The present invention provides for sequential chemical vapor deposition by employing a reactor operated at low pressure, a pump to remove excess reactants, and a line to introduce gas into the reactor through a valve. A first reactant forms a monolayer on the part to be coated, while the second reactant passes through a radical generator which partially decomposes or activates the second reactant into a gaseous radical before it impinges on the monolayer. This second reactant does not necessarily form a monolayer but is available to react with the monolayer. A pump removes the excess second reactant and reaction products completing the process cycle. The process cycle can be repeated to grow the desired thickness of film.

Sequential chemical vapor deposition

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 new method for CVD deposition on a substrate is taught wherein radical species are used in alternate steps to depositions from a molecular precursor to treat the material deposited from the molecular precursor and to prepare the substrate surface with a reactive chemical in preparation for the next molecular precursor step. By repetitive cycles a composite integrated film is produced. In a preferred embodiment the depositions from the molecular precursor are metals, and the radicals in the alternate steps are used to remove ligands left from the metal precursor reactions, and to oxidize or nitridize the metal surface in subsequent layers. A variety of alternative chemistries are taught for different films, and hardware combinations to practice the invention are taught as well.

Radical-assisted sequential CVD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus and method of plasma assisted deposition by generation of a plasma adjacent a processing region. One embodiment of the apparatus comprises a substrate processing chamber including a top shower plate, a power source coupled to the top shower plate, a bottom shower plate, and an insulator disposed between the top shower plate and the bottom shower plate. In one aspect, the power source is adapted to selectively provide power to the top shower plate to generate a plasma from the gases between the top shower plate and the bottom shower plate. In another embodiment, a power source is coupled to the top shower plate and the bottom shower plate to generate a plasma between the bottom shower plate and the substrate support. One embodiment of the method comprises performing in a single chamber one or more of the processes including, but not limited to, cyclical layer deposition, combined cyclical layer deposition and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition; plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition; and/or chemical vapor deposition.

Apparatus and method for plasma assisted deposition

An improved apparatus and method for substrate layer deposition in which substrate layers are grown by carrier gas delivery of sequential pulses of reactants to the substrate surface. At least one of the reactants comprises excited species, e.g., radicals. In a specific embodiment, the apparatus of this invention provides sequential repeated pulses of reactants in a flow of carrier gas for reaction at a substrate surface. The reactant pulses are delivered with sufficient intervening delay times to minimize undesirable reaction between reactants in adjacent pulses in the gas phase or undesired uncontrolled reactions on the substrate surface.

Apparatus and method for growth of a thin film

A thin film manufacturing method is provided. The method includes the step of chemically adsorbing a first reactant on a substrate by injecting the first reactant into a chamber in which the substrate is loaded. Physisorbed first reactant on the chemically adsorbed first reactant is removed by purging or pumping the chamber. After the first reactant is densely chemically adsorbed on the substrate by re-injecting the first reactant into the chamber, the physisorbed first reactant on the dense chemisorbed first reactant is removed by purging or pumping the chamber. A second reactant is chemically adsorbed onto the surface of the substrate by injecting the second reactant into the chamber. Physisorbed second reactant on the chemisorbed first reactant and the second reactant is removed by purging or pumping the chamber. A solid thin film is formed by chemical exchange through densely adsorbing the second reactant onto the substrate by re-injecting the second reactant into the chamber. According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a precise stoichiometric thin film having a high film density, since the first reactant and the second reactant are densely adsorbed and the impurities are substantially removed by pumping or purging

Method for manufacturing thin film using atomic layer deposition

Integrated circuit devices include a first dielectric layer, an electrically insulating layer on the first dielectric layer and an an aluminum oxide buffer layer formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and stabilized by heat treatment at a temperature of less than about 600° C., between the first dielectric layer and the electrically insulating layer. The first dielectric layer may comprise a high dielectric material such as a ferroelectric or paraelectric material. The electrically insulating layer may also comprise a material selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide, borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) and phosphosilicate glass (PSG). To provide a preferred integrated circuit capacitor, a substrate may be provided and an interlayer dielectric layer may be provided on the substrate. Here, a metal layer may also be provided between the interlayer dielectric layer and the first dielectric layer. The metal layer may comprise a material selected from the group consisting of Pt, Ru, Ir, and Pd.

Integrated circuit devices having buffer layers therein which contain metal oxide stabilized by heat treatment under low temperature

A capacitor having high capacitance using a silicon-containing conductive layer as a storage node, and a method for forming the same, are provided. The capacitor includes a storage node, an amorphous Al2O3 dielectric layer, and a plate node. The amorphous Al2O3 layer is formed by a method in which reactive vapor phase materials are supplied on the storage node, for example, an atomic layered deposition method. Also, the storage node is processed by rapid thermal nitridation before forming the amorphous Al2O3 layer. The amorphous Al2O3 layer is densified by annealing at approximately 850° C. after forming a plate node, to thereby realize the equivalent thickness of an oxide layer which approximates a theoretical value of 30 Å.

Capacitor for a semiconductor device and method for forming the same

Method for forming a capacitor of a semiconductor device

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a thin film capable of obtaining an excellent stoichiometric thin film high in density by an atom-layer vapor deposition. SOLUTION: A first reactant is injected into a chamber having loaded a substrate thereon to make the first reactant chemically adsorbed to the substrate, the chamber is purged or pumped to remove the first reactant phisisorbed on the chemisorbed first reactant, the first reactant is again injected into the chamber and chemically adsorbed to the substrate surface to densify the first reactant, the chamber is pumped to remove the first reactant physisorbed on the first reactant chemisorbed and densified, a second reactant is injected into the chamber and chemisorbed on the substrate surface, the chamber is pumped to remove the second reactant physically adsorbed to the first reactant and second reactant, the second reactant is again injected into the chamber and adsorbed to the substrate to densify the second reactant, and a solid thin film is formed by chemical substitution in unit thickness of atom.

Sang-min Lee

Papers

Method for manufacturing thin film using atomic layer deposition

Integrated circuit devices having buffer layers therein which contain metal oxide stabilized by heat treatment under low temperature

Capacitor for a semiconductor device and method for forming the same

Method for forming a capacitor of a semiconductor device

Production of thin film using atom-layer vapor deposition