公开(公告)号：US12100576B2

公开(公告)日：2024-09-24

申请号：US16863541

申请日：2020-04-30

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Andrew Nguyen ,  Xue Yang Chang ,  Yu Lei ,  Xianmin Tang ,  John C. Forster ,  Yogananda Sarode Vishwanath ,  Abilash Sainath ,  Tza-Jing Gung

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  C23C16/44

CPC classification number: H01J37/32477 ,  C23C16/4412 ,  H01J37/3244 ,  H01J37/32495 ,  H01J37/32633 ,  H01J37/32651

Abstract: Embodiments of process kits for use in a process chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, a process kit for use in a process chamber includes: a chamber liner having a tubular body with an upper portion and a lower portion; a confinement plate coupled to the lower portion of the chamber liner and extending radially inward from the chamber liner, wherein the confinement plate includes a plurality of slots; a shield ring disposed within the chamber liner and movable between the upper portion of the chamber liner and the lower portion of the chamber liner; and a plurality of ground straps coupled to the shield ring at a first end of each ground strap of the plurality of ground straps and to the confinement plate at a second end of each ground strap to maintain electrical connection between the shield ring and the chamber liner when the shield ring moves.

公开(公告)号：US11939666B2

公开(公告)日：2024-03-26

申请号：US16889017

申请日：2020-06-01

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Xiangjin Xie ,  Carmen Leal Cervantes ,  Feng Chen ,  Lu Chen ,  Wenjing Xu ,  Aravind Kamath ,  Cheng-Hsiung Matthew Tsai ,  Tae Hong Ha ,  Alexander Jansen ,  Xianmin Tang

IPC: C23C16/56 ,  C23C14/56 ,  H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/02 ,  H01L21/67

CPC classification number: C23C14/564 ,  H01J37/32082 ,  H01L21/02043 ,  H01L21/67017 ,  H01J2237/022

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate include cleaning and self-assembly monolayer (SAM) formation for subsequent reverse selective atomic layer deposition. An apparatus may include a process chamber with a processing volume and a substrate support including a pedestal, a remote plasma source fluidly coupled to the process chamber and configured to produce radicals or ionized gas mixture with radicals that flow into the processing volume to remove residue or oxides from a surface of the substrate, a first gas delivery system with a first ampoule configured to provide at least one first chemical into the processing volume to produce a SAM on the surface of the substrate, a heating system located in the pedestal and configured to heat a substrate by flowing gas on a backside of the substrate, and a vacuum system fluidly coupled to the process chamber and configured to control heating of the substrate.

公开(公告)号：US11915918B2

公开(公告)日：2024-02-27

申请号：US17362925

申请日：2021-06-29

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Jothilingam Ramalingam ,  Yong Cao ,  Ilya Lavitsky ,  Keith A. Miller ,  Tza-Jing Gung ,  Xianmin Tang ,  Shane Lavan ,  Randy D. Schmieding ,  John C. Forster ,  Kirankumar Neelasandra Savandaiah

IPC: H01J37/34 ,  C23C14/56 ,  H01J37/32 ,  C23C14/54

CPC classification number: H01J37/3488 ,  C23C14/54 ,  C23C14/564 ,  H01J37/32357 ,  H01J37/3435 ,  H01J37/3441 ,  H01J37/3447 ,  H01J37/32091

Abstract: A physical vapor deposition processing chamber is described. The processing chamber includes a target backing plate in a top portion of the processing chamber, a substrate support in a bottom portion of the processing chamber, a deposition ring positioned at an outer periphery of the substrate support and a shield. The substrate support has a support surface spaced a distance from the target backing plate to form a process cavity. The shield forms an outer bound of the process cavity. In-chamber cleaning methods are also described. In an embodiment, the method includes closing a bottom gas flow path of a processing chamber to a process cavity, flowing an inert gas from the bottom gas flow path, flowing a reactant into the process cavity through an opening in the shield, and evacuating the reaction gas from the process cavity.

公开(公告)号：US20240038859A1

公开(公告)日：2024-02-01

申请号：US18379600

申请日：2023-10-12

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Bencherki Mebarki ,  Joung Joo Lee ,  Wenting Hou ,  Takashi Kuratomi ,  Avgerinos V. Gelatos ,  Jianxin Lei ,  Liqi Wu ,  Raymond Hoiman Hung ,  Tae Hong Ha ,  Xianmin Tang

IPC: H01L29/417 ,  H01L21/8234 ,  H01L21/285

CPC classification number: H01L29/41791 ,  H01L21/823418 ,  H01L21/28518

Abstract: A contact stack of a semiconductor device comprises: a source/drain region; a metal silicide layer above the source/drain region; a metal cap layer directly on the metal silicide layer; and a conductor on the metal cap layer. A method comprises: depositing a metal silicide layer in a feature of a substrate; in the absence of an air break after the depositing of the metal silicide layer, preparing a metal cap layer directly on the metal silicide layer; and depositing a conductor on the metal cap layer.

公开(公告)号：US20230386833A1

公开(公告)日：2023-11-30

申请号：US17824889

申请日：2022-05-25

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Liqi Wu ,  Feng Q. Liu ,  Bhaskar Jyoti Bhuyan ,  James Hugh Connolly ,  Zhimin Qi ,  Jie Zhang ,  Wei Dou ,  Aixi Zhang ,  Mark Saly ,  Jiang Lu ,  Rongjun Wang ,  David Thompson ,  Xianmin Tang

IPC: H01L21/027 ,  C23C14/16 ,  H01L21/3213 ,  H01L21/768

CPC classification number: H01L21/0271 ,  C23C14/16 ,  H01L21/32139 ,  H01L21/76877 ,  H01L21/76816 ,  H01L21/76831

Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure relate to methods for selectively removing metal material from the top surface and sidewalls of a feature. The metal material which is covered by a flowable polymer material remains unaffected. In some embodiments, the metal material is formed by physical vapor deposition resulting in a relatively thin sidewall thickness. Any metal material remaining on the sidewall after removal of the metal material from the top surface may be etched by an additional etch process. The resulting metal layer at the bottom of the feature facilitates selective metal gapfill of the feature.

公开(公告)号：US11784127B2

公开(公告)日：2023-10-10

申请号：US17858274

申请日：2022-07-06

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Wenjing Xu ,  Feng Chen ,  Tae Hong Ha ,  Xianmin Tang ,  Lu Chen ,  Zhiyuan Wu

IPC: H01L23/532 ,  H01L23/522 ,  H01L21/768

CPC classification number: H01L23/53238 ,  H01L21/76844 ,  H01L21/76846 ,  H01L21/76849 ,  H01L23/5226

Abstract: Electronic devices and methods of forming electronic devices using a ruthenium or doped ruthenium liner and cap layer are described. A liner with a ruthenium layer and a cobalt layer is formed on a barrier layer. A conductive fill forms a second conductive line in contact with the first conductive line.

公开(公告)号：US20220336223A1

公开(公告)日：2022-10-20

申请号：US17846155

申请日：2022-06-22

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Yu Lei ,  Xuesong Lu ,  Tae Hong Ha ,  Xianmin Tang ,  Andrew Nguyen ,  Tza-Jing Gung ,  Philip A. Kraus ,  Chung Nang Liu ,  Hui Sun ,  Yufei Hu

IPC: H01L21/311 ,  H01L21/02 ,  H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/683 ,  H01L21/3105 ,  H01L21/67 ,  H01L21/8234

Abstract: Described is a process to clean up junction interfaces for fabricating semiconductor devices involving forming low-resistance electrical connections between vertically separated regions. An etch can be performed to remove silicon oxide on silicon surface at the bottom of a recessed feature. Described are methods and apparatus for etching up the bottom oxide of a hole or trench while minimizing the effects to the underlying epitaxial layer and to the dielectric layers on the field and the corners of metal gate structures. The method for etching features involves a reaction chamber equipped with a combination of capacitively coupled plasma and inductive coupled plasma. CHxFy gases and plasma are used to form protection layer, which enables the selectively etching of bottom silicon dioxide by NH3—NF3 plasma. Ideally, silicon oxide on EPI is removed to ensure low-resistance electric contact while the epitaxial layer and field/corner dielectric layers are—etched only minimally or not at all.

公开(公告)号：US11315771B2

公开(公告)日：2022-04-26

申请号：US16928606

申请日：2020-07-14

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Xiangjin Xie ,  Fuhong Zhang ,  Shirish A. Pethe ,  Martin Lee Riker ,  Lewis Yuan Tse Lo ,  Lanlan Zhong ,  Xianmin Tang ,  Paul Dennis Connors

IPC: H01J37/34 ,  C23C14/34 ,  H01J37/32 ,  C23C14/14 ,  C23C14/54

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided herein. A method, for example, includes igniting a plasma at a first pressure within a processing volume of a process chamber; depositing sputter material from a target disposed within the processing volume while decreasing the first pressure to a second pressure within a first time frame while maintaining the plasma; continuing to deposit sputter material from the target while decreasing the second pressure to a third pressure within a second time frame less than the first time frame while maintaining the plasma; and continuing to deposit sputter material from the target while maintaining the third pressure for a third time frame that is greater than or equal to the second time frame while maintaining the plasma.

公开(公告)号：US11313034B2

公开(公告)日：2022-04-26

申请号：US15814497

申请日：2017-11-16

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Weimin Zeng ,  Yong Cao ,  Daniel Lee Diehl ,  Huixiong Dai ,  Khoi Phan ,  Christopher Ngai ,  Rongjun Wang ,  Xianmin Tang

IPC: C23C14/35 ,  H01J37/34 ,  C23C14/06 ,  C23C14/00 ,  C23C14/34 ,  C23C14/14 ,  C23C14/22 ,  C23C14/54 ,  C23C14/04

Abstract: In some embodiments, a method of processing a substrate disposed atop a substrate support in a physical vapor deposition process chamber includes: (a) forming a plasma from a process gas within a processing region of the physical vapor deposition chamber, wherein the process gas comprises an inert gas and a hydrogen-containing gas to sputter silicon from a surface of a target within the processing region of the physical vapor deposition chamber; and (b) depositing an amorphous silicon layer atop a first layer on the substrate, wherein adjusting the flow rate of the hydrogen containing gas tunes the optical properties of the deposited amorphous silicon layer.

公开(公告)号：US11222816B2

公开(公告)日：2022-01-11

申请号：US16902655

申请日：2020-06-16

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Lanlan Zhong ,  Shirish A. Pethe ,  Fuhong Zhang ,  Joung Joo Lee ,  Kishor Kalathiparambil ,  Xiangjin Xie ,  Xianmin Tang

IPC: H01L21/768 ,  H01L21/321 ,  H01L23/532

Abstract: A method of filling structures on a substrate uses a semi-dynamic reflow process. The method may include depositing a metallic material on the substrate at a first temperature, heating the substrate to a second temperature higher than the first temperature wherein heating of the substrate causes a static reflow of the deposited metallic material on the substrate, stopping heating of the substrate, and depositing additional metallic material on the substrate causing a dynamic reflow of the deposited additional metallic material on the substrate. RF bias power may be applied during the dynamic reflow to facilitate in maintaining the temperature of the substrate.