TWI837045B - Batch curing chamber with gas distribution and individual pumping - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a batch processing chamber that is adapted to simultaneously cure multiple substrates at one time. The batch processing chamber includes multiple processing sub-regions that are each independently temperature controlled. The batch processing chamber may include a first and a second sub-processing region that are each serviced by a substrate transport device external to the batch processing chamber. In addition, a slotted cover mounted on the loading opening of the batch curing chamber reduces the effect of ambient air entering the chamber during loading and unloading.

Description

Batch curing chamber with gas distribution and individual pumping

Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to apparatus and methods for processing a plurality of substrates, such as semiconductor wafers, and more particularly, to apparatus and methods for curing dielectric materials disposed on a plurality of substrates.

Semiconductor devices have decreased dramatically in size since their introduction several decades ago. Today semiconductor manufacturing equipment routinely produces devices with 32nm, 28nm and 22nm feature sizes, and new equipment is being developed and implemented to manufacture even smaller devices. Reduced feature sizes allow features on devices to be spaced smaller. As a result, the widths of structures on devices (such as gaps, trenches, and the like) can shrink to a point where the aspect ratio of gap depth to gap width becomes so high that filling such gaps with dielectric materials becomes problematic. This is because the deposited dielectric material tends to experience a phenomenon called "pinching," where the access area to a high aspect ratio gap or other structure may close before fill from the bottom up is complete, leaving a void or weak spot in the structure.

Over the years, many techniques have been developed to avoid pinching or "heal" the voids or gaps caused by pinching. One approach starts with a high-flow precursor material that can be applied to the rotating substrate surface in a liquid phase (such as SOG deposition technology). These fluid precursors can flow into and fill very small substrate gaps without forming voids or weak gaps. However, once these high-flow materials are deposited, these high-flow materials must harden into a solid dielectric material.

In many cases, the hardening process includes a heat treatment to remove volatile components from the deposited material that are necessary to make the initially deposited film flowable. After these components are removed, a hardened and dense dielectric material with high etch resistance is left, such as silicon oxide.

The fluidity of these films may result from the various chemical compositions contained in the films, but hardening or densifying the films by removing these same chemical compositions is almost uniformly beneficial across the set of fluid deposition techniques. These hardening and densification processes can be time consuming. Therefore, there is a need for new post-processing techniques and equipment that are currently available or under development for densifying a variety of fluid films. This need and other needs are addressed in the present disclosure.

Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to apparatus and methods for processing substrates, such as semiconductor wafers, and more particularly, to apparatus and methods for batch curing dielectric materials disposed on multiple substrates.

Embodiments disclosed herein may provide a system for forming dielectric material on a surface of a substrate, including a host computer, a production interface, a load lock chamber, a plurality of flow CVD deposition chambers, and a batch processing chamber. The production interface includes at least one atmospheric robotic arm and is configured to receive one or more substrates of the cassette, and the load lock chamber is coupled to the host machine and configured to receive one or more substrates from the at least one atmospheric robotic arm in the production interface , multiple fluid CVD deposition chambers are each coupled to the host, the batch processing chamber is coupled to the production interface, the batch processing chamber includes multiple sub-processing areas, loading openings and covers, and the multiple sub-processing areas are each configured and receiving substrates from at least one atmospheric robotic arm and performing a curing process on the substrates received from the atmospheric robotic arm, a loading opening is formed in a wall of the batch processing chamber, and the cover plate includes a plurality of slot-shaped openings and is disposed on the loading opening , wherein each of the plurality of slot-shaped openings is configured to allow at least one atmospheric robotic arm to extend an arm from a location outside the batch processing chamber to one of the plurality of sub-processing areas, and wherein when the loading opening is open, the plurality of slot-shaped openings Each of the openings is configured to reduce the free area for loading the opening.

Embodiments disclosed herein may further provide a batch substrate processing chamber including a plurality of sub-processing areas, a loading opening and a cover, each of the plurality of sub-processing areas being configured to receive a substrate from an atmospheric robotic arm and upon receiving the substrate from the atmospheric robotic arm. A curing process is performed on the substrate, a load opening is formed in a wall of the batch processing chamber, a cover is disposed over the load opening and includes a plurality of slot-shaped openings, each of the plurality of slot-shaped openings being configured to allow at least one atmospheric robotic arm An arm extends from a location outside the batch processing chamber to one of the plurality of sub-processing areas, and wherein each of the plurality of slot-shaped openings is configured to reduce the free area of the loading opening when the loading opening is open.

Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to a batch processing chamber adapted to cure multiple substrates at a time. The chamber includes first and second sub-processing areas, each of which is served by a substrate transfer device outside the batch processing chamber, and each of which can support a substrate. In one embodiment, the first sub-processing area is directly below the second sub-processing area, wherein the first and second sub-processing areas are accessible by the substrate transfer device through a cover plate that covers a portion of a loading opening formed in the chamber.

FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of a processing tool including a production interface 105 having a batch curing chamber 103 configured according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The processing tool 100 generally includes the production interface 105, the batch curing chamber 103, a transfer chamber 112, an atmospheric chuck station 109, and a plurality of paired processing chambers 108a-b, 108c-d, and 108e-f. In the processing tool 100, a pair of FOUPs (front opening uniform vertical wells) 102 supply substrates (e.g., 300 mm diameter wafers) that are received by one arm of an atmospheric robot 104 and placed into a load lock chamber 106. A second robot 110 is disposed in the transfer chamber 112 coupled to the load lock chamber 106. The second robot 110 is used to transfer the substrate from the load lock chamber 106 to the processing chambers 108a-f coupled to the transfer chamber 112.

The processing chambers 108a-f may include one or more system components for depositing, annealing, curing and/or etching a fluid dielectric film on a substrate. In one configuration, three pairs of processing chambers (e.g., 108a-b, 108c-d, and 108e-f) may be used to deposit a fluid dielectric material on a substrate.

In certain embodiments, the batch cure chamber 103 is configured to simultaneously perform a batch cure process on multiple substrates having flowable dielectric materials deposited thereon. In such embodiments, batch curing chamber 103 is typically configured to perform curing processes on a plurality of substrates, which may be performed in pairs of processing chambers 108a-b, 108c-d, and 108e. Simultaneous film deposition in -f. Thus, in the arrangement shown in Figure 1, the batch cure chamber 103 is advantageously sized to accommodate six substrates at a time during the cure process. Thus, all substrates that have been processed by pairs of processing chambers 108a-b, 108c-d, and 108e-f can be cured simultaneously, thereby maximizing substrate throughput of processing tool 100.

In addition, in the case of multiple processing chambers with different processing method start and end times, in order to avoid substrates remaining in the batch curing chamber 103 for significantly different times, the processing tool 100 may include an atmospheric clamping station 109. The holding station 109 is used to hold the processed substrate until the deposition processing of other subsequently processed substrates is completed. The atmospheric clamping station allows all substrates to be placed in the batch curing chamber 103 at once. For example, the atmospheric holding station 109 is configured to temporarily store substrates outside the batch curing chamber 103 until a required number of substrates are available for processing in the batch curing chamber 103 . The atmospheric robot 104 then loads the substrates into the batch curing chamber 103 in rapid succession such that the substrates that have not been thin film deposited remain at a relatively high temperature in the batch curing chamber 103 compared to any other thin film deposited ones. It was a few seconds longer. Therefore, substrate-to-substrate variations during the curing process can be minimized or reduced.

The batch curing chamber 103 generally includes a chamber body 103B and a slit valve 103A. After the substrate is positioned in the chamber body 103B by the atmospheric manipulator 104, the slit valve 103A is used to sealingly close the interior area of the chamber body 103B. The batch curing process and batch curing chamber 103 are further described below with respect to Figures 4-10. Flow CVD Chamber and Deposition Processing Demonstration Example

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a fluidized chemical vapor deposition chamber 200 with a zoned plasma generation region. The processing chamber 200 may be any of the processing chambers 108a-f of the processing tool 100 that is at least configured to deposit a fluid dielectric material on a substrate. In some embodiments, the processing tool 100 may include any other suitable chemical vapor deposition chamber instead of the processing chamber 200.

During film deposition (e.g., silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, or silicon oxycarbide deposition), a process gas may flow into the first plasma region 215 through the gas inlet assembly 205. The process gas may be excited in a remote plasma system (RPS) 201 prior to entering the first plasma region 215. The processing chamber 200 includes a lid 212 and a nozzle 225. The lid 212 is illustrated with an applied AC voltage source and the nozzle 225 grounded, consistent with plasma generation in the first plasma region 215. An insulation ring 220 is positioned between the lid 212 and the nozzle 225 to enable a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) to form in the first plasma region 215. The cap 212 and nozzle 225 are shown with an insulating ring 220 between the cap 212 and the nozzle 225 to allow an AC potential to be applied to the cap 212 relative to the nozzle 225.

The cover 212 may be a dual source cover for use with a process chamber. Two different supply channels are visible within the gas inlet assembly 205. The first channel 202 carries gas through the remote plasma system (RPS) 201, while the second channel 204 bypasses the RPS 201. The first channel 202 may be used for process gas and the second channel 204 may be used for treatment gas. The gases flowing into the first plasma region 215 may be dispersed by the baffle 206.

Fluid (eg, precursor) may flow into the second plasma region 233 through the nozzle 225 . Excited species from the precursor in the first plasma region 215 move through the aperture 214 in the showerhead 225 and react with the precursor flowing from the showerhead 225 into the second plasma region 233 . Little or no plasma is present in the second plasma region 233 . The excited derivatives of the precursor combine in the second plasma region 233 to form a fluid dielectric material on the substrate. As dielectric materials grow, more recently added materials become more mobile than the materials below. Mobility decreases as evaporation reduces organic matter content. Gaps can be filled with flowable dielectric material using this technique without leaving traditional densities of organic content in the dielectric material after deposition. The curing step (described below) can be used to further reduce or remove organic content from the deposited dielectric material.

Exciting the precursor in the first plasma region 215 alone or in combination with the remote plasma system (RPS) 201 in the first plasma region 215 provides several benefits. Due to the plasma in the first plasma region 215, the concentration of excited species from the precursor may increase in the second plasma region 233. This increase may result from the location of the plasma in the first plasma region 215. Compared with the remote plasma system (RPS) 201, the second plasma region 233 is located closer to the first plasma region 215, leaving less time for the excited species to pass through and interact with other gas particles, chamber walls, and The nozzle surface leaves the excited state.

The concentration uniformity of the excited species from the precursor may also be increased in the second plasma zone 233. This may be due to the shape of the first plasma zone 215, which is similar in shape to the second plasma zone 233. The excited species generated in the remote plasma system (RPS) 201 travels a greater distance to pass through the holes 214 near the edge of the nozzle 225 than the species passing through the holes 214 near the center of the nozzle 225. The greater distance causes the excited species to be less excited and, for example, may result in a slower growth rate near the edge of the substrate. Activating the precursor in the first plasma zone 215 mitigates this variation.

In addition to the precursors, there may be other gases introduced at different times for different purposes. Process gases may be introduced to remove unnecessary materials from the chamber walls, substrate, deposited film and/or film during deposition. The process gas may include at least one gas from the group including _H2 , _H2 / _N2 mixtures, _NH3 , _NH4OH , _O3 , _O2 , _{H2O2 ,} and water vapor. Process gases can be excited in the plasma and then used to reduce or remove remaining organic content from the deposited film. In other embodiments, process gases may be used instead of plasma. When the process gas includes water vapor, delivery can be achieved using a mass flow meter (MFM) with an injection valve or other suitable water vapor generator.

In one embodiment, the dielectric layer may be deposited by introducing a dielectric material precursor (e.g., a silicon-containing precursor) and reacting the precursor in the second plasma region 233. Examples of dielectric material precursors are silicon-containing precursors including silane, disilane, methylsilane, dimethylsilane, trimethylsilane, tetramethylsilane, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), triethoxysilane (TES), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (OMCTS), tetramethyldisiloxane (TMDSO), tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane (TMCTS), tetramethyldiethoxydisiloxane (TMDDSO), dimethyldimethoxysilane (DMDMS), or combinations thereof. Additional precursors for silicon nitride deposition include _{SixNyHz -} containing precursors (such _as sillyl-amine and its derivatives, including trisillylamine (TSA) and disillylamine (DSA)), _{SixNyHzOzz -} containing _{precursors , SixNyHzClzz -} containing _precursors , or combinations _thereof .

The process precursor includes a hydrogen-containing compound, an oxygen-containing compound, a nitrogen-containing compound, or a combination thereof. Examples of suitable process precursors include one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of _H2 , _H2 / _N2 mixtures, _NH3 , _NH4OH , _O3 , _O2 , _H2O2 , _{N2 , NxHy} compounds containing _N2H4 vapor, NO, _N2O , _NO2 , water vapor, or a _combination thereof. The process precursor may be present in a plasma (such as in _an RPS unit) to include N ^* and/or H ^* and/or O ^* -containing radicals or plasmas, for example, _NH3 , _NH2 ^* , NH ^* , N ^* , H ^* , O ^* , N ^* O ^* , or a combination thereof. Alternatively, the processing precursor may include one or more of the precursors described herein.

The process precursor may be a plasma excited in the first plasma zone 215 to generate a process gas plasma and free radicals (including free radicals or plasma containing N ^* and/or H ^* and/or O ^* ), for example, _NH3 , _NH2 ^* , NH ^* , N ^* , H ^* , O ^* , N ^* O ^* or a combination thereof. Alternatively, the process precursor may be in a plasma state after passing through a remote plasma system and before being introduced into the first plasma zone 215.

The excited process precursor 290 is then transported into the second plasma region 233 in order to react with the precursor through the aperture 214 . Once in the processing space, the processing precursors can mix and react to deposit dielectric material.

In one embodiment, a flow CVD process performed in process chamber 200 may deposit the dielectric material as a polysilazane-based silicon-containing film (PSZ-like film) that is flowable and Filling grooves, features, perforations, or other holes defined in a substrate on which a polysilazane-based silicon-containing film is deposited.

In addition to the dielectric precursors and process precursors, other gases may be introduced at different times for different purposes. Process gases may be introduced to remove unwanted species from the chamber walls, substrate, deposited film, and/or thin film during deposition, such as hydrogen, carbon, and fluorine. The process precursors and/or process gases may include at least one gas from the group consisting of _H2 , _H2 / _N2 mixtures, _{NH3 , NH4OH} , _O3 , _O2 , _H2O2 , _N2 , _{N2H4 vapor} , NO, _N2O , _NO2 , water vapor, or a combination thereof. The process gas may be excited in a plasma and then used to reduce or remove residual organic content from the deposited film. In other embodiments, the process gas may be used without a plasma. The process gas may be introduced into the first processing region through the RPS unit or bypassing the RPS unit and may be further excited in the first plasma region.

Silicon nitride materials include silicon nitride, _Six N _y , _hydrogen - _containing silicon _nitride , SixNyHz, silicon _oxynitride (including hydrogen-containing silicon oxynitride), Si (Including chlorinated silicon nitride, Si _x N _y H _z Cl _zz ). The deposited dielectric material can then be converted to a silicon oxide-based material. Sample Deposition and Batch Curing Processing Procedure

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a process 300 that may be performed in the processing chamber 200 and the batch curing chamber 103. FIGS. 4A-4C are schematic cross-sectional views of portions of a substrate corresponding to various stages of the process 300. Although the process 300 is shown as being used to form a dielectric material in a recess defined in or on a substrate, such as a shallow trench isolation (STI) structure fabrication process, the process 300 may be used to form other structures on a substrate, such as an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) structure.

Process 300 begins at step 302 by transporting substrate 400 (shown in Figure 4A) to a deposition processing chamber (such as mobile chemical vapor (CVD) chamber 200 shown in Figure 2). In one embodiment, substrate 400 may be a silicon substrate with one or more layers formed thereon to form structures, such as shallow trench isolation (STI) structures 404 . In another embodiment, the substrate 400 may be a silicon substrate having multiple layers (such as thin film stacks) for forming different patterns and/or features. The substrate 400 may be, for example, crystalline silicon (such as Si<100> or Si<111>), silicon oxide, strained silicon, silicon germanium, doped or undoped polycrystalline silicon, doped or undoped silicon wafers, and patterns or non-patterned silicon on insulator (SOI), carbon doped silicon oxide, silicon nitride, doped silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, glass, sapphire, metal layers disposed on silicon, or the like s material. The substrate 400 can be of any shape and size, such as a 200mm, 300mm or 450mm diameter wafer, or a rectangular or square plate.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A , layer 402 is disposed on substrate 400 and is suitable for fabricating STI structures 404 by depositing a flowing dielectric material. In some embodiments, layer 402 may be etched or patterned to form recesses 406 in layer 402 for forming shallow recess isolation (STI) structures, which may be used to electrically isolate components in an integrated circuit from each other. Alternatively, in embodiments where layer 402 is not present, the processing described herein performed on layer 402 may be performed on substrate 400.

At step 304, a dielectric material 408 is deposited on substrate 400 to fill recesses 406 defined in layer 402, as shown in FIG. 4B. Dielectric material 408 may be deposited by a flow chemical vapor deposition process performed in processing chamber 200, as described above with respect to FIG. 2. In one embodiment, dielectric material 408 is a silicon-containing material deposited from a gas mixture supplied into processing chamber 200.

In one embodiment, the gas mixture supplied into the processing chamber 200 for forming the dielectric material 408 may include a dielectric material precursor and a processing precursor as discussed above. In addition, suitable examples of processing precursors may include nitrogen-containing precursors as discussed above. In addition, the processing precursor may also include a hydrogen-containing compound, an oxygen-containing compound, or a combination thereof, such as _NH3 gas. Alternatively, the processing precursor may include one or more of the desired precursors.

In one embodiment, the substrate temperature during the deposition process is maintained within a predetermined temperature range. In one embodiment, the substrate temperature is maintained at less than about 200 degrees Celsius, such as less than 100 degrees Celsius to allow the dielectric material 408 formed on the substrate to be fluid to reflow and fill the recesses 406. It is believed that relatively low substrate temperatures (e.g., less than 100 degrees Celsius) can help maintain the film initially formed on the substrate surface in a fluid state in a liquid state to maintain the fluidity and viscosity of the resulting film formed on the substrate surface. As the resulting film is formed on the substrate with a certain degree of fluidity and viscosity, the bonding structure of the film can be changed, transformed, and replaced into a different functional group or bonding structure after subsequent heat and moisture processing. In one embodiment, the substrate temperature in the processing chamber is maintained between about room temperature and about 200 degrees Celsius, such as less than about 100 degrees Celsius, for example, between about 30 degrees Celsius and about 80 degrees Celsius.

The dielectric precursor may be supplied to the processing chamber at a flow rate between about 1 sccm and about 5000 sccm. The process precursor may be supplied to the processing chamber at a flow rate between about 1 sccm and about 1000 sccm. Alternatively, during the process, the supplied gas mixture may also be controlled at a flow ratio of the dielectric precursor to the process precursor between about 0.1 and 100. The process pressure is maintained between about 0.10 Torr and about 10 Torr, for example, between about 0.1 Torr and about 1 Torr, such as between about 0.5 Torr and 0.7 Torr.

One or more inert gases may also be included in the gas mixture provided to the processing chamber 200. Inert gases may include, but are not limited to, noble gases such as Ar, He, Xe and the like. The inert gas may be supplied to the processing chamber at a flow rate of about 1 sccm to about 50,000 sccm.

RF power is used to maintain the plasma during deposition. The RF power supply is between about 100kHz and about 100MHz, such as about 350kHz or about 13.56MHz. Alternatively, a VHF power supply can be used to provide frequencies up to between approximately 27MHz and 200MHz. In one embodiment, RF power may be supplied between approximately 1,000 watts and 10,000 watts. The distance from the substrate to the nozzle 225 can be controlled according to the size of the substrate. In one embodiment, the treatment interval is controlled between about 100 mils and about 5 inches.

In one embodiment, the dielectric material 408 formed on the substrate 400 is a silicon-containing material having nitrogen or hydrogen atoms, such as Si _x N _y H _z or —Si—N—H— bonds formed on the substrate, where x is an integer from 1 to 200, and y and z are integers from 0 to 400. Since the process precursor provided in the gas mixture can provide nitrogen and hydrogen species during deposition, the silicon atoms formed in the dielectric material 408 can include —Si—N—H—, —Si—N—, or —Si—H— or other bonds. The Si—N, N—H, Si—H bonds will be further replaced by Si—O—Si bonds by subsequent thermal and wet treatments to form the dielectric material 408 as a silicon oxide layer.

In step 306, after the dielectric material 408 is formed on the substrate 400, the substrate 400 is cured and/or heat treated. The curing process removes water and other volatile components from the deposited dielectric material 408 to form a solid phase dielectric material 408, as shown in FIG. 4C. As the dielectric material 408 cures, water and solvent in the deposited dielectric material 408 are discharged, causing the deposited dielectric material 408 to refill and reflow into the recesses 406 defined in the substrate 400, thereby forming a substantially flat surface 410 on the substrate 400. In one embodiment, the curing step 306 can be performed in a batch curing chamber 103.

In some embodiments, the curing temperature can be controlled to a temperature below 150 degrees Celsius, such as below 100 degrees Celsius, for example, about 50 degrees Celsius. The curing time can be controlled to be between about 1 second and about 10 hours. For example, in one embodiment, the curing process is performed at a temperature of about 90 degrees Celsius for 8 to 10 minutes. In some embodiments, during the curing process, a heated purified gas and/or an inert carrier gas (argon (Ar) or nitrogen ( _N2 )) is used and flowed onto the substrate, for example through a heated nozzle. In other embodiments, the carrier gas can be combined with ozone ( _O3 ) during the curing process. In other examples, the flow of the hot treatment gas over the surface of the substrate and the heating of the substrate can effectively remove volatile components from the film, wherein the mobile dielectric film has been formed on the substrate. In this method, a film formed by a flow CVD process (such as the film deposited in step 304) can be converted into a dense, solid dielectric film with small or no voids, even when formed on a substrate with high depth and width features. In certain embodiments, the curing process includes a preheating step in which the substrate is placed on a heated susceptor for a specific duration (e.g., from about 1 second to about 10 minutes) before the process gas is flowed.

At step 310, after the curing process is complete, the dielectric material 408 may be selectively exposed to a thermal anneal process to form the annealed dielectric material 408. Generally, the thermal annealing process is performed in a separate processing chamber rather than the curing process described above. An example of a suitable thermal annealing chamber in which step 310 may be performed is the CENTURA® RADIANCE® RTP chamber available from Applied Materials, among others. It is worth noting that other types of annealing chambers or RTP chambers, including those obtained from other manufacturers, may also be used to perform the thermal annealing process as described in step 310. Batch curing process example

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a batch curing chamber 500 configured according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The batch curing chamber 500 can be used as the batch curing chamber 103 in FIG. 1 to perform the batch curing process described in step 306 above. The batch curing chamber 500 generally includes a chamber body 510, a plurality of curing stations 530 disposed in the chamber body 510, and a plurality of substrate lifting assemblies 540 partially disposed in the chamber body 510.

The chamber body 510 includes a chamber wall 512 coupled to a chamber lid 511 and a chamber floor 513. A vacuum pump foreline 514 (configured to pump process and purge gases from the chamber body 510) passes through the chamber floor 513 and into the chamber 510. In other embodiments, the vacuum pump foreline 514 may pass through one or more of the chamber walls 512 and/or the chamber lid 511 and into the chamber 510. The vacuum pump foreline 514 is fluidly coupled to a processing region 522 of the chamber 510 through an opening 521 and to each of a plurality of exhaust inlet arrays 523 disposed adjacent to each of a plurality of curing stations 530. Thus, process gases, purge gases, and volatile compounds exhausted from the substrate during the curing process can be removed from the processing region 522 and from each of the processing sub-regions 524 located between the plurality of curing stations 530. The plurality of exhaust inlet arrays 523 are described in more detail in conjunction with FIG.

The chamber body 510 may also include an RPS manifold 515 coupled to one of the chamber walls 512. During periodic cleaning processes, the RPS manifold 515 is configured to direct cleaning gas to each of the processing sub-regions 524 through a plurality of cleaning gas openings 516. The cleaning gas may be generated by a remote plasma source 550. For example, _NH3 or any other cleaning gas may pass through the remote plasma source and then be used to remove unwanted deposits on one or more interior surfaces of the chamber body and the plurality of curing stations 530. This process may be performed at specific time intervals after a predetermined amount of cured films have been processed by the batch curing chamber 500, or after a predetermined number of substrates have been processed by the batch curing chamber 500.

The chamber body 510 also generally includes a loading opening 517 formed in one of the chamber walls 512, a channel-shaped opening cover 518 (shown in greater detail in Figure 6), and a loading opening door 520. The opening cover 518 is provided with a plurality of substrate slits 519 and a loading opening door 520 is provided to seal the loading opening 517 during the curing process. Generally, each of the substrate slits 519 corresponds to an individual one of the curing stations 530 and is substantially aligned with an individual one of the curing stations 530 to allow one arm of the atmospheric robotic arm 104 to enter when the load opening door 520 is in the open position. Each of the plurality of sub-processing areas 524. The load opening door 520 is shown in Figure 5 in a closed position.

The loading opening 517 is configured to allow substrates to be loaded into each of the plurality of curing stations 530 without repositioning the loading opening relative to the plurality of curing stations 530 or the production interface 105. For example, when the plurality of curing stations 530 are arranged in a stacked array, as shown in FIG. 5 , the loading opening 517 is configured to span the stacked array in two dimensions (i.e., height and width) such that all or at least a large portion of the plurality of curing stations 530 in the stacked array are accessible by the atmospheric robot 104. Thus, when the curing stations 530 are arranged in a vertically stacked array, the height 525 of the loading opening 517 is relatively large to accommodate the combined height of the plurality of curing stations 530. The slotted opening cover 518 may be a plate or other structure configured to minimize or reduce the open area of the loading opening 517 when the loading opening 517 is open (e.g., during loading and unloading of substrates). Because the loading opening 517 has a relatively large height 525, the free area of the loading opening is correspondingly large, allowing a large amount of ambient air from the production interface 105 to enter the batch curing chamber 500 when the slotted opening cover 518 is not present. A large amount of ambient air entering the batch curing chamber 500 may cause unnecessary cooling of the batch curing chamber 500 or oxidation and/or contamination of internal components in the batch curing chamber 500, as well as leakage of process gases and exhaust products in the batch curing chamber 500 into the production interface 105. Thus, the slotted opening cover 518 helps prevent particles and/or unwanted gases or process byproducts from being transported to and from the batch curing chamber 500.

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a slotted opening cover 518 for the batch curing chamber 500 shown in FIG. 5 , configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The slotted opening cover 518 may be a plate or other structure configured to minimize or reduce the open area of the loading opening 517 when the loading opening 517 is open (e.g., during loading and unloading of substrates). For example, the size of the plurality of substrate slits 519 may be selected to be as small as practical without causing interference with substrates being loaded and unloaded through the loading opening 517. In this embodiment, the size of the plurality of substrate slots 519 may be determined based on the position of the atmospheric robot 104 (shown in FIG. 1 ), the slotted opening cover 518, the loading opening 517, and any tolerance stack-up and chamber-to-chamber variations of the batch curing chamber 500 components that may affect the plurality of substrate slots 519 relative to the individual positions of the atmospheric robot 104. Thus, in this embodiment, the plurality of substrate slots may be configured to conform to the cross-section of a substrate resting on the arm of the atmospheric robot 104 plus additional free area to accommodate the tolerance stack-up of the components of the batch curing chamber 500, the production interface 105, the atmospheric robot 104, and the like.

In order to reduce the free area of the loading opening 517 when substrates are loaded into the batch curing chamber 500, the slotted opening cover 518 significantly reduces or minimizes the inlet of ambient air and the outlet of process and purge gases from the batch curing chamber 500. Therefore, despite the relatively large size of the loading opening 517, little or no process gas and/or volatile components leave the batch curing chamber 500 during substrate loading and unloading. In addition, unnecessary cooling of the batch curing chamber 500 caused by ambient air entering from the production interface 105 or thermal radiation leaving the batch curing chamber 500 is avoided.

Figure 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a portion of a plurality of curing stations 530 configured in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Each of the plurality of curing stations 530 provided in the chamber body 510 includes a heating substrate base 531, a nozzle 532 positioned on the heating base 531, a nozzle air chamber 533 formed between the heating base 531 and the nozzle 532, An annular plenum 534, a curing station heater 535, and a thermocouple 537 are fluidly coupled to the showerhead plenum 533 and process gas plate (not shown). For clarity, the exhaust inlet array 523, which may be disposed adjacent to the curing station 530, is omitted from Figure 7. A processing sub-area 524 is located between each of the plurality of curing stations 530 .

Heated substrate base 531 is configured to support and, in some embodiments, heat the substrate during the curing process. The showerhead 532 is configured to evenly distribute the processing gas (ie, solidification gas) and purge gas entering the showerhead gas chamber 533 to the adjacent processing sub-region 524 . Additionally, the heated substrate base 531 and the showerhead 532 are configured to form the showerhead plenum 533 as shown. It is worth noting that the gas passing through the showerhead plenum 533 and entering the processing sub-region 524 can be heated by the heated substrate base 531 associated with the processing sub-region 524, which is different from and adjacent to the processing into which the gas flows. Subarea 524. Alternatively, or even more, the gas passing through the showerhead plenum 533 and entering the processing sub-region 524 may be heated by the showerhead 532 through which the gas passes.

In some embodiments, the process and/or purge gas passing through the nozzle plenum 533 and entering the process sub-region 524 may first pass through an annular plenum 534 fluidly coupled to the nozzle plenum 533, as shown in Figure 7. The annular plenum 534 is configured with a plurality of orifices 701, which are sized to produce a greater flow resistance (i.e., pressure drop) on the process gas 702 than the flow resistance produced on the process gas 702 when the process gas 702 flows through the nozzle plenum 533. In this approach, although the annular plenum 534 may be coupled to the process gas plate through a single inlet or a small number of inlets, the flow of the process gas 702 into the nozzle plenum 533 is substantially uniform around the nozzle 532. Generally, the uniform flow of the process gas 702 into the nozzle plenum 533 promotes uniform flow through the nozzle 532 into the processing sub-region 524. To further promote uniform flow of the process gas 702, the orifices 701 may be symmetrically distributed around the inner periphery of the annular plenum 534.

The maximum free area of the orifices 701 that promotes uniform flow of the processing gas 702 entering the nozzle gas chamber 533 may be based on the number of orifices 701, the size of the nozzle gas chamber 533, the flow resistance generated by the nozzle 532, the approximate flow rate of the processing gas 702, etc. to decide. The maximum free area of the orifice 701 can be determined by those with ordinary knowledge in the art based on the above knowledge.

The batch curing chamber 500 may include a curing station heater 535 and a thermocouple 537 that together enable individual closed loop temperature control for each of the plurality of curing stations 530 . Thus, the batch curing chamber 500 can process multiple substrates without the risk of substrate-to-substrate variation due to temperature variations among the multiple curing stations 530 . Without individual temperature control of the curing station heaters 535, substrates processed in the top and bottom processing sub-regions 524 of the batch curing chamber 500 are generally exposed to lower temperatures than substrates processed in the central processing sub-region 524, which may Severely affects the results of curing processes from wafer to wafer batch.

In some embodiments, the thermocouple 537 and the curing station heater 535 are both disposed in the heated substrate pedestal 531, as shown in FIG. 7. In these embodiments, the walls of the nozzle 532 and the annular plenum 534 are heated to a temperature close to that of the heated substrate pedestal 531 via conduction and radiation heat transfer. Thus, the process gas passing through the annular plenum 534, the nozzle plenum 533, and the nozzle 532 are also heated to a temperature close to that of the heated substrate pedestal 531. The thermocouple 537 provides temperature feedback to the heated substrate pedestal 531 and, thus, closed loop control of the temperature of the process gas entering one of the processing sub-zones 524. Alternatively, a thermocouple 537 may be provided in contact with the nozzle 532 and/or in contact with a process gas entering one of the process sub-regions 524.

As described above, a plurality of exhaust inlet arrays 523 are disposed adjacent each of a plurality of curing stations 530 . During certain curing processes performed on the substrate in one of the processing sub-regions 524, volatile components expelled from the dielectric material formed on the substrate may form particles, such as SiO2 particles. Such particles may settle on the substrate being processed, which is highly undesirable. Accordingly, the flow patterns of purge and process gases in batch curing chamber 500 can affect contamination of substrates being processed in processing sub-region 524. The exhaust inlet array 523 is configured to exhaust volatile components and particles, if formed, from the substrate being processed. In some embodiments, two or more exhaust inlet arrays 523 are disposed adjacent to each curing station 530 in a symmetrical arrangement, as shown in Figures 7 and 8A-8C.

Figure 8A is an isometric view of a plurality of grouped exhaust inlet arrays 523 arranged in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 8B is a plan view of the plurality of groups of exhaust inlet arrays 523 shown in Figure 8A and Figure 8C is a side view of the plurality of groups of exhaust inlet arrays 523 shown in Figure 8A. Most other elements of batch curing chamber 500 have been omitted for clarity. As shown in the embodiment shown in Figures 8A-8C, a group of four exhaust inlet arrays 523 are positioned adjacent a particular curing station 530, for a total of six groups of four exhaust inlet arrays 523. In other embodiments, a group of more or less than four exhaust inlet arrays 523 may be positioned adjacent a single curing station 530 .

Each exhaust inlet array 523 includes a plurality of exhaust inlets 801 fluidly coupled to an exhaust plenum 802, which is located within the exhaust inlet array 523. In certain embodiments, each exhaust inlet array 523 is mechanically coupled to a support member 810, which structurally supports and positions the exhaust inlet array 523 coupled thereto. In the embodiment shown in Figures 8A-C, the batch curing chamber 500 includes four separate support members 810, while in other embodiments, the batch curing chamber 500 can be configured with more or less than a total of four support members 810. Additionally, each exhaust inlet array 523 is fluidly coupled to an exhaust manifold (not shown for clarity), which in turn is fluidly coupled to the foreline 514 of the batch curing chamber 500. In some embodiments, one or more of the support members 810 may also be configured as an exhaust manifold.

In certain embodiments, some or all of exhaust inlet array 523 may include flow balancing orifices 811 . In these embodiments, each flow balancing orifice 811 is configured to restrict flow to an associated exhaust inlet array 523 such that the flow of process gas and exhaust components through each exhaust inlet array 523 is relative to the flow of adjacent exhaust gases. The entry arrays 523 are equal or substantially equal. In some embodiments, flow balancing orifices 811 are fixed orifices. In these embodiments, the specific size of each fixed orifice may be determined using computer simulation, flow visualization, trial-and-error methods, or a combination thereof. In other embodiments, some or all of the flow balance orifice 811 is an adjustable orifice (such as a needle valve) that can be set at the time of manufacture (in the field) and/or in response to the batch curing chamber 500 exhaust balance issues.

The plurality of substrate lift assemblies 540 are configured to remove individual substrates from the atmospheric robot 104 and to place individual substrates on the atmospheric robot 104 during loading and unloading. In addition, the plurality of substrate lift assemblies 540 are configured to simultaneously position multiple substrates during processing in the batch curing chamber 500. For example, in certain embodiments, the plurality of substrate lift assemblies 540 are configured to simultaneously position each substrate being processed into a processing position and into a preheating position. Generally speaking, when in the processing position, the substrate is positioned proximate to the spray head 532, and when in the preheating position, the substrate is positioned on the heated substrate pedestal 531.

The plurality of substrate lifting assemblies 540 includes a plurality of lifting pin indexers 541, such as three or more. In the embodiment shown in Figure 5, multiple substrate lift assemblies 540 include three lift pin indexers 541, but only one is visible. Figure 9 is an isometric view of a portion of the chamber cover 511 and all three lift pin indexers 541 of the plurality of substrate lift assemblies 540. For clarity, the chamber wall 512 and the chamber floor 513 are omitted from Figure 9 . Each of the three lift pin indexers 541 is partially disposed within the chamber body 510 and coupled to a lift mechanism 544 (shown in Figure 5 and omitted from Figure 9 for clarity). Lift mechanism 544 may be any mechanical actuator suitable for positioning substrates in the loading, unloading, preheating, and processing positions described above. For example, the lift mechanism may include pneumatic actuators, stepper motors, and the like.

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of a lift pin indexer 541 provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, lift pin indexer 541 generally includes lift pins 542 for each of the processing sub-regions 524 in batch cure chamber 500. Therefore, in the examples shown in FIGS. 5 , 9 and 10 , each lift pin indexer 541 includes six lift pins 542 coupled with a vertical axis 543 . The three lift pin indexers 541 can simultaneously position six substrates in the processing position or simultaneously set the six substrates in the preheating position on respective heated substrate bases 531 .

In certain embodiments, each lift pin 542 is configured with a low-contact, thermally insulating contact surface 1001 to reduce and/or minimize heat transfer from the substrate to the lift pin 542 during processing. In this manner, so-called "cold spots" on the substrate are reduced or eliminated during processing, thereby improving the uniformity of the dielectric films being cured in the batch curing chamber 500. In some embodiments, contact surface 1001 is formed with cylindrical elements 1002 such that the contact surface between the substrate and contact surface 1001 is reduced to line or point contact. Additionally, cylindrical element 1002 may be formed from a material that has a lower thermal conductivity than materials commonly used to form lift pin 542, such as aluminum and stainless steel. For example, in certain embodiments, cylindrical element 1002 may be formed from sapphire (Al ₂ O ₃ ).

In summary, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods for curing dielectric materials disposed on multiple substrates without the substrate-to-substrate variation typically associated with batch processing. Specifically, the batch curing chamber includes multiple processing sub-areas that are each independently temperature controlled. Additionally, a channel-shaped cover that fits over the loading opening of the chamber significantly reduces the impact of ambient air entering the chamber during loading and unloading.

Although the foregoing description is directed to the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments can be designed without departing from the basic scope of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the following patent claims.

100: Processing tool 103A: Slit valve 103B: Chamber body 103: Batch curing chamber 104: Atmospheric robot 105: Production interface 106: Load lock chamber 108a: Processing chamber 109: Atmospheric clamping station 110: Second robot 112: Chamber 200: Processing chamber 201: RPS 202: First channel 204: Second channel 205: Gas inlet assembly 206: Baffle 212: Cover 214: Orifice 215: First plasma zone 220: Insulation ring 225: Nozzle 233: Second plasma zone 290: Activated process precursor 300: Process 302: Step 304: Step 306: Step 310: Step 400: Substrate 402: Layer 404: STI structure 406: Recess 408: Dielectric material 410: Flat surface 500: Batch cure chamber 510: Chamber body 511: Chamber cover 512: Chamber wall 513: Chamber floor 514: Foreline 515: RPS manifold 516: Purge gas opening 517: Loading opening 518: Slotted opening cover 519: Substrate slit 520: Loading opening door 521: opening 522: process area 523: exhaust inlet array 524: process sub-area 525: height 530: cure station 531: heated substrate pedestal 532: nozzle 533: nozzle plenum 534: annular plenum 535: cure station heater 537: thermocouple 540: substrate lift assembly 541: lift pin indexer 542: lift pin 543: vertical axis 544: lift mechanism 550: remote plasma source 701: orifice 702: process gas 801: exhaust inlet 802: exhaust plenum 810: support member 811: Flow balance orifice 1001: Contact surface 1002: Cylindrical element

The features disclosed in the invention have been briefly summarized above and are discussed in more detail below, which may be understood by reference to the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is worth noting, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of the scope of the present invention, since the present invention may admit other equally effective embodiments. .

FIG. 1 is a top view of a processing tool including a production interface having a batch curing chamber according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a mobile chemical vapor deposition chamber having zoned plasma generation areas;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a process that can be implemented in the processing chamber 200 and the batch curing chamber 103 shown in FIG. 1;

Figures 4A-4C are schematic cross-sectional views of portions of a substrate corresponding to various stages of the processing shown in Figure 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of a batch curing chamber configured according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6 is an isometric view of the slotted opening cover shown in Figure 5 for the batch curing chamber provided in accordance with the disclosed embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a portion of a plurality of curing stations arranged according to an embodiment disclosed in the present invention;

FIG. 8A is an isometric view of an array of exhaust inlets arranged in groups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 8B is a plan view of the multiple group exhaust inlet array shown in Figure 8A;

Figure 8C is a side view of the multiple group exhaust inlet array shown in Figure 8A;

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of a portion of the chamber cover and lift pin indexers of the plurality of substrate lift assemblies shown in FIG. 5 ; and

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of a lift pin indexer configured according to an embodiment disclosed in the present invention.

To facilitate understanding, the same numerals have been used to refer to the same elements in the illustrations where possible. It is contemplated that elements and features in one embodiment may be advantageously used in other embodiments without repeated description.

Domestic storage information (please note in order of storage institution, date and number) without Overseas storage information (please note in order of storage country, institution, date, and number) without

500: Batch Curing Chamber 510: Chamber body 511: Chamber cover 512: Chamber wall 513: Chamber floor 514: Prestage vacuum line 515:RPS manifold 516:Purge gas opening 517:Loading opening 518: Grooved opening cover 519:Substrate slit 520:Loading opening door 521:Open your mouth 522: Processing area 523:Exhaust inlet array 524: Process sub-region 525:Height 530:Cure Station 531: Heated substrate base 532:Nozzle 533:Nozzle air chamber 534: Annular air chamber 535: Curing station heater 537: Thermocouple 540:Substrate lift assembly 541: Lift pin indexer 542: Lift pin 543:Vertical axis 544:Lifting mechanism 550:Remote plasma source

Claims (10)

A batch processing chamber containing: A plurality of curing stations are arranged in a stack. Each curing station includes: a heating base, a nozzle disposed on the heating base, and a nozzle disposed between the nozzle and the heating base. a treatment area between; and a plurality of exhaust assemblies, each exhaust assembly extending around a different heating base, each exhaust assembly including a plurality of exhaust arrays, each exhaust array extending around a different angular portion of the heating base, and Each exhaust assembly is configured to exhaust gases from the processing area of a different one of the curing stations, wherein Each exhaust array includes a flow balancing mechanism to independently control an airflow through that exhaust array relative to an airflow through one or more other exhaust arrays of that exhaust assembly. A batch processing chamber as described in claim 1, wherein the plurality of exhaust arrays of each exhaust assembly includes four exhaust arrays, and each exhaust array is separated from the other exhaust arrays. The batch processing chamber of claim 1, wherein each exhaust array includes a plurality of exhaust inlets. The batch processing chamber of claim 1, wherein each flow balancing mechanism is adjustable. A batch processing chamber as described in claim 1, wherein each flow balancing mechanism comprises: a needle valve. A batch processing chamber containing: A plurality of curing stations are arranged in a stack. Each curing station includes: a heating base, a nozzle disposed on the heating base, and a nozzle disposed between the nozzle and the heating base. a processing area between a first plenum of the showerhead for each curing station is fluidly coupled to the processing area of that curing station, and The first plenum for the showerhead is formed in part by one or more surfaces of the heated base that are part of the next curing station in the stack; and a plurality of exhaust assemblies, each exhaust assembly extending around a different heating base, each exhaust assembly including a plurality of exhaust arrays, each exhaust array extending around a different angular portion of the heating base, and Each exhaust assembly is configured to exhaust gases from the process area of a different one of the curing stations, wherein Each exhaust array includes a flow balancing mechanism to independently control an airflow through that exhaust array relative to an airflow through one or more other exhaust arrays of that exhaust assembly. The batch processing chamber as described in claim 6 further includes an annular plenum surrounding and fluidically coupled to the first plenum. The batch processing chamber of claim 7, wherein each annular plenum is formed by one or more surfaces of the spray head and one or more surfaces of the heated base that is part of the next curing station in the stack. formed on a surface. A batch processing chamber as described in claim 6, wherein the plurality of exhaust arrays of each exhaust assembly includes four exhaust arrays, and each exhaust array is separated from the other exhaust arrays. The batch processing chamber of claim 6, wherein each flow balancing mechanism is adjustable.