Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
  • H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
  • H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
  • H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
  • H01L21/3105—After-treatment
  • H01L21/311—Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means
  • H01L21/31105—Etching inorganic layers
  • H01L21/31111—Etching inorganic layers by chemical means
  • H01L21/31116—Etching inorganic layers by chemical means by dry-etching
  • H01L21/31122—Etching inorganic layers by chemical means by dry-etching of layers not containing Si, e.g. PZT, Al2O3
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  • H01L21/70—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components formed in or on a common substrate or of parts thereof; Manufacture of integrated circuit devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/71—Manufacture of specific parts of devices defined in group H01L21/70
  • H01L21/768—Applying interconnections to be used for carrying current between separate components within a device comprising conductors and dielectrics
  • H01L21/76838—Applying interconnections to be used for carrying current between separate components within a device comprising conductors and dielectrics characterised by the formation and the after-treatment of the conductors
  • H01L21/76841—Barrier, adhesion or liner layers
  • H01L21/76853—Barrier, adhesion or liner layers characterized by particular after-treatment steps
  • H01L21/76865—Selective removal of parts of the layer
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
  • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
  • C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
  • C23C16/22—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the deposition of inorganic material, other than metallic material
  • C23C16/30—Deposition of compounds, mixtures or solid solutions, e.g. borides, carbides, nitrides
  • C23C16/32—Carbides
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
  • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
  • C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
  • C23C16/22—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the deposition of inorganic material, other than metallic material
  • C23C16/30—Deposition of compounds, mixtures or solid solutions, e.g. borides, carbides, nitrides
  • C23C16/38—Borides
• • H—ELECTRICITY
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  • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/02041—Cleaning
  • H01L21/02043—Cleaning before device manufacture, i.e. Begin-Of-Line process
  • H01L21/02046—Dry cleaning only
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  • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/02041—Cleaning
  • H01L21/02057—Cleaning during device manufacture
  • H01L21/0206—Cleaning during device manufacture during, before or after processing of insulating layers
• • H—ELECTRICITY
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  • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/02104—Forming layers
  • H01L21/02107—Forming insulating materials on a substrate
  • H01L21/02109—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates
  • H01L21/02112—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates characterised by the material of the layer
  • H01L21/02123—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates characterised by the material of the layer the material containing silicon
  • H01L21/02126—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates characterised by the material of the layer the material containing silicon the material containing Si, O, and at least one of H, N, C, F, or other non-metal elements, e.g. SiOC, SiOC:H or SiONC
  • H01L21/02129—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the type of layer, e.g. type of material, porous/non-porous, pre-cursors, mixtures or laminates characterised by the material of the layer the material containing silicon the material containing Si, O, and at least one of H, N, C, F, or other non-metal elements, e.g. SiOC, SiOC:H or SiONC the material being boron or phosphorus doped silicon oxides, e.g. BPSG, BSG or PSG
• • H—ELECTRICITY
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  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/02104—Forming layers
  • H01L21/02107—Forming insulating materials on a substrate
  • H01L21/02296—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the treatment performed before or after the formation of the layer
  • H01L21/02299—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the treatment performed before or after the formation of the layer pre-treatment
  • H01L21/02312—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the treatment performed before or after the formation of the layer pre-treatment treatment by exposure to a gas or vapour
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
  • H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
  • H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
  • H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
  • H01L21/3105—After-treatment
  • H01L21/311—Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means
  • H01L21/31105—Etching inorganic layers
  • H01L21/31111—Etching inorganic layers by chemical means
  • H01L21/31116—Etching inorganic layers by chemical means by dry-etching
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
  • H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
  • H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
  • H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
  • H01L21/3105—After-treatment
  • H01L21/311—Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means
  • H01L21/31144—Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means using masks
• • H—ELECTRICITY
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  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
  • H01L21/67017—Apparatus for fluid treatment
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
  • H01L21/67098—Apparatus for thermal treatment
  • H01L21/67103—Apparatus for thermal treatment mainly by conduction
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
  • H01L21/67098—Apparatus for thermal treatment
  • H01L21/67109—Apparatus for thermal treatment mainly by convection
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
  • H01L21/67155—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations
  • H01L21/6719—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations characterized by the construction of the processing chambers, e.g. modular processing chambers
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/67242—Apparatus for monitoring, sorting or marking
  • H01L21/67248—Temperature monitoring
• • H—ELECTRICITY
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  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
  • H01L21/67739—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations into and out of processing chamber
  • H01L21/67754—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations into and out of processing chamber horizontal transfer of a batch of workpieces
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/70—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components formed in or on a common substrate or of parts thereof; Manufacture of integrated circuit devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/71—Manufacture of specific parts of devices defined in group H01L21/70
  • H01L21/768—Applying interconnections to be used for carrying current between separate components within a device comprising conductors and dielectrics
  • H01L21/76838—Applying interconnections to be used for carrying current between separate components within a device comprising conductors and dielectrics characterised by the formation and the after-treatment of the conductors
  • H01L21/76841—Barrier, adhesion or liner layers
  • H01L21/76853—Barrier, adhesion or liner layers characterized by particular after-treatment steps
  • H01L21/76861—Post-treatment or after-treatment not introducing additional chemical elements into the layer
  • H01L21/76864—Thermal treatment

Definitions

• Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to fabrication of integrated circuits and particularly to a method of dry stripping a boron carbide layer on a semiconductor substrate.
• Formation of a semiconductor device involves formation of a hardmask.
• a hardmask is formed as a blanket layer on an underlying substrate to be etched.
• a patterned layer of photo-resist is formed over the hardmask before the hardmask is etched using the photo-resist layer as a pattern.
• the photoresist layer is removed such that the hardmask remains the sole pattern for etching the underlying substrate. While a hardmask is a separate layer formed on the underlying substrate, etched, and then removed from the substrate, improved resistance to the process of etching as well as reduced costs make hardmasks desirable. Films of boron-doped carbon and boron carbide are commonly known to produce high-quality hardmask due to superior patterning performance.
• boron carbide layers are difficult to remove or strip from the underlying substrate after etching since boron carbide layers cannot be ashed using a conventional oxygen plasma.
• Boron carbide layers can be dry stripped using fluorine or chlorine along with oxygen; however, fluorine and chlorine are corrosive to dielectric materials such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and silicon oxynitride commonly found on semiconductor substrates.
• a wet-etch solution, if used, can also damage exposed metal surfaces or embedded metals commonly found on semiconductor substrates.
• Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to a method for dry stripping a boron carbide layer deposited on a semiconductor substrate.
• the method includes loading the substrate having the boron carbide layer into a pressure vessel, exposing the substrate to a processing gas comprising an oxidizer at a pressure between about 500 Torr and about 60 bar, heating the pressure vessel to a temperature greater than a condensation point of the processing gas, and removing one or more products of a reaction between the processing gas and the boron carbide layer from the pressure vessel.
• the method includes loading one or more substrates including at least a first substrate having a boron carbide layer into a pressure vessel, exposing the first substrate to a processing gas comprising an oxidizer at a pressure between about 500 Torr and 80 bar, heating the pressure vessel to a temperature greater than a condensation point of the processing gas, and removing one or more products of a reaction between the processing gas and the boron carbide layer from the pressure vessel.
• a processing gas comprising an oxidizer at a pressure between about 500 Torr and 80 bar
• the method includes loading one or more substrates including at least a first substrate into a pressure vessel, the first substrate having a boron carbide layer deposited thereon, exposing the first substrate to a processing gas comprising steam at a pressure between about 500 Torr and 60 bar, heating the pressure vessel to a temperature greater than a condensation point of the processing gas, removing one or more products of a reaction between the processing gas and the boron carbide layer from the pressure vessel.
• a processing gas comprising steam at a pressure between about 500 Torr and 60 bar
• Figure 1 is a simplified front cross-sectional view of a pressure vessel for dry stripping boron carbide layers from a plurality of substrates loaded on a cassette.
• Figure 2A is a simplified cross-sectional view of a patterned boron carbide layer on an etched layer above a semiconductor substrate.
• Figure 2B is a simplified cross-sectional view of the etched layer above the semiconductor substrate after removal of the boron carbide layer.
• Figure 3 is a simplified front cross-sectional view of a single substrate processing chamber for dry stripping boron carbide layers.
• Figure 4 is a block diagram of a method for dry stripping a boron carbide layer deposited on a semiconductor substrate.
• Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to a method for dry stripping a boron carbide layer deposited on a semiconductor substrate.
• An oxidizer such as but not limited to, steam under high pressure is used to oxidize the boron carbide layer into boron trioxide.
• the boron trioxide then reacts with excess steam to produce gaseous products such as boric acid and metaboric acid.
• gaseous products such as boric acid and metaboric acid.
• a batch processing chamber such as but not limited to a pressure vessel 100 shown in Figure 1 and described herein, is utilized to perform the method of dry stripping the boron carbide layer on a plurality of substrates.
• the method described herein can be equally applied to a single substrate disposed in a single substrate chamber, such as the exemplary single substrate processing chamber 300 shown in Figure 3, or other suitable single substrate processing chambers.
• FIG. 1 is a simplified front cross-sectional view of a batch processing pressure vessel 100 for dry stripping boron carbide layers.
• the pressure vessel 100 has a body 110 with an outer surface 112 and an inner surface 113 that encloses a processing region 115.
• the body 110 has an annular cross section, though in other embodiments the cross-section of the body 110 may be rectangular or any closed shape.
• the outer surface 1 2 of the body 110 may be made from a corrosion resistant steel (CRS), such as but not limited to stainless steel.
• the inner surface 113 of the body 110 may be made from nickel-based steel alloys that exhibit high resistance to corrosion, such as but not limited to HASTELLOY ®
• the pressure vessel 00 has a door 120 configured to seaiably enclose the processing region 1 15 within the body 110 such that the processing region 1 15 can be accessed when the door 120 is open.
• a seal 122 is utilized to seal the door 120 to the body 1 10 in order to seal the processing region 15 for processing.
• the seal 122 may be made from a polymer, such as but not limited to a perflouroelastomer.
• a cooling channel 124 is disposed on the door 120 adjacent to the seals 122 in order to maintain the seals 122 below the maximum safe-operating temperature of the seals 122 during processing.
• a cooling agent such as but not limited to an inert, dielectric, and/or high-performance heat transfer fluid, may be circulated within the cooling channel 124 to maintain the seals 122 at a temperature between about 250 degrees Celsius and about 275 degrees Celsius, while the temperature in the processing region 1 15 is about 800 degrees Celsius.
• the flow of the cooling agent within the cooling channel 124 is controlled by a controller 180 through feedback received from a temperature sensor 1 6 or a flow sensor (not shown).
• the pressure vessel 100 has a port 1 17 through the body 1 10.
• the port 1 7 has a pipe 1 18 therethrough, which is coupled to a heater 119.
• One end of the pipe 8 is connected to the processing region 15.
• the other end of the pipe 118 bifurcates into an inlet conduit 157 and an outlet conduit 161.
• the inlet conduit 157 is fluidly connected to a gas panel 150 via an isolation valve 155.
• the inlet conduit 157 is coupled to a heater 158.
• the outlet conduit 161 is fluidly connected to a condenser 160 via an isolation valve 165.
• the outlet conduit 161 is coupled to a heater 162.
• the heaters 1 19, 158, and 162 are configured to maintain a processing gas flowing through the pipe 1 18, inlet conduit 157, and the outlet conduit 161 respectively at a temperature above the condensation point of the processing gas.
• the heaters 1 19, 158, and 162 are powered by a power source 145.
• the gas panel 150 is configured to provide a processing gas including an oxidizer under pressure into the inlet conduit 157 for transmission into the processing region 1 15 through the pipe 1 18.
• the pressure of the processing gas introduced into the processing region 1 5 is monitored by a pressure sensor 114 coupled to the body 110.
• the condenser 160 is fluidly coupled to a cooling fluid and configured to condense a gaseous product flowing through the outlet conduit 161 after removal from the processing region 115 through the pipe 118.
• the condenser 160 converts the gaseous products from the gas phase into liquid phase.
• a pump 170 is fluidly connected to the condenser 160 and pumps out the liquefied products from the condenser 160. The operation of the gas panel 150, the condenser 160 and the pump 170 are controlled by the controller 180.
• the isolation valves 155 and 165 are configured to allow only one fluid to flow through the pipe 18 into the processing region 1 5 at a time.
• the isolation valve 165 is dosed such that a processing gas flowing through inlet conduit 157 enters into the processing region 115, preventing the flow of the processing gas into the condenser 160.
• the isolation valve 165 is open, the isolation valve 155 is closed such that a gaseous product is removed from the processing region 115 and flows through the outlet conduit 161 , preventing the flow of the gaseous product into the gas panel 150.
• One or more heaters 140 are disposed on the body 110 and configured to heat the processing region 1 5 within the pressure vessel 100.
• the heaters 140 are disposed on an outer surface 1 12 of the body 1 10 as shown in Figure 1 , though in other embodiments, the heaters 140 may be disposed on an inner surface 1 13 of the body 110.
• Each of the heaters 140 may be a resistive coil, a lamp, a ceramic heater, a graphite-based carbon fiber composite (CFC) heater, a stainless steel heater, or an aluminum heater, among others.
• the heaters 140 are powered by the power source 145. Power to the heaters 140 is controlled by a controller 180 through feedback received from a temperature sensor 1 16.
• the temperature sensor 116 is coupled to the body 1 10 and monitors the temperature of the processing region 1 15.
• a cassette 130 coupled to an actuator (not shown) is moved in and out of the processing region 115.
• the cassette 130 has a top surface 132, a bottom surface 134, and a wail 136.
• the wail 136 of the cassette 130 has a plurality of substrate storage slots 138.
• Each substrate storage slot 38 is evenly spaced along the wail 136 of the cassette 130.
• Each substrate storage slot 138 is configured to hold a substrate 135 therein.
• the cassette 130 may have as many as fifty substrate storage slots 138 for holding the substrates 35.
• the cassette 130 provides an effective vehicle both for transferring a plurality of substrates 135 into and out of the pressure vessel 100 and for processing the plurality of substrates 135 in the processing region 15.
• the controller 180 controls the operation of the pressure vessel 100.
• the controller 180 controls the operation of the gas panel 150, the condenser 160, the pump 170, the isolation valves 155 and 165, as well as the power source 145,
• the controller 180 is also communicatively connected to the temperature sensor 116, the pressure sensor 114, and the cooling channel 124.
• the controller 180 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 182, a memory 184, and a support circuit 186.
• CPU central processing unit
• the CPU 182 may be any form of a general purpose computer processor that may be used in an industrial setting.
• the memory 184 may be a random access memory, a read-only memory, a floppy, or a hard disk drive, or other forms of digital storage.
• the support circuit 188 is conventionally coupled to the CPU 182 and may include cache, clock circuits, input/output systems, power supplies, and the like.
• the pressure vessel 100 provides a convenient chamber to perform the method of dry stripping a boron carbide layer from a plurality of substrates 135.
• the heaters 140 are powered on to pre-heat the pressure vessel 100.
• the heaters 1 19, 158, and 162 are powered on to pre-heat the pipe 1 18, the inlet conduit 157, and the outlet conduit 161 respectively.
• FIG. 1A shows a simplified cross-sectional view of a patterned boron carbide layer 220 on an etched layer 210 above a semiconductor substrate 200.
• Each of the substrates 135 are observed as the semiconductor substrate 200 in Figure 2A when the substrates 135 are loaded on the cassette 130.
• the door 120 of the pressure vessel 100 is opened to move the cassette 130 into the processing region 1 5.
• the door 120 is then sealably closed to enclose the chamber for stripping the boron carbide layers from the top of the substrates 135 on the cassette 130.
• the seals 122 ensure that there is no leakage of pressure from the processing region 115 once the door 120 is closed.
• a processing gas is provided by the gas panel 150 into the processing region 1 5 inside the pressure vessel 00.
• the isolation valve 155 is opened by the controller 180 to allow the processing gas to flow through the inlet conduit 157 and the pipe 1 18 into the processing region 15.
• the processing gas is introduced at a flow rate of between about 500 seem and about 2000 seem for a period of between about 1 minute and about 2 hours.
• the isolation valve 165 is kept closed at this time.
• the processing gas is an oxidizer flowed into processing region 1 15.
• the processing gas is steam, which may be dry steam or superheated steam, under a pressure between about 500 Torr and about 60 bar.
• the processing gas is a mixture including about about 5% steam to 100% oxidizer, for example, about 0% oxidizer to about 80% oxidizer, in one example, the processing gas is a mixture of about 5% steam to 100% steam.
• the isolation valve 155 is closed by the controller 180 when sufficient processing gas has been released by the gas panel 150.
• the amount of processing gas released by the gas panel 150 is an amount in excess of the amount of the processing gas required to completely react with the boron carbide deposited on the plurality of substrates 135.
• the amount of steam released by the gas panel 150 may be at least ten times the amount of boron carbide deposited on the substrate.
• the processing region 1 15 as well as the inlet conduit 157, the outlet conduit 161 , and the pipe 118 are maintained at a temperature and pressure such that the processing gas stays in gaseous phase.
• pressure and temperature is selected based on the composition of the processing gas.
• the temperatures of the processing region 1 15 as well as the inlet conduit 157, the outlet conduit 161 , and the pipe 1 18 are maintained at a temperature greater than the condensation point of the processing gas at the applied pressure. For example, when steam under a pressure between 10 bars and 60 bars is used for processing, the temperatures of the processing region 115 as well as the inlet conduit 157, the outlet conduit 161 , and the pipe 18 are raised to a temperature of between about 300-700 degrees Celsius. This ensures that the steam does not condense into water, which is harmful for the etched layer 210 and the substrate 200 under the layer 220.
• the processing gas is flowed over the substrates 135 such that the boron carbide iayersreacts with the processing gas to form gaseous products.
• boron carbide reacts with steam to produce boron trioxide (B 2 O 3 ), hydrogen gas (H 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), as shown in reactions (i) and (ii):
• Boric acid and metaboric acid are volatile products. Boric acid and metaboric acid mix with hydrogen gas, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide to form a gaseous mixture of products of the reaction between boron carbide and steam.
• the processing is complete when the boron carbide layer is observed to have completely stripped from the substrate 135.
• the isolation valve 165 is then opened to flow the gaseous mixture of products from the processing region 115 through the pipe 1 18 and outlet conduit 161 into the condenser 160.
• the gaseous mixture of products is condensed into liquid phase in the condenser 160.
• the liquefied mixture of products is then removed by the pump 170.
• the isolation valve 165 closes.
• the heaters 140, 119, 158, and 162 are then powered off.
• the door 120 of the pressure vessel 100 is then opened to remove the cassette 130 from the processing region 1 15.
• Figure 2B is a simplified cross-sectional view of the etched layer 210 above the semiconductor substrate 200 after removal of the boron carbide layer.
• Each of the substrates 135 are observed as the semiconductor substrate 200 in Figure 2B, when the substrates 135 are unloaded from the cassette 130 after removal of the boron carbide layer.
• the substrates 135 only have the patterned etched layer 210.
• Figure 3 is a simplified front cross-sectional view of a single substrate processing chamber 300 for dry stripping boron carbide layers.
• the single substrate processing chamber 300 has a body 310 with an outer surface 312 and an inner surface 313 that encloses an internal volume 315.
• the body 310 has an annular cross section, though in other embodiments the cross-section of the body 310 may be rectangular or any closed shape.
• the outer surface 312 of the body 310 may be made from a corrosion resistant steel (CRS), such as but not limited to stainless steel.
• One or more heat shields 325 are disposed on the inner surface 313 of the body 310 that prevent heat loss from the single substrate processing chamber 300 into the outside environment.
• the inner surface 313 of the body 310 as well as the heat shields 325 may be made from nickel-based steel alloys that exhibit high resistance to corrosion, such as but not limited to HASTELLOY ® , INCONEL ® , and MONEL ®
• a substrate support 330 is disposed within the internal volume 315.
• the substrate support 330 has a stem 334 and a substrate-supporting member 332 held by the stem 334.
• the stem 334 passes through a passage 322 formed through the chamber body 310.
• a rod 339 connected to an actuator 338 passes through a second passage 323 formed through the chamber body 310.
• the rod 339 is coupled to a plate 335 having an aperture 338 accommodating the stem 334 of the substrate support 330.
• Lift pins 337 are connected to the substrate-supporting member 332.
• the actuator 338 actuates the rod 339 such that the plate 335 is moved up or down to connect and disconnect with the lift pins 337.
• the substrate-supporting member 332 As the lift pins 337 are raised or lowered, the substrate-supporting member 332 is raised or lowered within the internal volume 315 of the single substrate processing chamber 300.
• the substrate-supporting member 332 has a resistive heating element 331 embedded centrally within.
• a power source 333 is configured to electrically power the resistive heating element 331. The operation of the power source 333 as well as the actuator 338 is controlled by a controller 380.
• the single substrate processing chamber 300 has an opening 31 on the body 310 through which substrates 320 can be loaded and unloaded to and from the substrate support 330 disposed in the internal volume 315.
• the opening 311 forms a funnel 321 on the body 310.
• a slit valve 328 is configured to sealably close the tunnel 321 such that the opening 31 1 and the internal volume 315 can only be accessed when the slit valve 328 is open.
• a seal 327 is utilized to seal the slit valve 328 to the body 310 in order to seal the internal volume 315 for processing.
• the seal 327 may be made from a polymer, for example a fluoropolymer, such as but not limited to a perfluoroelastomer and poiytetrafluoroethyiene (PTFE).
• the seal 327 may further include a spring member for biasing the sea! to improve seal performance.
• a cooling channel 324 is disposed on the tunnel 321 adjacent to the seals 327 in order to maintain the seals 327 below the maximum safe-operating temperature of the seals 327 during processing,
• a cooling agent from a cooling fluid source 326 such as but not limited to an inert, dielectric, and high-performance heat transfer fluid, may be circulated within the cooling channel 324.
• the flow of the cooling agent from the cooling fluid source 326 is controlled by the controller 380 through feedback received from a temperature sensor 316 or a flow sensor (not shown).
• An annular-shaped thermal choke 329 is formed around the tunnel 321 to prevent the flow of heat from the internal volume 315 through the opening 311 when the slit valve 328 is open.
• the single substrate processing chamber 300 has a port 317 through the body 310, which is fluidly connected to a fluid circuit 390 connecting the gas panel 350, the condenser 360, and the port 317.
• the fluid circuit 390 has a gas conduit 392, a source conduit 357, an inlet isolation valve 355, an exhaust conduit 363, and an outlet isolation valve 365.
• a number of heaters 396, 358, 352, 354, 364, 366 are interfaced with different portions of the fluid circuit 390.
• a number of temperature sensors 351 , 353, 319, 367, and 369 are also placed at different portions of the fluid circuit 390 to take temperature measurements and send the information to the controller 380.
• the controller 380 uses the temperature measurement information to control the operation of the heaters 352, 354, 358, 396, 364, and 366 such that the temperature of the fluid circuit 390 is maintained at a temperature above the condensation point of the processing fluid disposed in the fluid circuit 390 and the internal volume 315.
• the gas panel 350 and the pressure sensor 314 are substantially similar in nature and function as the gas panel 150 and the pressure sensor 1 14 of Figure 1.
• the condenser 360 is substantially similar in nature and function as the condenser 160 of Figure 1.
• the pump 370 is substantially similar in nature and function as the pump 70 of Figure 1.
• One or more heaters 340 are disposed on the body 310 and configured to heat the internal volume 315 within the single substrate processing chamber 300.
• the heaters 340 are also substantially similar in nature and function as the heaters 140 used in the batch processing pressure vessel 100.
• the controller 380 controls the operation of the single substrate processing chamber 300.
• the controller 380 controls the operation of the gas panel 350, the condenser 360, the pump 370, the inlet isolation valve 355, the outlet isolation valve 365, and the power sources 333, 345.
• the controller 380 is also communicatively connected to the temperature sensor 316, the pressure sensor 314, the actuator 338, the cooling fluid source 326, and the temperature reading devices 356 and 362.
• the controller 380 is substantially similar in nature and function than the controller 180 used in the batch processing pressure vessel 100.
• FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a method for dry stripping a boron carbide layer deposited on a semiconductor substrate, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
• the method 400 begins at block 410 by loading a substrate into a pressure vessel.
• the substrate has a boron carbide layer deposited thereon, in some embodiments, a plurality of substrates may be placed on a cassette and loaded into the pressure vessel, in further embodiments, a single substrate is loaded into the pressure vessel configured to process a single substrate one at a time.
• the substrate or the piuraiity of substrates are exposed to a processing gas comprising an oxidizer at a pressure between about 500 Torr and about 60 bar within the pressure vessel.
• the substrate or the plurality of substrates are exposed to a processing gas comprising an oxidizer at a pressure greater than about 0 bar, such as between about 1 bar and about 60 bar, within the pressure vessel.
• the processing gas is an oxidizer selected from a group consisting of ozone, oxygen, water vapor, heavy water, a peroxide, a hydroxide-containing compound, oxygen isotopes (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, etc.) and hydrogen isotopes (1 , 2, 3), or some combination thereof, where the processing gas is a mixture of about 10% oxidizer to about 80% oxidizer.
• the peroxide may be hydrogen peroxide in gaseous phase.
• the oxidizer comprises a hydroxide ion, such as but not limited to water vapor or heavy water in vapor form.
• the amount of oxidizer exceeds the amount of oxidizer required to completely react with the amount of boron carbide deposited on the substrate(s).
• the processing gas may be steam at a pressure between about 500 Torr and about 60 bar, where steam makes up about 5% of the mixture to 100% of the mixture.
• the steam may be dry steam or superheated steam.
• the amount of steam may be at least ten times the amount of boron carbide deposited on the substrate.
• the pressure vessel is heated to a temperature greater than a condensation point of the processing gas. Raising the temperature enables the boron carbide layer to react with the processing gas.
• the temperature of the pressure vessel is maintained between about 300 degrees Celsius and about 700 degrees Celsius.
• the boron carbide layer reacts with steam to produce a gaseous mixture of products including boron trioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, boric acid and metaboric acid.
• the products of the reaction between the processing gas and the boron carbide layer are removed from the processing chamber.
• the gaseous mixture of products including boron trioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, boric acid, and metaboric acid are pumped out of the pressure vessel.
• the boron carbide layer on the substrates is dry stripped, leaving behind desirably etched layers on the semiconductor substrates.
• the method for dry stripping a boron carbide layer described herein advantageously enables the dry removal of the boron carbide layer from the semiconductor substrates.
• a wet-etch solution is not required.
• the temperature range of the process between about 300 degrees Celsius and about 700 degrees Celsius ensures that the oxidation rate of boron carbide is low enough to first convert boron carbide to a viscous layer of boron trioxide and yet high enough to convert the viscous layer of boron trioxide into volatile gases like boric acid and metaboric acid that can be subsequently removed, If the temperature of the process is less than 300 degrees Celsius or the pressure of the process is less than 500 Torr, then the balance between initial oxidation of boron carbide to boron trioxide and the subsequent oxidation of boron trioxide to boric acid and metaboric acid is lost, such that the layer is unable to strip completely.
• the method described herein improves the throughput of substrates by processing a plurality of substrates for removal of the boron carbide layer at the same time. Further, since boron carbide is not ashabie by conventional oxygen plasma capable of removing other layers, the method preserves the viability of boron carbide as a hardmask material. Boron carbide is an excellent choice for hardmask material due to the high etch selectivity, high hardness and high transparency of boron carbide. The method described herein thus helps in the further development of boron carbide layer s to pattern next-generation memory devices, logic devices, microprocessors, etc. Additionally, though the methods described herein are related to boron carbide layers, other types of boron carbide layers can benefit from the disclosure.

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