IP Library Granted Patent US 11,984,319
Granted Patent B2
US 11,984,319 · App. 16/783,530 · Granted May 14, 2024

Substrate processing method and film forming system

Inventors: Kensaku Narushima (Nirasaki, JP); Nagayasu Hiramatsu (Hillsboro, OR); Takanobu Hotta (Nirasaki, JP); Atsushi Matsumoto (Nirasaki, JP); Masato Araki (Nirasaki, JP); Hideaki Yamasaki (Nirasaki, JP)
Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
H01L21/28556C09K13/08C23C16/06C23C16/45525C23C16/46H01L21/30604H01L21/32133H01L21/324H01L21/67063
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,984,319
App. No.
16/783,530
Granted
May 14, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

There is provided a method of processing a substrate, the method including: providing the substrate on which a natural oxide film is formed; performing a pre-processing on the substrate such that the natural oxide film formed on the substrate is removed; and directly forming a tungsten film on the substrate by heating a stage on which the substrate is mounted to a predetermined temperature and supplying a tungsten chloride gas and a reduction gas to the substrate which has been subjected to the pre-processing.

Claims (43)

1. A method of processing a substrate, the method comprising:

providing the substrate on which a natural oxide film is formed;

performing a pre-processing on the substrate such that the natural oxide film formed on the substrate is removed; and

directly forming a metal film on the substrate by heating a stage on which the substrate is mounted to a predetermined temperature and supplying a metal halide gas comprising a combination of a metal atom from a group of Ta, Co, Ni, Mo, Hf, and Zr and a halogen element from a group of Cl, Br, and I, and a reduction gas to the substrate which has been subjected to the pre-processing,

wherein the performing the pre-processing includes:

exposing, in a first pre-processing step, the substrate to a mixture gas forming a hydrogen termination, halogen termination, or null termination on a surface of the substrate where the natural oxide film is removed; and

removing a reaction product generated from a reaction of the natural oxide film and the mixture gas, and deposited on the substrate, by heating the substrate to sublimate the reaction product from the substrate in a second pre-processing step,

wherein the forming the metal film includes alternately:

supplying the metal halide gas together with the reduction gas; and

supplying the reduction gas without supplying the metal halide gas,

wherein the substrate comprises the surface with the halogen termination, and

wherein the forming the metal film further includes forming a site for the metal atom to be adsorbed on the surface from which the halogen element from the halogen termination is desorbed.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forming the metal film includes controlling a temperature of the stage and selectively forming the metal film on the substrate.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first pre-processing step is an etching process of removing the natural oxide film by an etching.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the etching process is a plasma-free etching process.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the reduction gas is a hydrogen-containing gas.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the hydrogen-containing gas is H 2 .

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the performing the pre-processing and the forming the metal film are carried out without being exposed to an atmosphere.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein a temperature of the substrate in the forming the metal film falls within a range of 300 to 600 degrees C.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reduction gas is a hydrogen-containing gas.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the performing the pre-processing and the forming the metal film are carried out without being exposed to an atmosphere.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mixture gas comprises a fluorine containing gas, and

wherein the exposing the substrate to the mixture gas includes forming a fluorine termination on the surface of the substrate where the natural oxide film is removed by using the mixture gas.

12. A film forming system comprising:

at least one processing apparatus; and

a controller,

wherein the controller is configured to control the at least one processing apparatus to perform:

providing a substrate on which a natural oxide film is formed;

performing a pre-processing on the substrate such that the natural oxide film formed on the substrate is removed; and

directly forming a metal film on the substrate by heating a stage on which the substrate is mounted to a predetermined temperature and supplying a metal halide gas comprising a combination of a metal atom from a group of Ta, Co, Ni, Mo, Hf, and Zr and a halogen element from a group of Cl, Br, and I, and a reduction gas to the substrate which has been subjected to the pre-processing,

wherein the performing the pre-processing includes:

exposing, in a first pre-processing step, the substrate to a mixture gas forming a hydrogen termination, halogen termination, or null termination on a surface of the substrate where the natural oxide film is removed; and

removing a reaction product generated from a reaction of the natural oxide film and the mixture gas, and deposited on the substrate, by heating the substrate to sublimate the reaction product from the substrate in a second pre-processing step,

wherein the forming the metal film includes alternately:

supplying the metal halide gas together with the reduction gas; and

supplying the reduction gas without supplying the metal halide gas,

wherein the substrate comprises the surface with the halogen termination, and

wherein the forming the metal film further includes forming a site for the metal atom to be adsorbed on the surface from which the halogen element from the halogen termination is desorbed.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first pre-processing step is performed by a first processing apparatus, and the second pre-processing step is performed by a second processing apparatus.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the performing the pre-processing and the forming the metal film are carried out without breaking a vacuum state.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first pre-processing step and the second pre-processing step are performed by the same processing apparatus.

16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the mixture gas comprises a fluorine containing gas, and

wherein the exposing the substrate to the mixture gas includes forming a fluorine termination on the surface of the substrate where the natural oxide film is removed by using the mixture gas.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 7, 2020
From: NARUSHIMA, KENSAKU; HIRAMATSU, NAGAYASU; HOTTA, TAKANOBU; MATSUMOTO, ATSUSHI; ARAKI, MASATO; YAMASAKI, HIDEAKI
To: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
Reel/Frame 051751/0817 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2019-022087 · Feb 8, 2019 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20200258747A1 · Aug 13, 2020