KR100297971B1 - Sputter and chemical vapor deposition hybridized system - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus in which cross contamination of processes is effectively prevented, there is no significant increase in the footprint, and no problems such as lowering of productivity occur.

The sputter chamber 2 for sputtering and the CVD chamber 3 for chemical vapor deposition are hermetically connected via the conveying chamber 1 having the conveying mechanism 11, and the conveying chamber 1 and the CVD Between the chambers 3, a buffer chamber 4 is provided. The sputter chamber 4 has a purge gas introduction system 46 therein, a heating means 43 and a cooling means 44 of the substrate 9. An auxiliary transport mechanism for transporting the substrate 9 is provided between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3, and the gate valve 10 provided between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3 is provided. ) Is opened only when the pressure in the buffer chamber 4 is higher than in the CVD chamber 3. On the titanium thin film produced by the sputter in the sputter chamber 2, a titanium nitride thin film by CVD is formed in the CVD chamber 3, whereby the structure of the diffusion barrier layer can be obtained.

Description

Sputter Chemical Vapor Deposition Composite Device {SPUTTER AND CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION HYBRIDIZED SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to a sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus in which a sputter apparatus and a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) apparatus, which are inherently heterogeneous apparatuses, are combined.

Both sputtering apparatuses and chemical vapor deposition apparatuses are conventionally known as apparatuses for producing a desired thin film on the surface of an object.

Sputter is a kind of film formation method called physical vapor deposition. Sputtering is performed by accelerating ionized gas molecules into an electric field and impinging on a target. The collision causes particles (usually atoms) to stick out from the target, and the particles are deposited by flying them to the object to form a film.

On the other hand, chemical vapor deposition is also called chemical vapor growth. Chemical vapor deposition is a method of growing a thin film by depositing a desired material on the surface of an object by using a reaction such as decomposition of a reactive gas.

Sputtering apparatuses or chemical vapor deposition apparatuses are frequently used in the manufacturing process of electronic devices such as LSIs (large scale integrated circuits). For example, sputtering apparatuses are in full use for film formation of various wiring materials including aluminum, and chemical vapor deposition apparatuses are widely used for preparing various insulating films.

The sputtering apparatus and the chemical vapor deposition apparatus can both be said to be thin film making apparatuses, and are considered to be completely heterogeneous because they are based on completely different mechanisms of physical and chemical processes. For example, a chemically inert gas such as argon gas is used for the sputtering device, and a physical method such as the use of a magnetic field to increase efficiency is performed. On the other hand, in the chemical vapor deposition apparatus, much consideration should be given to chemical conditions such as the temperature or the flow rate of the gas to determine the chemical reaction rate.

However, studies by the inventors have found that in a manufacturing process of electronic devices such as LSI, it is sometimes very effective to combine sputtering and chemical vapor deposition into one device. This point is described below.

In the manufacturing process of an LSI having a structure such as a FET (field effect transistor), as a wiring structure for the electrode portion, a structure in which a diffusion preventing layer that prevents mutual diffusion between the underlying semiconductor layer and the wiring layer is formed. This diffusion barrier layer often has a structure in which a titanium thin film having a small electrical resistance and a titanium nitride thin film having a high barrier property are laminated.

Such a diffusion barrier layer has been formed by sputtering until now. For example, when a titanium thin film and a titanium nitride thin film are laminated | stacked, the titanium thin film is sputtered by argon gas, and a titanium thin film is produced initially. Thereafter, the gas is changed to nitrogen and sputtered, and a titanium nitride thin film is prepared while assisting the reaction between nitrogen and titanium.

It is an important subject to form such a diffusion barrier layer with sufficient thickness on the inner surfaces (bottom and side surfaces) of the fine holes. In other words, it is necessary to form a diffusion barrier layer in sufficient thickness on the inner surface of the contact hole formed in the insulating layer or the interlayer through hole in the multilayer wiring structure in order to secure the conduction to the channel of the FET.

As one of evaluation indices of the thin film making technology to the inner surface of such a fine hole, a bottom coverage factor is widely used. The bottom coverage ratio is the ratio of the film formation speed to the bottom of the hole relative to the film formation speed to the peripheral surface of the hole (surface other than the hole).

In the film formation at the time of forming the diffusion barrier layer, when the bottom coverage ratio is insufficient, the effect of preventing diffusion at the bottom of the hole is insufficient, and the problem of deterioration of device characteristics due to mutual diffusion occurs. Therefore, film formation with a high bottom coverage rate is requested | required.

On the other hand, in response to the higher integration or higher functionalization of LSI, the aspect ratio of the hole (ratio of hole depth to hole width or diameter) is increasing every year. For example, a 256 megabit class of DRAM (Occasional Write-Read Memory that requires a memory maintenance operation) has a hole diameter of 0.25 μm, an aspect ratio of about 4, and a 1 Gigabit class of DRAM has a hole diameter of 0.18 μm and an aspect ratio of It is said to be about 6-7.

Thus, it becomes difficult to form a diffusion barrier layer by forming a film with the required bottom coverage ratio about the highly aspect-formed hole. As described above, the thin film constituting the diffusion barrier layer is made of a sputter. In the case of the sputtering, a large amount of particles (hereinafter, sputtered particles) emitted from the target must reach the bottom of the hole in order to form a film having a high bottom coverage ratio. . However, as the aspect ratio increases, the amount of sputter particles that reach the bottom of the hole decreases. That is, only limited particles incident almost perpendicularly to the substrate can reach the bottom. Therefore, the film formation speed at the bottom of the hole is lowered and the bottom coverage ratio is lowered.

In order to solve such a problem, a method of a collimated sputter or a low pressure remote sputter has been developed as an improved sputtering method.

The collimated sputter is a technique using a member (called a collimator) that selectively passes only sputter particles that fly substantially perpendicular to the substrate. The bottom coverage ratio of the collimated sputter is improved as compared with a normal sputter, but there is a problem that the efficiency is poor because sputter particles adhering to the collimator portion are lost.

In addition, the low pressure remote sputter is a method of sputtering at a low pressure of about 1 mTorr or less by making the distance between the substrate and the target three to five times that of a normal sputter. Since the distance between the substrate and the target is enlarged, many sputter particles flying substantially perpendicular to the substrate enter the substrate. In addition, because of low pressure, such vertically flying sputter particles are hardly scattered. For this reason, the film formation of a high bottom coverage rate can be performed.

However, the low-pressure remote sputter cannot make the strength of the sputter discharge too high to operate at low pressure, and since the target and the substrate are separated, many of the sputter particles emitted from the target become useless without reaching the substrate. For this reason, the efficiency of film formation as a whole is poor.

In addition, the low-pressure remote sputtering has a problem that non-uniformity occurs in the film formation of the hole at the periphery of the substrate, in particular, the film formation of the side wall of the hole. That is, the thin film is almost evenly deposited on the inner surface of the hole in the center portion of the substrate. However, a relatively thick thin film is deposited on the side wall from the outside, but only a thin film is formed on the side wall from the inside with respect to the relative surface of the hole in the periphery of the substrate.

This is for the following reason. In the center part of a board | substrate, sputter particle | grains are made to enter | occur | produce evenly by shifting a little left and right about the perpendicular direction to the board | substrate. However, at the peripheral portion of the substrate, sputter particles that enter at an angle to the outside at an angle increase, resulting in a lack of a film thickness to the side wall from the inside of the hole.

Thus, when the film thickness is insufficient, the effect of the mutual diffusion prevention cannot be sufficiently obtained, which becomes a factor that impairs device characteristics. Because of this problem, it is said that the low pressure remote sputter is limited to the manufacture of devices having an opening diameter (or width) of 0.25 mu m (about 4 in aspect ratio).

On the other hand, as a method of further improved sputtering in response to the higher integration of devices, a method of ionizing sputtering has been developed. Ionization sputtering is a method of ionizing sputtered particles emitted from a target, setting an electric field perpendicular to the substrate, accelerating the ionized sputtered particles with this electric field, and incident the substrate vertically.

In this ionization sputter, there is no decrease in film formation efficiency as seen in the low pressure remote sputter, and there is no nonuniformity in film formation with respect to the sidewall of the hole at the periphery of the substrate. However, when reactive sputtering is performed, there is a problem in that the effect of ionizing sputtering cannot be sufficiently obtained. For example, when a titanium nitride film is prepared by sputtering a titanium target while introducing nitrogen, nitrogen reacts with titanium on the target surface to release titanium nitride as sputter particles. Alternatively, sputter particles made of titanium react with nitrogen to form titanium nitride. However, such titanium nitride has poor ionization efficiency, and the effect of improving the coating property of the inner surface of the hole cannot be obtained as in the case of the film formation of the titanium monolith.

Here, in the case of chemical vapor deposition, which is a completely heterogeneous film forming technique, it is possible to prepare a titanium nitride thin film by a chemical vapor deposition technique. For example, it is possible to produce a titanium nitride thin film on the surface of a substrate using a hydrogen reduction reaction of a reactive gas containing a Ti atom called TiCl ₄ . The energy used for the reaction is given in the form of heat or plasma. The former method is called thermal CVD and the latter method is called plasma CVD. The gas used is a gas mixture, such as _{TiCl 4, H 2, N 2} , NH 3.

In the case of the film formation by the chemical vapor deposition method, it is basically a technique using gaseous reaction of gas, and since the gas can reach freely in the hole, it is possible to form the film with sufficient bottom coverage ratio even for the high aspect ratio hole. Can be.

In this regard, it is very effective to form a titanium thin film with ionization sputter and a titanium nitride thin film by chemical vapor deposition as a technique for forming a diffusion barrier layer in a device of 1 gigabit (representative hole diameter is about 0.18 μm) or less. Is expected. In other words, it is expected that in the next generation of devices, it will be important to combine a heterogeneous film formation technique such as sputtering and chemical vapor deposition.

However, according to the inventor's examination, when the heterogeneous film forming technique of sputtering and chemical vapor deposition is combined, a problem of cross contamination of processes resulting from heterogeneity of both processes occurs, and if this problem is not solved, practical sputter chemical vapor deposition composite It is impossible to develop a device. This point is explained concretely below.

In the case of designing a sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus in which sputtering and chemical vapor deposition are combined to form a diffusion barrier layer, the process chamber for sputtering (hereinafter referred to as sputter chamber) and the chemical vapor deposition processing chamber (hereinafter referred to as CVD chamber) are hermetically sealed. And both processes can be carried out continuously in a vacuum. In the configuration in which the substrate is once taken out to the atmosphere between the two processes, the surface of the titanium thin film is contaminated in the atmosphere before the titanium nitride is deposited, and the meaning of combining both processes disappears.

On the other hand, however, when the sputter chamber and the CVD chamber are hermetically connected, gas is likely to diffuse from one chamber to the other chamber and contaminate the process. For example, residual products such as chlorine gas after chemical vapor deposition are suspended in the CVD chamber. When this chlorine gas diffuses into a sputter chamber and adheres to a board | substrate, it reacts with the produced titanium thin film, and the altered layer will be formed in the surface of a titanium thin film. When such a deteriorated layer is formed, the electrical characteristics of the device are remarkably inhibited, resulting in product defects. In addition, the sputter chamber and the CVD chamber are insulated from and isolated by a gate valve, which is opened and closed at the time of loading and unloading of the substrate.

In order to suppress such a problem of cross contamination, it can be considered that an effective means is to interpose a transfer chamber between the sputter chamber and the CVD chamber. 6 and 7 are schematic plan views illustrating the structure of the invention made in the process of coating the present invention, and show the structure of a sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus in which mutual contamination is suppressed.

First, the sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus shown in FIG. 6 interposes the conveyance chamber 1 between the sputter chamber 2 and the CVD chamber 3. That is, the conveying chamber 1 is provided in the center, and the some process chamber 2, 3, 7 is provided in the circumference | surroundings. The conveyance mechanism 11 is provided in the conveyance chamber 1. One of the processing chambers is the sputter chamber 2 and the other is the CVD chamber 3. And the gate valve of omission of illustration is provided in the boundary part of each chamber 1, 2, 3, 7.

According to such a configuration, since the gas in the processing chambers 2, 3 and 7 cannot diffuse into the other processing chambers 2, 3 and 7 without passing through the transfer chamber 1, the problem of cross contamination The degree can be suppressed. However, since it may diffuse into other processing chambers 2, 3, and 7 after remaining to some extent in the conveying chamber 1, it is considered difficult to sufficiently suppress the problem of the cross contamination.

In addition, in the example shown in FIG. 7, two conveying chambers 1A and 1B were provided. That is, the 1st conveyance chamber 1A for the sputter chamber 2 and the 2nd conveyance chamber 1B for the CVD chamber 3 were provided. In the example shown in FIG. 7, for example, the gas in the CVD chamber 3 cannot reach the sputter chamber 2 without passing through the first and second two transfer chambers 1A and 1B. Therefore, the problem of cross contamination is expected to be considerably suppressed.

However, in the example shown in FIG. 7, since two conveying chambers 1A and 1B are used, there is a problem that the occupied area of the apparatus becomes very large. Moreover, since the time required for conveyance becomes long, the fall of productivity becomes a problem. In addition, since two transfer chambers 1A and 1B and the transfer mechanism 11 are required, there is a drawback that the cost is very high. In addition, the problem of cross contamination between the CVD chambers 3 is basically not solved.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus in which cross contamination of processes is effectively prevented, and a significant increase in the occupied area is eliminated, and problems such as a decrease in productivity do not occur. The purpose is to provide.

1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the schematic configuration of the sputter chamber 2 shown in FIG. 1;

3 is a front view showing the schematic configuration of the CVD chamber 3 and the buffer chamber 4 shown in FIG.

4 is a perspective schematic view of the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3;

5 is a front schematic view for explaining a configuration of an auxiliary transport mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically illustrating the configuration of the invention made in the process of coating the present invention, and showing the configuration of a sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus in which mutual contamination is suppressed; FIG.

Fig. 7 is a plan view schematically illustrating the structure of the invention made in the process of coating the present invention and showing the structure of a sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus in which mutual contamination is suppressed.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

1: conveying chamber 2: sputter chamber

3: CVD chamber 4: buffer chamber

5: etching chamber 6: preheating chamber

7: other processing chamber 8: load lock chamber

9 substrate 10 gate valve

11 conveying mechanism 22 exhaust system

23: target 24: magnet mechanism

25 gas introduction means 26 substrate holder

27 ionization means 28 electric field setting means

32: exhaust system 33: gas introduction means

34: substrate holder 35: heater

36 plasma forming means 41 exhaust system

42: stay stage 43: heating means

44 cooling means 45 lifting mechanism

46: purge gas introduction system 47: buffer vacuum gauge

231: sputter power 481: mobile body

482 magnetic coupling

In order to solve the said subject, the invention of Claim 1 is equipped with the sputter chamber which performs sputter | spatter, the CVD chamber which performs chemical vapor deposition, and a sputter chamber and a CVD chamber are airtight through the conveyance chamber provided with a conveyance mechanism. A sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus having a structure connected to each other, wherein a buffer chamber is provided between the transfer chamber and the CVD chamber or between the transfer chamber and the sputter chamber, and the sputter chamber and the CVD chamber are transferred through the transfer chamber and the buffer chamber. It has a structure connected to airtightly.

Moreover, in order to solve the said subject, the invention of Claim 2 has the structure of the said Claim 1 WHEREIN: The said sputter chamber and the said CVD chamber have the structure of one of the process chambers hermetically connected around the said conveyance chamber.

Moreover, in order to solve the said subject, the invention of Claim 3 is equipped with the auxiliary conveyance mechanism which performs the conveyance of a board | substrate between the said buffer chamber, the said CVD chamber, or the said sputter chamber in the structure of Claim 1 or 2. It has a structure.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 4 is the configuration of claim 1 or 2, wherein the buffer chamber is provided between the transfer chamber and the CVD chamber, and at the same time a purge gas is provided therein. A purge gas introduction system is introduced, and the gate valve provided between the buffer chamber and the CVD chamber has a configuration that opens only when the pressure in the buffer chamber is higher than the pressure in the CVD chamber.

Moreover, in order to solve the said subject, invention of Claim 5 WHEREIN: The structure of Claim 1 or 2 WHEREIN: The heating means which heats a board | substrate to predetermined temperature in the said buffer chamber, or the cooling means which cools a board | substrate to predetermined temperature. I have a configuration.

(Embodiment of invention)

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus which concerns on embodiment. The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is a multi-chamber type apparatus, similarly to the apparatus shown in FIG. 6 or 7, and includes a conveying chamber 1 arranged in the center and a plurality of processing chambers provided around the conveying chamber 1. And a chamber arrangement consisting of (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and two load-lock chambers 8.

Each chamber 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 is a vacuum container which is exhausted by a dedicated exhaust system. Moreover, the gate valve 10 is provided in the connection place of each chamber 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 with respect to the conveyance chamber 1, respectively.

The conveyance mechanism 11 is provided in the conveyance chamber 1. The conveying mechanism 11 takes out the board | substrate 9 one by one from the load lock chamber 8, and sends it to each process chamber 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and performs a process sequentially. After completion of the last process, the loadlock chamber 8 is returned to the other load lock chamber 8.

As the conveyance mechanism 11, the articulated robot provided with the arm which mounts and hold | maintains the board | substrate 9 at the front end is used very preferably. If it is comprised so that two arms and the two board | substrates 9 can be moved independently simultaneously, it is very preferable because the effect of conveyance improves.

In addition, the inside of the conveyance chamber 1 is exhausted by the exhaust system not shown, and the vacuum pressure of about 10 <^-6> -10 <^-10> Torr is always maintained. Therefore, as the conveyance mechanism 11, what is operable under this vacuum pressure is employ | adopted.

And the sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus of this embodiment combines sputtering and chemical vapor deposition, as the name shows. That is, one of the processing chambers is the sputter chamber 2 and the other is the CVD chamber 3.

First, the structure of the sputter chamber 2 is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 2 is a front schematic diagram showing the configuration of the sputter chamber 2 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sputter chamber 2 includes an exhaust system 22 for exhausting an interior, a target 23 formed by exposing a sputtered surface in the sputter chamber 2, and a target 23. A sputter power source 231 for supplying predetermined electric power to the target, a magnet mechanism 24 provided behind the target 23, gas introduction means 25 for introducing a predetermined sputtering gas into the sputter chamber 2, and And a substrate holder 26 for arranging the substrate 9 at a predetermined position in the sputter chamber 2 facing the target 23.

The exhaust system 22 is configured to be capable of evacuating the inside of the sputter chamber 2 to about 10 ^-8 Torr using a vacuum pump 221 such as a cryopump. The exhaust system 22 has an exhaust speed regulator 222 such as a variable orifice.

The target 23 is attached to the sputter chamber 2 via the insulating material 232. The target 23 is made of titanium in this embodiment. The sputter power supply 231 is configured to apply a negative high voltage or high frequency voltage to the target 23.

The magnet mechanism 24 includes a pillar-shaped central magnet 241 disposed at the center, a ring-shaped peripheral magnet 242 surrounding the central magnet 241, a central magnet 241 and a peripheral magnet 242. It consists of the yoke 243 to connect. The front face of the central magnet 241 and the front face of the peripheral magnet 242 are different magnetic poles, and an arc-shaped magnetic force line 244 as shown in FIG. 2 is set to penetrate the target 23. have.

The electric field set by the sputtering power supply 231 in the sputter chamber 2 via the target 23 is orthogonal to the magnetic field near the apex of the arc-shaped magnetic force line 244. For this reason, in the sputter discharge formed, the electrons are in the magnetron motion, and the magnetron discharge is achieved. For this reason, the efficiency of ionization of neutral gas molecules becomes high, and sputtering can be performed with high efficiency.

In the present embodiment, the gas introduction means 25 introduces argon gas as the sputtering gas. The gas introduction means 25 includes a pipe 251 connecting the gas cylinder 250 and the sputter chamber 2 in which argon gas is stored, and a valve 252 or a flow regulator 253 provided on the pipe 251. Consists of.

The board | substrate holder 26 is comprised so that the board | substrate 9 may be mounted and hold | maintained on the upper surface. The substrate holder 26 is provided with an electrostatic adsorption mechanism for fixing the substrate 9 to a predetermined position by electrostatic adsorption as necessary. In addition, a heater 261 for heating the substrate 9 to a predetermined temperature is provided in the substrate holder 26.

In the present embodiment, the sputtering chamber 2 is formed with an ionized sputter. In other words, the sputter chamber 2 has ionization means 27 for ionizing sputter particles emitted from the target 23. The ionization means 27 is configured to ionize the sputter particles by the high frequency energy. The ionization means 27 is an ionization electrode 271 provided in the sputter chamber 2 and a high frequency power source 272 for supplying high frequency energy to the ionization electrode 271. Consists of.

The ionization electrode 271 is provided so as to surround the flying space of the sputter particles from the target 23 to the substrate 9. As the ionization electrode 271, for example, a metal mesh having a cylindrical shape, a coil type or a ring plate type is used.

As the high frequency power source 272, for example, a high frequency 13.56 MHz output of about 1 kW is used. The high frequency electric field set in the sputter chamber 2 by the ionization electrode 271 forms the plasma P 'by high frequency discharge separately from the plasma P caused by the sputter discharge. When the neutral sputtered particles emitted from the target 23 pass through the plasma P ', the neutral sputtered particles collide with the ions and electrons in the plasma P' and ionize (hereinafter, referred to as ionized sputter particles).

On the other hand, the substrate holder 24 is provided with an electric field setting means 28. The electric field setting means 28 is configured to set an electric field perpendicular to the substrate 9 in the sputter chamber 2 and to cause the ionized sputter particles to enter the substrate 9 perpendicularly.

As the electric field setting means 28, in this embodiment, a high self-bias voltage is applied to the substrate 9 by applying a high frequency voltage to the substrate holder 26 and interacting with the high frequency and the plasma P '. The high frequency power supply 281 for a board | substrate which gives ()) is employ | adopted. As the high frequency power supply 281 for a board | substrate, the thing of about 300 W of 13.56 MHz output can be used, for example.

A matching device 282 is provided between the substrate high frequency power supply 281 and the substrate holder 26. In addition, when both the board | substrate 9 and the board | substrate holder 26 are conductors, a predetermined | prescribed capacitor is provided in the high frequency transmission path, and it is comprised so that a high frequency voltage may be applied to the board | substrate 9 via a capacitor | condenser.

When a high frequency voltage is applied to the substrate 9 through a capacitor such as a capacitor, electrons and cations in the plasma P 'act upon charging and discharging of the capacitance, and the substrate 9 is affected by the difference in mobility of the electrons and cations. A negative self bias potential occurs. The space potential of the plasma P 'is almost a ground potential or a positive potential of about 20 volts, and gradually moves toward the substrate 9 between the substrate 9 and the plasma P' where a negative self bias potential has occurred. The electric field at which the potential falls is set. The direction of this electric field is perpendicular to the substrate 9, and positively ionized sputter particles are accelerated by this electric field and enter the substrate 9 perpendicularly.

Next, operation | movement of the apparatus in this sputter chamber 2 is demonstrated using FIG.

First, the board | substrate 9 is carried in into the sputter chamber 2 through the gate valve 10 from the conveyance chamber 1 by the conveyance mechanism 11. As shown in FIG. The sputter chamber 2 is previously exhausted to a predetermined pressure by the exhaust system 22, and the substrate 9 is placed on the substrate holder 26. The heater 261 in the substrate holder 20 is operated in advance, and the substrate 9 placed on the substrate holder 26 is rapidly heated to a predetermined temperature by the heat of the heater 261, and the temperature is maintained.

After the gate valve 10 is closed, the gas introducing means 25 is operated to introduce argon gas as the sputtering gas into the sputter chamber 2. The flow rate of argon gas is adjusted by the flow rate regulator 253 of the gas introduction means 25, and the exhaust velocity is adjusted by the exhaust speed regulator 221 of the exhaust system 22, and the pressure in the sputter chamber 2 is determined. Keep at pressure.

In this state, the sputtering power supply 231 is operated to generate sputter discharge in the argon gas to sputter the target 23. At the same time, the high frequency power supply 272 of the ionization means 27 and the high frequency power supply 271 of the electric field setting means 27 are operated. The ionized sputter particles generated when passing through the plasma P 'formed by the ionization means 27 are accelerated by the electric field set by the electric field setting means 28 and are incident by the substrate 9 at an angle close to the vertical. do. As a result, it becomes easy to reach the bottom face or side surface of the fine hole formed in the surface of the board | substrate 9, and a thin film is produced with sufficient coating property on a bottom face or side surface.

After performing such film formation for a predetermined time, the operation of the electric field setting means 28, the ionization means 27, the sputtering power supply 231, and the gas introduction means 25 is stopped, respectively, and the sputter | spatter by the exhaust system 22 is carried out. The chamber 2 is exhausted again to a predetermined pressure. Thereafter, the gate valve 10 is opened and the substrate 9 is taken out from the sputter chamber 2. This completes the series of operations in the sputter chamber 2.

Next, the configuration of the CVD chamber 3 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the CVD chamber 3 and the buffer chamber 4 shown in FIG.

The CVD chamber 3 shown in FIG. 3 includes an exhaust system 32 for exhausting the interior, gas introduction means 33 for introducing a predetermined CVD gas therein, and a substrate 9 at a predetermined position. A substrate holder 34 is provided.

As will be described later, since a highly active chlorine-based gas is introduced into the CVD chamber 3, the exhaust system 32 needs to use a high-performance vacuum pump 321 having a high exhaust speed. Specifically, the exhaust system 32 uses a turbomolecular pump having an exhaust rate of about 1000 liters / sec as the vacuum pump 321, and reaches the inside of the CVD chamber 3 at about 10 ⁻⁷ Torr to about 10 ⁻⁸ Torr. It is configured to exhaust the pressure. The exhaust system 32 also has an exhaust speed regulator 322 such as a variable orifice.

The gas introducing means 33 is a gas for CVD, and is configured to introduce a mixed gas of titanium tetrachloride, hydrogen, nitrogen or ammonia and silane. Each gas introduction system is provided with a valve 331 and a flow regulator 332. Hydrogen or silane is mainly introduced for the reduction of titanium tetrachloride. In addition, the nitrogen gas also serves to facilitate the start of the discharge of the high frequency discharge by the plasma forming means 36 described later. In addition, nitrogen or ammonia gas is introduced as a nitrogen supply gas for nitriding titanium.

The board | substrate holder 34 is comprised so that the board | substrate 9 may be mounted and hold | maintained on the upper surface. The substrate holder 34 is provided with an electrostatic adsorption mechanism for fixing the substrate 9 to a predetermined position by electrostatic adsorption as necessary.

In addition, a holder elevating mechanism 341 is provided in the substrate holder 34. The holder elevating mechanism 341 moves up and down the arm 342 fixed to the holder support 341 supporting the substrate holder 34 to raise and lower the substrate holder 34. The holder elevating mechanism 341 may employ a fluid drive such as an air cylinder, or a combination of a ball screw and a servomotor. In addition, the holder column 340 hermetically penetrates the bottom plate of the CVD chamber 3. In this through portion, a mechanical seal using a magnetic fluid is formed. As a result, leakage from the penetrating portion is prevented while allowing the vertical movement of the holder column 340.

In addition, a heater 35 for heating the substrate 9 to a predetermined temperature is provided in the substrate holder 34. The heater 35 is, for example, used in a manner of generating Joule's heat by energization, and is configured to be able to heat and maintain the substrate 9 at about 400 to 700 ° C. The temperature of the board | substrate 9 is detected by temperature sensors, such as a thermocouple (illustration omitted) and is negative feedback controlled by the control part (not shown).

In addition, the CVD chamber 3 in the present embodiment is configured to perform plasma CVD. That is, the CVD chamber 3 is provided with the plasma forming means 36 which forms the plasma P ", and is comprised so that film formation may be performed by the action of the plasma P".

The plasma forming means 36 is composed of a high frequency electrode 361 provided in the CVD chamber 3 and a high frequency power supply 362 that supplies high frequency power to the high frequency electrode 361. The CVD gas introduced into the CVD chamber 3 by the gas introducing means 33 receives energy from the high frequency electric field set by the high frequency electrode 361 so that the plasma P ″ is formed.

In addition, the high frequency electrode 361 is formed in a plate shape in which the holes for gas spraying are formed evenly, or in a mesh shape. The CVD gas is diffused downward through the high frequency electrode 361 to form a plasma P ″. In addition, the high frequency electrode 361 may be configured to use a hollow disk having a gas spraying hole in the lower surface thereof, and to store the gas in the inner space of the high frequency electrode 361 and then introduce the CVD gas.

Titanium tetrachloride introduced by the gas introducing means 33 is decomposed by the action of plasma P '' and reacts with the mixed nitrogen to precipitate titanium nitride on the surface of the substrate 9 to form a titanium nitride thin film. It is supposed to be stacked.

In addition, the pressure in the CVD chamber 3 is monitored by the CVD vacuum gauge 37.

By the way, the big characteristic of the apparatus of this embodiment is that the buffer chamber 4 is interposed between the conveyance chamber 1 and the CVD chamber, as shown to FIG. 1 and FIG. The buffer chamber 4 is an airtight vacuum container and is hermetically connected to the transfer chamber 1 and the CVD chamber 3 via the gate valve 10. The buffer chamber 4 is provided with a dedicated exhaust system 41 so that the inside of the buffer chamber can be exhausted to about 10 ^-8 Torr.

In the buffer chamber 4, the retention stage 42 in which the board | substrate 9 temporarily stays is provided. The staying stage 42 is a cylindrical or cylindrical member, on which a substrate is placed.

In the staying stage 42, heating means 43 and cooling means 44 are provided. The heating means 43 generates heat of the joule by energization, and a cartridge heater or the like can be used. The cooling means 44 circulates the refrigerant along the cooling flow passage 420 provided in the staying stage 42. The cooling means 44 includes an introduction pipe 441 for introducing refrigerant into the refrigerant flow path 420, a discharge pipe 442 for discharging the refrigerant from the refrigerant flow path 420, and a circulator for connecting the introduction pipe and the discharge pipe. 443 and the like. In the circulator 443, the coolant is kept at a predetermined low temperature and sent to the inlet pipe 441.

If the substrate 9 placed on the holding stage 42 is heated to a predetermined temperature by the heating means 43 before being carried into the CVD chamber 3, preheating of the heating in the CVD chamber 3 can be performed. Therefore, there is an effect that the heating time in the CVD chamber 3 can be shortened. In addition, when the substrate 9 is heated to a predetermined temperature, even if the residual gas in the CVD chamber 3 diffused in the buffer chamber 4 adheres to the substrate 9, the effect of degassing, i.e., the effect of degassing, is improved. have.

In addition, when the substrate 9 carried out from the CVD chamber 3 is cooled to a predetermined temperature by the cooling means 44, cooling can be performed together with the retention of the substrate 9. Even when cooling is performed in the other processing chambers 6, by performing cooling in the buffer chamber 4, the effect of cooling is improved, and the productivity of the entire apparatus is also improved.

It goes without saying that the heating means 43 and the cooling means 44 cannot operate at the same time. Moreover, in this embodiment, although both the heating means 43 and the cooling means 44 are provided, you may provide only any one of them.

In addition, the staying stage 42 is provided with a lifting mechanism 45 for raising and lowering the staying stage 42. A stage column 421 is formed at the lower end of the staying stage 42 and extends downward, and the lifting mechanism 45 moves the stage column 421 up and down to lift the staying stage 42.

In addition, the stage column 421 passes through the bottom plate portion of the buffer chamber 4 in an airtight manner. In this through portion, a mechanical seal using a magnetic fluid is formed. For this reason, the leak from the penetrating part is prevented, allowing the up-and-down movement of the stage support 421.

Moreover, in the buffer chamber 4, the purge gas introduction system 46 which introduces purge gas inside is provided. The purge gas introduction system 46 introduces an inert gas such as nitrogen into the buffer chamber 4 as the purge gas.

The pressure in the buffer chamber 4 is monitored by the vacuum gauge 47 for the buffer. On the other hand, the measurement data of the buffer vacuum gauge 47, together with the measurement data of the CVD vacuum gauge, is supplied to the control unit 101 which performs the closing control of the gate valve 10 between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3. It is supposed to be sent. The controller 101 compares both measurement data, and operates the valve drive mechanism 102 to open the gate valve 10 only when the pressure in the buffer chamber 4 is higher than the pressure in the CVD chamber 3. Consists of.

Next, the operation of the apparatus in the CVD chamber 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

First, the substrate 9 is loaded into the CVD chamber 3 from the transfer chamber 1 via the buffer chamber 4 as described later. In the CVD chamber 3, the exhaust system 32 is evacuated to a predetermined pressure in advance, and the substrate 9 is placed on the substrate holder 34. The heater 35 in the substrate holder 34 is operated in advance, and the substrate 9 placed on the substrate holder 34 is rapidly heated to a predetermined temperature by the heat of the heater 35, and the temperature is maintained.

After the gate valve 10 is closed, the gas introducing means 33 is operated to introduce a predetermined CVD gas into the CVD chamber 3. Each of the flow rate regulators 332 of the gas introduction means 33 adjusts the flow rate and the mixing ratio of the CVD gas, and at the same time the exhaust rate is adjusted by the exhaust rate regulator 321 of the exhaust system 32, thereby providing a CVD chamber 3. The inside is kept at a predetermined pressure.

In this state, the plasma forming means 36 is operated. That is, high frequency electric power is supplied from the high frequency power supply 362 to the high frequency electrode 361, and a high frequency electric field is set in the CVD chamber 3. In the introduced CVD gas, high frequency discharge is generated by this high frequency electric field, and plasma P '' is formed. The introduced titanium tetrachloride is decomposed by the action of the plasma P '' and reacts with nitrogen to precipitate titanium nitride on the surface of the substrate 9. When a predetermined time elapses, the titanium nitride grows into a thin film, and a titanium nitride thin film having a predetermined thickness is produced.

Thereafter, the operations of the plasma forming means 36 and the gas introducing means 33 are stopped, and the inside of the CVD chamber 3 is again evacuated with high vacuum. Then, the gate valve 10 is opened, and the substrate 9 is taken out from the CVD chamber 3. This completes the series of operations in the CVD chamber 3.

In addition, an auxiliary transport mechanism for carrying the substrate 9 between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3 is provided. The structure of the auxiliary conveyance mechanism is demonstrated using FIG. 4 and FIG. 4 is a perspective schematic view of the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and FIG. 5 is a front schematic view illustrating the configuration of the auxiliary transport mechanism. In addition, in FIG. 4, some illustration, such as the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3 from an upper part from the height of the middle, is abbreviate | omitted.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the auxiliary transport mechanism is composed of a movable body 481 for carrying the substrate 9 on the upper surface thereof, a magnetic coupling 482 for moving the movable body in the horizontal direction, and the like. .

As shown in FIG. 4, the movable body 481 consists of the upper board part 483 of a horizontal attitude | position, and the both side board parts 484 provided so that it may extend downward from both sides of the upper board part. The movable body 481 has an opening in the center of the upper plate portion 483. This opening is smaller than the diameter of the substrate 9 and larger than the retention stage 42.

As shown in FIG. 5, the movable body 481 has a plurality of small magnets (hereinafter referred to as movable body magnets 485) at the end of the side plate portion 484. Each moving body side magnet 485 has magnetic poles in the upper and lower surfaces. The magnetic poles are reversed magnetic poles alternately in the array direction as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the magnetic coupling 482 is a round rod-shaped member. The magnetic coupling 482 has a long thin magnet (hereinafter referred to as a coupling side magnet) 486 extending helically, as shown in FIG. The coupling side magnets 486 are provided with two different magnetic poles, and are double spiral.

The magnetic coupling 482 is arranged such that the coupling side magnet 486 faces the movable body side magnet 485 with the partition 487 interposed therebetween. The partition 487 is formed of a material having a low permeability, and the movable body side magnet 485 and the coupling side magnet 486 are magnetically coupled through the partition wall 487. In addition, the space on the movable body 481 side of the partition 487 is the vacuum side (inner side of the buffer chamber 4), and the space on the magnetic coupling 482 side is the atmospheric side.

The magnetic coupling 482 is provided with a rotating mechanism (not shown). This rotating mechanism is adapted to rotate the magnetic coupling 482 around the central axis. When the magnetic coupling 482 rotates, the double-sided coupling side magnet 486 also rotates. At this time, the state in which the coupling side magnet 486 rotates is equivalent to that in which the plurality of small magnets of different magnetic poles are alternately arranged in a line and integrally linearly moved along this alignment direction when viewed from the moving body side magnet 485. It becomes the state of. Accordingly, the movable body side magnet 485 coupled to the coupling side magnet 486 moves linearly with the rotation of the coupling side magnet 486, and as a result, the movable body 481 is linearly moved as a whole.

In addition, the magnetic coupling 482 and the partition 487 are also provided in the CVD chamber 3 together with the buffer chamber 4. Thus, the movable body 481 is configured to move (forward and backward movement) horizontally between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3.

Next, the conveyance operation | movement of the board | substrate 9 via the buffer chamber 4 is demonstrated using FIG. 3 and FIG. First, the board | substrate 9 is carried in into the buffer chamber 4 by the conveyance mechanism 11 in the conveyance chamber 1. At this time, the staying stage 42 is located at a predetermined raised position and receives the substrate 9. Thereafter, the gate valve 10 between the transfer chamber 1 and the buffer chamber 4 is closed.

When the substrate 9 is sent from the buffer chamber 4 to the CVD chamber 3, the retention stage 42 is lowered to a predetermined retracted position. This retreat position is set such that the upper surface of the staying stage 42 is located below the upper plate portion 483 of the movable body 481. For this reason, when the staying stage 42 descends to the retracted position, the substrate 9 is placed on the movable body 481.

As described above, after confirming that the pressure of the buffer chamber 4 is higher than that of the CVD chamber 3, the gate valve 10 between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3 is opened. Then, the magnetic coupling 482 is rotated to move the movable body 481 into the CVD chamber 3.

The movable body 481 stops at a position where the center of the substrate 9 coincides with the central axis of the substrate holder 34. In addition, the substrate holder 34 is located in the standby position below in the CVD chamber 3. Then, the substrate holder 34 is raised to reach a position of a predetermined height higher than the upper surface plate 483 of the movable body 481 through the opening of the movable body 481. In this operation, the substrate 9 is placed on the substrate holder 34 away from the movable body 481.

Thereafter, the magnetic coupling 482 rotates in the reverse direction, and the movable body 481 retreats. At this time, the notch 485 is provided so that the upper plate portion 483 of the movable body 481 extends from the opening to the front end so that the holder holder 341 of the substrate holder 34 does not interfere with the movable body 481. When the movable body 481 retreats, the holder holder 341 passes through the notch 485.

The movable body 481 retreats as described above, and exits from the CVD chamber 3 and returns to its original position in the buffer chamber 4. Thereafter, the gate valve 10 between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3 is closed. Then, as described above, the film forming process is performed in the CVD chamber 3.

The recovery of the substrate 9 from the CVD chamber 3 is performed in an operation completely opposite to the above operation. That is, the gate valve 10 is opened with the substrate holder 34 in the predetermined raised position to move the movable body 481 into the CVD chamber 3. Subsequently, the substrate holder 34 is lowered to place the substrate 9 on the movable body 481. Thereafter, the movable body 481 is retracted to the buffer chamber 4 to close the gate valve 10.

In the buffer chamber 4, the staying stage 42 is raised to receive the substrate 9 from the movable body 481. Thereafter, the gate valve 10 on the transport chamber 1 side is opened, and the transport mechanism 11 in the transport chamber 1 lifts the substrate 9 from the staying stage 42. The board | substrate 9 is conveyed to the next chamber via the conveyance chamber 1.

Next, returning to FIG. 1, the configuration of another processing chamber will be described.

One of the other processing chambers is configured as an etching chamber 5 for sputter etching and cleaning the substrate 9 before film formation. A natural oxide film or a protective film may be formed on the surface of the substrate 9 carried in the apparatus. If such a film is formed, there exists a problem that the electrical property of the thin film produced will fall, or adhesiveness of a thin film will deteriorate. Therefore, prior to film formation, the surface of the substrate 9 is sputter-etched to remove the native oxide film or the protective film.

The etching chamber 5 includes means for introducing a sputter etching gas such as argon, means for forming a plasma by supplying high frequency energy to the introduced gas, and extracting cations from the plasma to enter the substrate 9. Means for setting an electric field to make. When cations in the plasma enter the surface of the substrate, the natural oxide film or protective film on the surface is sputter-etched and removed. As a result, the clean surface of the original material of the substrate 9 is exposed.

Another one of the other processing chambers is configured as a preheating chamber 6 for preheating the substrate 9 before film formation. The preheating chamber 6 is provided with the board | substrate holder not shown in the same manner as the board | substrate holder 26 mentioned above. The substrate holder is provided with a heater such as a resistance heating system, and is configured to heat the substrate 9 placed on the substrate holder to about 200 to 300 ° C. The heating time is about 100 to 200 seconds. In addition, the substrate 9 may be electrostatically adsorbed to the substrate holder to improve thermal conductivity, or a gas may be supplied to the gap between the substrate holder and the substrate 9 to improve the thermal conductivity.

The main purpose of the preheating is to heat and release the degassing, that is, the occlusion gas of the substrate 9. In addition, if the substrate 9 is heated to a predetermined temperature in advance, there is an advantage that the time required for heating in the sputter chamber 2 can be shortened.

In the above, the description of the configuration of the apparatus of the present embodiment is finished, and the overall operation of the apparatus will be described next. As an example of the operation, a case of carrying out the above-described process of forming the diffusion barrier layer will be described.

1, a predetermined number of substrates 9 are loaded into one load lock chamber 8 by an autoloader (not shown) and housed in a cassette 81 in the load lock chamber 8. The conveyance mechanism 11 takes out one board | substrate 9 from this load lock chamber 8, and the conveyance mechanism 11 sends this board | substrate 9 to the preheating chamber 6 first. The substrate 9 is preheated in the preheating chamber 6 and degassed. Next, it is sent to the etching chamber 5. In the etching chamber 5, the natural oxide film or the protective film on the surface is removed as described above.

Thereafter, the transport mechanism 11 sends the substrate 9 to the sputter chamber 2. In the sputter chamber 2, the target 23 made of titanium is sputtered with argon gas as described above, and the titanium thin film is deposited on the surface of the substrate 9. At this time, the sputtered particles emitted from the target 23 are ionized and incident on the substrate 9 more vertically by an electric field, thereby improving the coverage of the inner surface of the fine holes.

Thereafter, the transfer mechanism 11 sends this substrate 9 to the CVD chamber 3. In the CVD chamber 3, as described above, the titanium nitride thin film is deposited on the surface of the substrate 9 by plasma CVD of a gas for CVD containing titanium tetrachloride and nitrogen. Thereby, the structure of the diffusion barrier layer which laminated | stacked the titanium nitride thin film on the titanium thin film can be obtained.

Thereafter, the transfer mechanism 11 takes this substrate 9 out of the CVD chamber 3 and sends it to the other or the same load lock chamber 8. In addition, one of the other process chambers 7 becomes a cooling chamber as needed. The cooling chamber has a cooled substrate stage and is configured to cool the substrate 9 by placing the substrate 9 on the substrate stage for a predetermined time. After cooling in this way, the board | substrate 9 is conveyed to the other load lock chamber 8, and is accommodated in the cassette 81. As shown in FIG.

In this manner, the substrates 9 are continuously treated while being conveyed in the order of the preheating chamber 6, the etching chamber 5, the sputter chamber 2, and the CVD chamber 3 with respect to the one substrate 9, and the titanium thin film and A titanium nitride thin film is formed continuously in a vacuum. In addition, when one board | substrate 9 is sent to the preheating chamber 6 and preheated, the next board | substrate 9 is carried in to the etching chamber 5, and is processed, and each board | substrate 9 is each chamber 5 , 6, 2, and 3) in turn and processed at each store. Therefore, the productivity of the whole apparatus is extremely high.

In the apparatus of the present embodiment, which has the above-described configuration and operation, a completely heterogeneous processing chamber called the sputter chamber 2 and the CVD chamber 3 is combined. In such a case, since the contents of the processing are different, the atmospheres of the processing chambers 2 and 3 are also different, and therefore, a problem arises in that the atmospheric gases diffuse to each other and contaminate each other's atmosphere. In particular, since the highly reactive gas such as chlorine-based gas is used in the CVD chamber 3, if such a gas is diffused into the sputter chamber 2, there is a cause that significantly impairs the quality of the treatment in the sputter chamber 23. Easy to be

However, in this embodiment, the buffer chamber 4 is provided between the conveyance chamber 1 and the CVD chamber 3. For this reason, in order for the residual gas in the CVD chamber 3 to reach the sputter chamber 2, it is necessary to pass through the two chambers of the buffer chamber 4 and the transfer chamber 1. Therefore, the diffusion of the residual gas in the CVD chamber 3 to the sputter chamber 2 is greatly suppressed. The diffusion of the gas in the sputter chamber 2 into the CVD chamber 3 is likewise suppressed. In addition, when two CVD chambers 3 are provided as shown in FIG. 1, when different gases are used, cross contamination between the CVD chambers 3 is also prevented.

In the present embodiment, an auxiliary transport mechanism for carrying the substrate between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3 is provided. For this reason, when carrying out the conveyance of the board | substrate 9 between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber, the gate valve 10 between the buffer chamber 4 and the conveyance chamber 1 is closed. In addition, when the substrate is transferred between the buffer chamber 4 and the transfer chamber 1, the gate valve 10 between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3 is closed. In other words, the gate valve 10 between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3 and the gate valve 10 between the buffer chamber 4 and the transfer chamber 1 are not simultaneously opened.

In view of the above, it is greatly suppressed that the residual gas in the CVD chamber 3 diffuses into the sputter chamber 2 or the like via the transfer chamber 1. In addition, if there is no auxiliary conveying mechanism, the conveyance mechanism 11 in the conveying chamber 1 carries out the conveyance of the board | substrate 9 between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3, and the two gate valves 10 are carried out. At the same time, an open state is generated.

Further, since the gate valve 10 between the buffer chamber 4 and the CVD chamber 3 is opened only when the pressure in the buffer chamber 4 is higher than that of the CVD chamber 3, the residual gas in the CVD chamber 3 Diffusion is further suppressed.

In addition, a structure in which a getter material for adsorbing residual gas is provided inside the CVD chamber 3, the buffer chamber 4, or the like is effective for preventing the diffusion of the residual gas. The getter material is a structure in which a block of a material such as zirconium or titanium is heated to a predetermined temperature.

(Example)

Next, the Example which belongs to the said embodiment is demonstrated. The following embodiments take the formation of the diffusion barrier layer as an example, similarly to the operation example described above.

First, the following conditions are mentioned as conditions of sputtering in the sputter chamber 2.

Gas for sputter; argon

Gas flow rate; 100 cc / min

·pressure ; 60 mTorr

Output voltage of the sputter power supply; -500 V

Substrate temperature; 300 ℃

· High frequency power supply of ionization means; 13.56 MHz 800 W

High frequency power supply of electric field setting means; 13.56 MHz 200 W

According to the above conditions, a titanium thin film can be produced at a film formation rate of about 500 Angstroms per minute. In addition, the bottom coverage ratio with respect to the hole of aspect ratio 5 is about 40%.

Moreover, the following conditions are mentioned as conditions of CVD in the CVD chamber 3.

CVD gas; Mixed gas of TiC1 ₄ , N ₂ , H ₂ and SiH ₄

Gas flow rate ratio; TiC1 ₄ : N ₂ : H ₂ : SiH ₄ = 5: 20: 500: 1

Total gas flow rate; 526 cc / min

·pressure ; 0.12 Torr

Substrate temperature; 485 ℃

High frequency power supply of plasma forming means; 60 MHz 500 W

According to the above conditions, a titanium nitride thin film can be produced at a film formation rate of about 100 Angstroms per minute. In addition, the bottom coverage ratio (the ratio of the film formation rate to the bottom of the hole to the surface around the hole) with the aspect ratio 5 is about 70%.

In the above description, the formation of the diffusion barrier layer was used as an example of the use of the sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus. In addition, the sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus of the present embodiment is effective even when copper wiring or the like is performed.

Moreover, although the buffer chamber 4 was provided between the conveyance chamber 1 and the CVD chamber 3, you may provide between the conveyance chamber 1 and the sputter chamber 2. Also in this case, the same mechanism as the above-mentioned auxiliary conveyance mechanism can be provided in the buffer chamber 4. The buffer chamber 4 may also be provided between the etching chamber 5, the preheating chamber 6, and the transfer chamber 1.

In addition, the low pressure remote sputter has the problem as described above, the present invention is not excluded that the low pressure remote sputter is configured to be performed in the sputter chamber.

Moreover, as embodiment of invention of Claim 1, not the chamber arrangement as shown in FIG. 1, The structure of the inline type apparatus which installed the sputter chamber, the conveyance chamber, and the CVD chamber vertically in a line is mentioned. Also in this case, a buffer chamber is provided between the sputter chamber and the transfer chamber, or between the transfer chamber and the CVD chamber. Then, a load lock chamber is provided on the conveyance path in front of the sputter chamber, and an unload lock chamber is provided on the conveyance path behind the CVD chamber. In addition, compared with such an inline type apparatus, the chamber arrangement shown in FIG. 1 has an advantage of shortening the conveying path and reducing the occupied area of the apparatus.

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1 or 2 of the present application, since a buffer chamber is provided between the sputter chamber and the CVD chamber in addition to the transfer chamber, cross contamination of the process is effectively prevented. Moreover, compared with the structure which installs two conveying chambers, there is no significant increase of an occupied area, and the problem of a fall of productivity does not arise, either.

According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the above effects, the gate valve between the transfer chamber and the buffer chamber can be closed at the time of conveyance of the substrate between the buffer chamber and the CVD chamber or the sputter chamber. This is suppressed.

In addition, according to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the above effects, the diffusion of the residual gas in the CVD chamber into another chamber via the buffer chamber is suppressed. For this reason, the problem of the contamination of another chamber atmosphere by the residual gas in a CVD chamber is further suppressed.

In addition, according to the invention of claim 5, in addition to the above effects, it is possible to perform degassing by heating the substrate in the buffer chamber or to cool the substrate, so that the quality of the process is improved or the overall productivity of the apparatus is increased. This improved effect can be obtained.

Claims (5)

A sputtering chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus having a sputtering chamber for sputtering and a CVD chamber for chemical vapor deposition, wherein the sputtering chamber and the CVD chamber are hermetically connected through a transporting chamber provided with a transporting mechanism. And a buffer chamber between the CVD chamber or between the transfer chamber and the sputter chamber, wherein the sputter chamber and the CVD chamber are hermetically connected to the transfer chamber through the transfer chamber and the buffer chamber. Device. The sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sputter chamber and the CVD chamber are one of processing chambers hermetically connected around the transfer chamber. The sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an auxiliary transport mechanism for transporting the substrate is provided between the buffer chamber and the CVD chamber or the sputter chamber. The buffer chamber according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the buffer chamber is provided between the transfer chamber and the CVD chamber and has a purge gas introduction system for introducing purge gas therein, wherein the buffer chamber and the CVD chamber are provided. The sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus, characterized in that the gate valve installed between the opening only when the pressure in the buffer chamber is higher than the pressure in the CVD chamber. The sputter chemical vapor deposition composite apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising heating means for heating the substrate to a predetermined temperature or cooling means for cooling the substrate to a predetermined temperature in the buffer chamber.