Granted Patent B2

US 12,351,908 · App. 17/535,793 · Granted Jul 8, 2025

Inventors: Takeo Hanashima (Toyama, JP); Kazuhiro Harada (Toyama, JP)

Assignee: Kokusai Electric Corporation

C23C16/45525C23C16/345C23C16/52H01L21/02211H01L21/0228

Abstract

Claims (48)

1. A substrate processing method, comprising:

forming a film on a substrate by performing a cycle a predetermined number of times, the cycle including:

(a) supplying a precursor gas from a precursor gas supply line into a process chamber in which the substrate is accommodated;

(b) supplying a reaction gas into the process chamber; and

(c) supplying an inert gas into the process chamber between (a) and (b),

wherein in (a), the precursor gas is divisionally supplied to the substrate a first plural number of times,

wherein in (a), the precursor gas is pre-filled in a storage installed in the precursor gas supply line and then supplied into the process chamber when the precursor gas is supplied for the first time,

wherein (a) further comprises exhausting an inside of the process chamber before supplying the precursor gas for the second time,

wherein in (a), the exhausting is performed without supplying the inert gas or with supplying a smaller amount of the inert gas than an amount of the inert gas supplied in (c) into the process chamber, and

wherein in (a), a supply time of the precursor gas when the precursor gas is supplied for the first time is set to be shorter than a supply time of the precursor gas when the precursor gas is supplied for the second time.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein in the process chamber, the precursor gas is decomposed into a first intermediate having at least a plurality of dangling bonds and a second intermediate having one dangling bond or no dangling bond, and

wherein in (a), an amount of the precursor gas pre-filled in the storage when the precursor gas is supplied for the first time is set to be equal to or greater than an amount of the precursor gas required to adsorb the first intermediate over a surface of the substrate.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cycle is performed two or more times, and

wherein in (a), an amount of the precursor gas pre-filled in the storage when the precursor gas is supplied for the first time is set to a constant amount for each cycle.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein in the process chamber, the precursor gas is decomposed into a first intermediate having at least a plurality of dangling bonds and a second intermediate having one dangling bond or no dangling bond, and

wherein in (a), a pressure inside the process chamber when the precursor gas is supplied for the first time is set to be equal to or greater than a pressure required to adsorb the first intermediate over a surface of the substrate.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein in (a), after a pressure in the process chamber reaches a predetermined pressure, the supplying of the precursor gas into the process chamber is terminated and the exhausting of the inside of the process chamber is started.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein in (a), when the precursor gas is supplied for the first time, the precursor gas is supplied into the process chamber in a state in which an exhaust system that exhausts an atmosphere in the process chamber is fully closed.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein in (a), when the precursor gas is supplied for the first time, the precursor gas is supplied into the process chamber in a state in which an exhaust system that exhausts an atmosphere in the process chamber is fully opened.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein in (a), when the precursor gas is supplied for the first time, an exhaust system that exhausts an atmosphere in the process chamber is in a state between a fully-opened state and a fully-closed state.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein in (a), when the precursor gas is supplied for the second time, the precursor gas is supplied into the process chamber without additionally pre-filling the precursor gas in the storage.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein in (a), the supplying of the precursor gas when the precursor gas is supplied for the second time is terminated before an adsorption of the precursor gas on the substrate reaches a saturated state.

11. The method of claim 1 , in the process chamber, the precursor gas is decomposed into a first intermediate having at least a plurality of dangling bonds and a second intermediate having one dangling bond or no dangling bond, and

wherein the supplying of the precursor gas when the precursor gas is supplied for the second time is terminated after the first intermediate is adsorbed on the substrate and before the second intermediate is adsorbed on the substrate.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cycle is performed twice or more, and

wherein in the cycle for the second time, filling of the precursor gas in the storage is performed in parallel with the supplying of the reaction gas in (b).

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cycle is performed twice or more, and

wherein in the cycle for the second time, filling of the precursor gas in the storage is started after supplying of the precursor gas in (a) for the final time among the first plural number of times, and before the supplying of the reaction gas in (b).

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein in (a), the act of supplying the precursor gas into the process chamber and the act of exhausting the inside of the process chamber are alternately repeated a second plural number of times.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein in (a), an inert gas is supplied into the process chamber when the act of exhausting the inside of the process chamber is performed for the final time among the second plural number of times.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein in (a), an execution time of performing the act of exhausting the inside of the process chamber for the final time among the second plural number of times is set to be longest among performing the act of exhausting the inside of the process chamber the second plural number of times.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the precursor gas supply line includes:

a first valve provided on an upstream side of the storage in a gas flow;

a second valve provided on a downstream side of the storage in the gas flow, which is on a side closer to the process chamber; and

a third valve provided on a downstream side of the second valve in the gas flow and in the vicinity of the process chamber,

wherein the precursor gas is filled into the storage in a state in which the first valve is opened and the second valve is closed, and

wherein the precursor gas filled in the storage is supplied to the process chamber by opening the second valve in a state in which the third valve is opened.

18. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising:

providing a substrate; and

performing the method of claim 1 .

19. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program that causes, by a computer, a substrate processing apparatus to perform the according to claim 1 .

20. A substrate processing apparatus configured to perform the method of claim 1 , comprising:

the process chamber in which the substrate is processed;

the precursor gas supply line configured to supply the precursor gas to the substrate;

the storage installed in the precursor gas supply line to store the precursor gas;

a reaction gas supply line configured to supply the reaction gas to the substrate;

an inert gas supply line configured to supply the inert gas to the substrate; and

a controller configured to be capable of controlling the precursor gas supply line, the reaction gas supply line, and the inert gas supply line.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (51)