公开(公告)号：US11898236B2

公开(公告)日：2024-02-13

申请号：US17506075

申请日：2021-10-20

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Zhiyong Wang ,  Halbert Chong ,  John C. Forster ,  Irena H. Wysok ,  Tiefeng Shi ,  Gang Fu ,  Renu Whig ,  Keith A Miller ,  Sundarapandian Ramalinga Vijayalakshmi Reddy ,  Jianxin Lei ,  Rongjun Wang ,  Tza-Jing Gung ,  Kirankumar Neelasandra Savandaiah ,  Avinash Nayak ,  Lei Zhou

IPC: C23C14/34 ,  H01J37/32 ,  C23C14/50

CPC classification number: C23C14/345 ,  C23C14/3485 ,  H01J37/32027 ,  H01J37/32091 ,  H01J37/32174 ,  C23C14/50

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided herein. For example, a processing chamber for processing a substrate comprises a sputtering target, a chamber wall at least partially defining an inner volume within the processing chamber and connected to ground, a power source comprising an RF power source, a process kit surrounding the sputtering target and a substrate support, an auto capacitor tuner (ACT) connected to ground and the sputtering target, and a controller configured to energize the cleaning gas disposed in the inner volume of the processing chamber to create the plasma and tune the sputtering target using the ACT to maintain a predetermined potential difference between the plasma in the inner volume and the process kit during the etch process to remove sputtering material from the process kit, wherein the predetermined potential difference is based on a resonant point of the ACT.

公开(公告)号：US10043670B2

公开(公告)日：2018-08-07

申请号：US14981190

申请日：2015-12-28

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Jothilingam Ramalingam ,  Thanh X. Nguyen ,  Zhiyong Wang ,  Jianxin Lei ,  Xianmin Tang

IPC: H01L21/285 ,  H01L21/326 ,  C23C14/18 ,  C23C14/34 ,  C23C14/35 ,  C23C14/56

Abstract: Systems and methods for sputtering a layer of refractory metal layer onto a barrier layer disposed on a substrate are disclosed herein. In one or more embodiments, a method of sputter depositing a tungsten structure in an integrated circuit includes: moving a substrate into a plasma processing chamber and onto a substrate support in opposition to a sputter target assembly comprising a tungsten target having no more than ten parts per million of carbon and no more than ten parts per million of oxygen present as impurities; flowing krypton into the plasma processing chamber; and exciting the krypton into a plasma to deposit, by sputtering, a tungsten film layer on a material layer of a substrate supported by the substrate support. In some embodiments, the target assembly further includes a titanium backing plate and an aluminum bonding layer disposed between the titanium backing plate and the tungsten target.

公开(公告)号：US20230113514A1

公开(公告)日：2023-04-13

申请号：US17541702

申请日：2021-12-03

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Shih Chung Chen ,  Yongjing Lin ,  Chi-Chou Lin ,  Zhiyong Wang ,  Chih-Hsun Hsu ,  Mandyam Sriram ,  Tza-Jing Gung

IPC: H01L21/768 ,  H01L21/311 ,  H01L21/02

Abstract: Processing methods described herein comprise forming a metal gate film on a narrow feature and a wide feature and depositing a hard mask on the metal gate film. The hard mask forms on the metal gate film at a top, bottom and sidewalls of the wide feature and on a top of the narrow feature to cover the metal gate film. Some processing methods comprise oxidizing the metal gate film on the narrow feature to convert a portion of the metal gate film to a metal oxide film. Some processing methods comprise etching the metal oxide film from the narrow feature to leave a gradient etch profile. Some processing methods comprise filling the narrow feature and the wide feature with a gap fill material comprising one or more of a metal nitride, titanium nitride (TiN) or titanium oxynitride (TiON), the gap fill material substantially free of seams and voids.

公开(公告)号：US09461137B1

公开(公告)日：2016-10-04

申请号：US14938559

申请日：2015-11-11

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Jothilingam Ramalingam ,  Rajkumar Jakkaraju ,  Jianxin Lei ,  Zhiyong Wang

IPC: H01L21/336 ,  H01L29/49 ,  H01L21/285 ,  H01L21/28

CPC classification number: H01L29/4975 ,  C23C14/0036 ,  C23C14/022 ,  C23C14/0641 ,  C23C14/5826 ,  H01L21/28088 ,  H01L21/28097 ,  H01L21/28202 ,  H01L21/2855

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure include tungsten silicide nitride films and methods for depositing tungsten silicide nitride films. In some embodiments, a thin film microelectronic device includes a semiconductor substrate having a tungsten gate electrode stack comprising a tungsten silicide nitride film having a formula WxSiyNz, wherein x is about 19 to about 22 atomic percent, y is about 57 to about 61 atomic percent, and z is about 15 to about 20 atomic percent. In some embodiments, a method of processing a substrate disposed in physical vapor deposition (PVD) chamber, includes: exposing a substrate having a gate insulating layer to a plasma formed from a first process gas comprising nitrogen and argon; sputtering silicon and tungsten material from a target disposed within a processing volume of the PVD chamber; depositing atop the gate insulating layer a tungsten silicide nitride layer as described above; and depositing a bulk tungsten layer atop the tungsten silicide nitride layer.

Abstract translation: 本公开的实施例包括硅化钨氮化物膜和用于沉积硅化钨氮化物膜的方法。 在一些实施例中，薄膜微电子器件包括具有钨栅极电极堆叠的半导体衬底，所述钨栅电极堆叠包括具有式W x Si y N z的硅化钨化硅膜，其中x为约19至约22原子％，y为约57至约61原子％ ，z为约15〜约20原子％。 在一些实施例中，处理设置在物理气相沉积（PVD）室中的衬底的方法包括：将具有栅极绝缘层的衬底暴露于由包括氮和氩的第一工艺气体形成的等离子体; 从设置在PVD室的处理容积内的靶溅射硅和钨材料; 在栅极绝缘层的顶上沉积如上所述的硅化钨化硅层; 以及在硅化钨化硅层顶上沉积体钨层。

公开(公告)号：US10734235B2

公开(公告)日：2020-08-04

申请号：US16052135

申请日：2018-08-01

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Jothilingam Ramalingam ,  Thanh X. Nguyen ,  Zhiyong Wang ,  Jianxin Lei ,  Xianmin Tang

IPC: H01L21/285 ,  C23C14/18 ,  C23C14/34 ,  C23C14/35 ,  C23C14/56 ,  H01J37/34 ,  H01L21/326

Abstract: Systems and methods for sputtering a layer of refractory metal layer onto a barrier layer disposed on a substrate are disclosed herein. In one or more embodiments, a method of sputter depositing a tungsten structure in an integrated circuit includes: moving a substrate into a plasma processing chamber and onto a substrate support in opposition to a sputter target assembly comprising a tungsten target having no more than ten parts per million of carbon and no more than ten parts per million of oxygen present as impurities; flowing krypton into the plasma processing chamber; and exciting the krypton into a plasma to deposit, by sputtering, a tungsten film layer on a material layer of a substrate supported by the substrate support. In some embodiments, the target assembly further includes a titanium backing plate and an aluminum bonding layer disposed between the titanium backing plate and the tungsten target.