those specificities of PECVD, which distinguish it from other conventional techniques for producing optical films (mainly physical vapor deposition), such as fabrication of graded index (inhomogeneous) layers, control of interfaces, high deposition rate at low temperature, enhanced mechanical and other functional characteristics, and industrial scaleup. Advances in this field are illustrated by selected examples of PECVD of antireflective coatings, rugate filters, integrated optical devices, and others.

Plasma deposition of optical films and coatings: A review

The field of plasma etching is reviewed. Plasma etching, a revolutionary extension of the technique of physical sputtering, was introduced to integrated circuit manufacturing as early as the mid 1960s and more widely in the early 1970s, in an effort to reduce liquid waste disposal in manufacturing and achieve selectivities that were difficult to obtain with wet chemistry. Quickly, the ability to anisotropically etch silicon, aluminum, and silicon dioxide in plasmas became the breakthrough that allowed the features in integrated circuits to continue to shrink over the next 40 years. Some of this early history is reviewed, and a discussion of the evolution in plasma reactor design is included. Some basic principles related to plasma etching such as evaporation rates and Langmuir–Hinshelwood adsorption are introduced. Etching mechanisms of selected materials, silicon, silicon dioxide, and low dielectric-constant materials are discussed in detail. A detailed treatment is presented of applications in current silicon integrated circuit fabrication. Finally, some predictions are offered for future needs and advances in plasma etching for silicon and nonsilicon-based devices.

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Plasma etching: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

Methylammonium lead halide perovskites suffer from poor stability because of their high sensitivity to moisture. Inorganic material coatings of SiO2 are preferred for coupling with perovskites to improve their stability, whereas the conventional SiO2 formation method is unsuitable because it requires water. Here, a simple SiO2 generation method based on the high hydrolysis rate of tetramethyl orthosilicate in analytical-grade toluene was developed to avoid the addition of water and catalyst. As a result, SiO2-encapsulated CH3NH3PbBr3 quantum dots (MAPB-QDs/SiO2) were fabricated without decreasing the quantum yield. Photostability tests indicated that the MAPB-QDs/SiO2 samples were markedly more stable than the unencapsulated MAPB-QDs. The photoluminescence (PL) of the MAPB-QDs/SiO2 powders was maintained at 94.10% after 470 nm LED illumination for 7 h, which was much higher than the remnant PL (38.36%) of the pure MAPB-QD sample under a relative humidity of 60%. Similar test results were observed when the...

Enhancing the Stability of CH3NH3PbBr3 Quantum Dots by Embedding in Silica Spheres Derived from Tetramethyl Orthosilicate in “Waterless” Toluene

A method and apparatus for depositing a low dielectric constant film by reaction of an organo silane compound and an oxidizing gas. The oxidized organo silane film has excellent barrier properties for use as a liner or cap layer adjacent other dielectric layers. The oxidized organo silane film can also be used as an etch stop or an intermetal dielectric layer for fabricating dual damascene structures. The oxidized organo silane films also provide excellent adhesion between different dielectric layers. A preferred oxidized organo silane film is produced by reaction of methyl silane, CH3SiH3, and N2O.

Method of depositing a low k dielectric with organo silane

This communication describes our results using these novel alkoxysilane precursors for PECVD of SiO_2 films in an inductively coupled rf plasma reactor. The effects of deposition time, rf power, and organosilane pressure on the films’ characteristics are described.

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Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of SiO2 using novel alkoxysilane precursors

A new instrument employing molecular beam techniques and laser induced fluorescence(LIF) for measuring the reactivity of gas phase radicals at the surface of a depositing film has been designed and characterized. The instrument uses an inductively coupled plasma source to create a molecular beam containing essentially all plasma species. A tunable excimer pumped dye laser is used to excite a single species in this complex molecular beam.LIF signals are imaged onto a gated, intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) to provide spatial resolution. ICCD images depict the fluorescence from molecules both in the molecular beam and scattering from the surface of a depositing film. Data collected with and without a substrate in the path of the molecular beam provide information about the surface reactivity of the species of interest. Here, we report the first measurements using the third generation imaging of radicals interacting with surfaces apparatus. We have measured the surface reactivity of SiH molecules formed in a 100% SiH_4 plasma during deposition of an amorphous hydrogenated silicon film. On a 300 K Si (100) substrate, the reactivity of SiH is near unity. The substrate temperature dependence (300–673 K) of the reactivity is also reported. In addition, reactivity measurements for OH molecules formed in a water plasma are presented. In contrast to the SiH molecule, the reactivity of OH radicals is 0.55±0.05 on the surface of a Si (100) substrate.

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A modified molecular beam instrument for the imaging of radicals interacting with surfaces during plasma processing

Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of SiO_2 using novel alkoxysilane precursors

The OH(X2Π) radical in a 20:80 tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)/O2 plasmas has been characterized during deposition of SiO2 using the imaging of radicals interacting with surfaces (IRIS) method. The reactivity of OH at the surface of a growing SiO2 film has been determined as a function of the applied radio-frequency (rf) plasma power (P) and the substrate temperature (TS). The reactivity (R) of OH during deposition of SiO2 on a 300 K Si substrate is 0.41 ± 0.04. R decreases as substrate temperature increases but is unaffected by increasing rf power. Translational and rotational temperatures (ϑT and ϑR, respectively) of the OH radical are also determined. For a 20:80 TEOS/O2 plasma (P = 85 W), ϑT = 912 ± 20 K and ϑR = 450 ± 20 K. ϑT is significantly higher than ϑR and increases with increasing rf power. Using isotopically labeled 18O2 as a precursor, the source of the oxygen in OH is identified as the O2 gas, not oxygen from the ethoxy groups on TEOS. With these data, the role of OH in deposition of SiO2 from TEO...

Effects of Plasma Processing Parameters on the Surface Reactivity of OH(X2Π) in Tetraethoxysilane/O2 Plasmas during Deposition of SiO2

The deposition of SiO2 films from novel alkoxysilane/O2 rf plasmas has been investigated using tetraethoxysilane and the novel alkoxysilanes, triethoxysilane, tetramethoxysilane, and trimethoxysilane. We have demonstrated that high quality SiO2 films can be deposited from each of these alkoxysilanes under similar conditions. For all precursors, film deposition rates decrease with the addition of O2. Using 20:80 alkoxysilane/O2 plasmas, film deposition rate decreases with increasing substrate temperature and plasma power, while the SiO2 film quality increases, as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and wet etch rates. Substrate temperature appears to be the most influential deposition parameter, significantly affecting both composition and properties of the deposited SiO2 films. Measured apparent activation energies for SiO2 deposition from alkoxysilane/O2 plasmas are negative for all precursors. This suggests an adsorption/desorption-limited deposition mechanism controls f...

K. H. A. Bogart

Papers

Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of SiO2 using novel alkoxysilane precursors

A modified molecular beam instrument for the imaging of radicals interacting with surfaces during plasma processing

Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of SiO_2 using novel alkoxysilane precursors

Effects of Plasma Processing Parameters on the Surface Reactivity of OH(X2Π) in Tetraethoxysilane/O2 Plasmas during Deposition of SiO2

Deposition of SiO2 films from novel alkoxysilane/O2 plasmas