TW201801232A - Vacuum platform with processing chamber for removing carbon contaminants and surface oxides from the semiconductor substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

Implementation of this disclosure is generally related to an improved vacuum processing system. In one implementation, the vacuum processing system includes a first transfer chamber, a second transfer chamber, a transition station, a first plasma cleaning chamber, and a loading gate chamber, the first transfer chamber being coupled to at least one epitaxial A processing chamber, the transition station being disposed between the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, the first plasma cleaning chamber being coupled to the second transfer chamber for transferring oxides from the substrate The surface is removed, and the loading lock chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber. The transition station is connected to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, and the transition station includes a second plasma cleaning chamber for removing carbonaceous pollutants from the surface of the substrate.

Description

Vacuum platform with processing chamber for removing carbon pollutants and surface oxides from semiconductor substrate

Implementation of this disclosure generally relates to equipment and methods for cleaning the surface of a substrate.

Integrated circuits are formed in and on silicon and other semiconductor substrates. In the case of single crystal silicon, a substrate is made by growing a single crystal block from a tank of molten silicon, and then sawing the solidified single crystal block into a plurality of substrates. An epitaxial silicon layer can then be formed on the single crystal silicon substrate to form a doped or undoped defect-free silicon layer. Semiconductor devices such as transistors can be fabricated from epitaxial silicon layers. The electrical properties of the formed epitaxial silicon layer are generally better than those of a single crystal silicon substrate.

When the surfaces of the monocrystalline and epitaxial silicon layers are exposed to conditions surrounding typical substrate manufacturing facilities, the surfaces of the monocrystalline and epitaxial silicon layers are easily contaminated. For example, before the epitaxial layer is deposited, a native oxide layer may be formed on the surface of the single crystal silicon due to the substrate being transported to and / or exposed to the surrounding environment of the substrate processing equipment. In addition, foreign pollutants (such as carbon and oxygen species) existing in the surrounding environment may be deposited on the surface of the single crystal. The presence of native oxide layers or contaminants on the surface of single crystal silicon has a negative impact on the quality of the subsequent epitaxial layer formed on the surface of the single crystal. Therefore, it is desirable to pre-clean the substrate to remove surface oxides and other contaminants before growing an epitaxial layer on the substrate. However, the pre-cleaning process is usually performed in one or more separate vacuum processing chambers, which may increase the substrate handling time and the opportunity for the substrate to be exposed to the surrounding environment.

Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide an improved substrate processing system for cleaning a substrate surface before performing an epitaxial deposition process, which minimizes substrate transfer time and minimizes exposure to the surrounding environment.

The implementation of this disclosure generally relates to an improved vacuum processing system and method for removing contaminants and native oxides from a substrate surface. In one implementation, the vacuum processing system includes a first transfer chamber, a second transfer chamber, a transition station, a second plasma cleaning chamber, and a load gate chamber, the first transfer chamber being coupled to At least one processing chamber, the transition station is disposed between the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber and is connected to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, and the transition station contains a first electrical The slurry cleaning chamber, the second plasma cleaning chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber, and the loading gate chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber.

In another implementation, the vacuum processing system includes a first transfer chamber, a transition station, and at least one processing chamber. The first transfer chamber includes a first substrate transfer mechanism, and the transition station is coupled to the first transfer chamber. The station has a first plasma cleaning chamber coupled thereto or disposed therein, and at least one processing chamber is coupled to the first transfer chamber, wherein the at least one processing chamber is an epitaxial chamber.

In yet another implementation, a method is provided for processing a substrate within a vacuum processing system. The method includes the following steps: transferring a substrate from a loading gate chamber to a first cleaning chamber using a first robotic transport mechanism provided in a first transfer chamber, the first cleaning chamber using a plasma formed by a cleaning gas, The cleaning gas contains a hydrogen-containing gas and a fluorine-containing gas to remove oxides from the surface of the substrate, and the substrate is transferred from the first cleaning chamber to a transition station by a first robot transport mechanism, the transition station having a first Two cleaning chambers that use a hydrogen-containing plasma to remove carbon-containing contaminants from the surface of the substrate, and a second robotic transport mechanism provided in the second transfer chamber to clean the substrates from the second The chamber is transferred to at least one epitaxial processing chamber, the epitaxial processing chamber is coupled to a second transfer chamber, wherein the transition station is connected to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, and among them Without destroying the vacuum in the vacuum processing system, the substrate is in the loading lock chamber, the first transfer chamber, the first cleaning chamber, the second cleaning chamber, the second transfer chamber, and the epitaxial wafer. Transferred between the processing chamber.

FIG. 1 illustrates a processing sequence 100 according to an implementation of the present disclosure. At block 102, the oxide is removed from the surface of the semiconductor substrate using a cleaning process. The substrate may include a silicon-containing material and the surface may include a material such as silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or a silicon germanium alloy (silicon germanium). In some implementations, the surface of Si, Ge, or SiGe may have an oxide layer (such as a native oxide layer) and contaminants disposed thereon. Due to the sensitivity of the epitaxial deposition process to oxides and pollutants (such as carbon-containing pollutants), surface contamination caused by exposure to most typical clean room environments for several hours may become significant enough that accumulated oxides and Contaminants affect the quality of the subsequent formation of an epitaxial layer.

The substrate surface can be cleaned by performing an oxide removal process and a contaminant removal process. In one implementation, a cleaning process (block 102) is used to remove oxides from the surface of the substrate, and a reducing process (block 104) is used to remove contaminants (such as carbon-containing contaminants) from the surface of the substrate. The cleaning process may include a plasma etching process. The plasma etching process may use a plasma formed by a cleaning gas including hydrogen (H ₂ ), helium (He), argon (Ar), ammonia (NH ₃ ), fluorine-containing gas (such as NF ₃ ), or these Combination of gases. The plasma may be inductively or capacitively coupled, or the plasma may be energized by a microwave source in the processing chamber. The processing chamber may be a remote plasma chamber spaced apart from the processing area provided by the substrate. As used herein, the term "spatially separated" can refer to one or more chamber components (such as a baffle 228 and a gas distribution plate 230 as shown in FIG. 2) or even a remote plasma chamber. A plasma generation area is separated from the substrate processing area by a conduit between the substrate and the substrate processing chamber.

In one implementation, a plasma is generated using a capacitively coupled plasma source. The radicals from the plasma can be positioned on the support by a gas distribution plate disposed above the substrate at a temperature of about 25 ° C to about 100 ° C. The processing pressure may be at a subatmospheric pressure, such as about 20 mTorr to about 25 mTorr. The free radicals reach the substrate and then react with the surface oxide. Exemplary processing chambers that may be suitable for performing a plasma etching process include Siconi ^™ or Selectra ^™ chambers available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, California, USA. Chambers from other manufacturers can also be used.

In an exemplary implementation, the plasma etching process is a remote plasma-assisted dry etching process, and the remote plasma-assisted dry etching process includes simultaneously exposing the substrate to NF ₃ and NH ₃ plasma by-products. In one example, the plasma etching process may be similar to or may include a SiCoNi ^™ etching process, which is available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, California. The remote plasma etching can be largely conformal and selective to the silicon oxide layer, and therefore silicon cannot be easily etched regardless of whether the silicon is amorphous, crystalline, or polycrystalline. The remote plasma process usually produces solid by-products. When the substrate oxide material is consumed, the solid by-products grow on the surface of the substrate. When the temperature of the substrate rises, solid by-products can be subsequently removed via sublimation. The plasma etching process enables the substrate surface to have a silicon-hydrogen (Si-H) bond thereon.

At block 104, after removing the oxide from the surface of the substrate, any remaining contaminants on the surface of the substrate are removed. In one implementation of block 104, a reduction process is used to remove contaminants (such as carbon or hydrocarbons) from the surface of the substrate. The reduction process can use a hydrogen-containing plasma to remove contaminants. The plasma may be formed of a cleaning gas including hydrogen (H ₂ ), helium (He), argon (Ar), ammonia (NH ₃ ), or a combination of these gases. The plasma may be inductively or capacitively coupled, or the plasma may be excited by a microwave source in the processing chamber. The processing chamber may be a remote plasma chamber that is physically separated from the processing chamber provided with the substrate.

In one implementation, an inductively coupled plasma source is used to generate the plasma. The inductively coupled plasma source is a remote plasma source (RPS) that performs the reduction process 104. Free radicals from the plasma can pass through a channel tube and a gas distribution plate disposed above the substrate. The substrate is positioned on the support at about 25 degrees to about 400 degrees. The processing pressure may be at sub-atmospheric pressure, such as about 20 mTorr to about 300 Torr, such as about 100 mTorr to about 300 mTorr, such as about 150 mTorr. Free radicals reach the substrate and then react with surface contaminants. Exemplary processing chambers that may be suitable for performing a reduction process include ATKIV Pre-Clean ^™ , Siconi ^™ , PCxT Reactive Preclean ^™ (RPC), or Selectra ^™ chambers available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, California, USA. Chambers from other manufacturers can also be used.

At a block 106, an epitaxial layer is formed on the surface of the substrate. As described above, if the substrate has been previously cleaned, the surface of the substrate is free of oxides and contaminants, which improves the quality of the epitaxial layer that is subsequently formed on the surface of the substrate. An exemplary epitaxial process may be a selective epitaxial process performed at a temperature of less than about 800 degrees Celsius (eg, about 450 to 650 degrees Celsius). An epitaxial layer can be formed using a high temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. The epitaxial layer may be crystalline silicon, germanium, or silicon germanium or any suitable semiconductor material, such as a III-V compound. In an exemplary thermal CVD process, a process gas (such as dichlorosilane, silane, disilane, germanium, hydrogen chloride, or a combination thereof) is used to form the epitaxial layer. The processing temperature is below 800 degrees Celsius and the processing pressure is between 5 Torr and 600 Torr. An exemplary processing chamber that may be suitable for performing an epitaxial deposition process is a Centura ^™ Epi chamber available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, California. Chambers from other manufacturers can also be used.

Blocks 102, 104, and 106 may be implemented in a processing system, such as the vacuum processing system shown in FIG. It is contemplated that the processing described in blocks 102 and 104 may be reversed. Further, the processes described in blocks 102 and 104 may be repeated as many times as necessary.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a processing chamber 200 that is suitable for performing at least a portion of the processes found in block 102, and thus removing oxides from the surface of the substrate. The processing chamber 200 may be particularly useful for performing thermal or plasma-based cleaning processes and / or plasma-assisted dry etching processes. The processing chamber 200 includes a chamber body 212, a cover assembly 214, and a support assembly 216. The cover assembly 214 is disposed at the upper end of the chamber body 212, and the support assembly 216 is disposed at least partially within the chamber body 212. A vacuum system may be used to remove gas from the processing chamber 200. The vacuum system includes a vacuum pump 218 coupled to a vacuum port 221 disposed in the chamber body 212. The processing chamber 200 also includes a controller 202 for controlling processing within the processing chamber 200.

The cover assembly 214 includes at least two stacked elements that are configured to form a plasma volume or recess. The first electrode 220 is vertically disposed above the second electrode 222, and the second electrode 222 defines a plasma volume. The first electrode 220 is connected to a power source 224 (such as a radio frequency (RF) power supply), and the second electrode 222 is grounded or connected to a reference potential, and a capacitance is formed between the first electrode 220 and the second electrode 222. The cover assembly 214 also includes one or more gas inlets 226 for supplying cleaning gas to the surface of the substrate through the barrier 228 and a gas distribution plate 230 such as a shower head. The cleaning gas can be a plasma free radical formed by a cleaning gas. The cleaning gas includes hydrogen (H ₂ ), helium (He), argon (Ar), ammonia (NH ₃ ), fluorine-containing gas (such as NF ₃ ), or A combination of these gases.

Alternatively, a different cleaning process may be used to clean the substrate surface. For example, a remote plasma containing He and NF ₃ may be introduced into the processing chamber 200 through the gas distribution plate 230, while NH ₃ may be directly injected into the processing chamber via an individual gas inlet 225 provided on one side of the chamber body 212 Of the 200.

The support assembly 216 may include a substrate support 232 to support the substrate 210 thereon during processing. The substrate support 232 may be coupled to the actuator 234 by a shaft 236 that extends through a central position opening formed at the bottom of the chamber body 212. The actuator 234 can be elastically sealed to the chamber body 212 by a bellows (not shown), and the bellows prevents a vacuum leak from around the shaft 236. The actuator 234 allows the substrate support 232 to move vertically within the chamber body 212 between the processing position and the loading position. The loading position is slightly below the opening of the slit valve formed in the side wall of the chamber body 212.

The substrate support 232 has a flat or substantially flat substrate support surface for supporting a substrate to be processed thereon. The substrate support 232 can be vertically moved within the chamber body 212 by an actuator 234, and the actuator 234 is coupled to the substrate support 232 by a shaft 236. In operation, the substrate support 232 may be raised to a position close to the cover assembly 214 to control the temperature of the substrate 210 being processed. As such, the substrate 210 may be heated by radiation emitted by the gas distribution plate 230 or convection from the gas distribution plate 230.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a processing chamber 300 that is suitable for performing at least a portion of the processes found in block 104, and thus removing contaminants (such as carbon or hydrocarbons) that have accumulated on the surface of the substrate. The processing chamber 300 has a chamber body 310 including a chamber housing 316, a processing kit housing 318, and a cover 340. The chamber housing 316 and the cover 340 may be made of aluminum, stainless steel, or other suitable materials. The processing kit housing 318 may be made of aluminum alloy or other suitable materials. The cover 340 is removably coupled to the chamber housing 316 through the processing kit housing 318.

The processing kit housing 318 may be an annular housing having a top surface coupled to the cover 340 and a bottom surface coupled to the chamber housing 316. The processing kit case 318 has a shielding portion 329 that extends downward from the inner surface 331 of the processing kit case 318. The inner surface 331 of the processing kit housing 318 surrounds and supports the gas distribution plate 326. The gas distribution plate 326 may be a quartz shower head. A gas chamber 348 is defined between the gas distribution plate 326 and the cover 340. The gas distribution plate 326 includes a plurality of holes 327 formed through the thickness of the gas distribution plate 326 to allow gas to flow into the gas chamber 348 through the port 342. The holes 327 are evenly distributed on the diameter of the gas distribution plate 326 to ensure that gas or radicals are uniformly distributed to the substrate 308. The gas flowing through the holes 327 is distributed on the substrate 308 provided in the processing area 330, and the processing area 330 is defined between the gas distribution plate 326 and the heater 314. The shielding portion 329 also helps to confine the electrically neutral free radicals within the processing area 330. In one example, the shield portion 329 extends to a position near or below the edge of the heater 314.

The processing chamber 300 includes a remote plasma source 350 coupled to a port 342 through a channel tube 360. The port 342 is formed in the cover 340. The channel tube 360 defines a catheter 356, which may have a first inner diameter and a second inner diameter, the second inner diameter being greater than the first inner diameter. The first inner diameter may be disposed adjacent to the distal plasma source 350, and the second inner diameter may be disposed adjacent to the cover 340. In one example, the first inner diameter is about 12 mm to about 30 mm, such as about 20 mm, and the second inner diameter is about 35 mm to about 60 mm, such as about 40 mm.

The channel tube 360 is configured to filter the ions generated in the remote plasma source 350 before they enter the processing area 330 while allowing electrically neutral radicals to enter the processing area 330. Therefore, the relative concentration of ions in the processing region 330 is reduced. In one implementation, the gas flowing through the conduit 356 is filtered by a magnetic field generated by one or more magnets disposed adjacent the channel tube 360. The magnet generates a magnetic field across the channel tube 360 to filter charged particles with reactive radicals flowing from the remote plasma source 350.

In the implementation shown in FIG. 3, the first magnet 352 and the second magnet 354 are disposed adjacent to the channel tube 360. The first and second magnets 352 and 354 may be permanent magnets or electromagnets. The magnets 352, 354 may be disposed across each of the first inner diameters of the channel tube 360. For example, the magnets 352, 354 may be adhered or fixed on opposite sides of the outer periphery of the channel tube 360. It is also contemplated that the magnets 352, 354 may be fixed to the chamber cover 340 or other components of the chamber body 310. The relative distance between the opposing magnets formed in the channel tube 360 and the conduit 356 affects the strength of the magnetic field passing through the conduit 356 and thus the filtration efficiency. The magnetic field can also be adjusted by using different magnets, that is, replacing the magnets 352, 354 with different strengths. The passing charged particles are pulled into contact with the inner surface 370 of the channel tube 360 and become electrically neutral non-ionic substances. As such, the filtered electrically neutral free radicals are delivered to the surface of the substrate to react with and clean the contaminants thereon.

In some implementations, the ions can be further filtered by providing a quartz surface in the flow path of the process gas through into the chamber body 310. For example, the inner surface 370 of the channel tube 360 defining the conduit 356 may be wholly or partially coated with quartz or made of quartz. In addition, the surface defining the gas chamber 348 and / or the gas distribution plate 326 may also be entirely or at least partially coated with quartz or made of quartz. For example, in the implementation of FIG. 3, the top pad 324 may be disposed along the inner surface 331 of the processing kit housing 318. The top cushion 324 may have an annular body surrounding the air chamber 348, and an inner surface of the annular body defines an outer boundary of the air chamber 348. The top pad 324 may be made of quartz. The top pad 324 may rest on the gas distribution plate 326 or may be supported by any other suitable fixing method.

The lining plate 344 may be disposed along a bottom surface of the cover member 340. The backing plate 344 may be made of quartz or made of quartz. The lining plate 344 defines an upper boundary of the air chamber 348. Accordingly, the liner plate 344, the top liner 324, and the gas distribution plate 326 define a gas chamber 348 therein. The bottom pad 325 may be disposed along the inner surface 331 of the processing kit housing 318. The bottom pad 325 may have an annular body surrounding the processing area 330, and an inner surface of the annular body defines an outer boundary of the processing area 330. The bottom pad 325 may be made of quartz coating or made of quartz. The bottom pad 325 may be supported by the shielding portion 329. In one example shown, the flange 303 extends radially inwardly at the end of the shield portion 329 to support the bottom pad 325. Thus, the channel tube 360, the liner plate 344, the top gasket 324, the bottom gasket 325, and the gas distribution plate together provide a quartz surface in the flow path of the process gas. Compared to other chamber materials (such as aluminum), these components reduce free radical recombination. Therefore, only electrically neutral radicals flow through the gas distribution plate or exist in the processing area defined between the gas distribution plate and the substrate support of the processing chamber. When these electrically neutral radicals reach the substrate surface provided on the substrate support and react with the substrate surface, these electrically neutral radicals remain active to remove unwanted materials (such as native oxides) from the substrate surface.

A heater (or substrate support) 314 is provided in the processing area 330 of the chamber body 310. The heater 314 is coupled to the bottom of the chamber housing 316 through the central shaft 341. The heater 314 has a substrate support surface for supporting the substrate 308 on the substrate support surface during processing (such as the processing described above with respect to blocks 102 and 104). An optional focus ring 338 may be disposed on the heater 314 around the periphery of the substrate support surface. The focus ring 338 restricts the plasma or neutral substance to the area above the substrate 308 during processing. The focus ring 338 may be made of quartz.

The heater 314 may be made of bare aluminum, and a plurality of sapphire contacts (not shown) are provided on the substrate supporting surface to minimize contact between the substrate supporting surface and the substrate provided on the sapphire contacts. The heater 314 is actuated by the driving unit 337 to move vertically between the loading position and the processing position. The heater 314 may have one or more heating elements 335 embedded therein to provide uniform thermal energy to the substrate supporting surface. Suitable heating elements 335 may include resistance heaters, thermoelectric devices, or other heating devices such as conduits for flowing heat transfer fluids. The heating element 335 allows the temperature of the substrate 308 to be maintained in a temperature range of about 200 ° C to about 700 ° C or higher, such as about 300 ° C to about 350 ° C, about 350 ° C to about 450 ° C, about 450 ° C to about 550 ° C, about 550 ° C to about 650 ° C, or about 650 ° C to about 750 ° C. In some implementations, the heater 314 may have a cutout formed through the periphery of the substrate support surface so that when the heater 314 is positioned in the loading position, a substrate handler (not shown) can manipulate the substrate 308 from the edge of the substrate . During the cleaning process, the heater 314 and the substrate 308 disposed thereon are positioned at a processing position, and the processing position is a required position for processing the substrate 308.

The processing chamber 300 includes a pump 317. The pump 317 is connected to the chamber body 310 through a foreline vacuum line 361. The foreline vacuum line 361 is connected to the chamber body 310 at an opening 315 formed at the bottom of the casing 316. The chamber 300 further includes a throttle valve 363 provided in the foreline vacuum line 361. The throttle valve 363 is operated to open and close to maintain the pressure in the processing chamber 300 to the extent required for the vacuum range required for the plasma cleaning process for operation. The pump 317 and the throttle valve 363 control the pressure in the chamber body 310 between about 0.005 Torr and 750 Torr, such as about 40 Torr to about 500 Torr. In one example, the pump 317 is a dry pump that maintains the pressure within the processing chamber 300 within an exemplary pressure range of about 0.1 Torr to about 40 Torr, such as about 30 Torr. In one example, the pump 317 is a low-pressure pump that maintains the pressure within the processing chamber 300 within an exemplary pressure range of about 100 mTorr to about 500 mTorr (eg, about 150 mTorr). In one example, the pump 317 is a turbo pump that maintains the pressure within the processing chamber 300 in an exemplary pressure range of about 20 mTorr to about 50 mTorr.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary vacuum processing system that can be used to complete the processing sequence 100 of FIG. 1 according to an implementation of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of processing chambers 402 a, 402 b, 402 c, and 402 d are coupled to the first transfer chamber 404. The processing chambers 402a-402d can be used to perform any substrate-related process, such as annealing, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, epitaxial process, etching process, thermal oxidation or thermal nitridation, degassing, and the like. In one implementation, the processing chamber 402a may be an epitaxial deposition chamber, such as a Centura ^™ Epi chamber available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, California, which is capable of forming crystalline silicon or silicon germanium. The processing chamber 402b may be a rapid thermal processing chamber (RTP). The processing chamber 402c is a plasma etching chamber. The processing chamber 402d may be a degassing chamber. The first transfer chamber 404 is also coupled to at least one transition station, such as a pair of pass-through stations 406, 408. Vacuum conditions are maintained through the stations 406, 408 while allowing substrates to be transferred between the first transfer chamber 404 and the second transfer chamber 410. The first transfer chamber 404 has a robotic substrate transfer mechanism (not shown) for transferring substrates between the passing stations 406, 408 and any of the processing chambers 402a-402d.

One end of the through stations 406, 408 is coupled to the second transfer chamber 410. Therefore, the first transfer chamber 404 and the second transfer chamber 410 are separated and connected by the passing stations 406 and 408. The second transfer chamber 410 is coupled to the first plasma cleaning chamber 414, and the first plasma cleaning chamber 414 may be a plasma chamber such as the processing chamber 200 (FIG. 2), which is suitable for performing block 102. At least part of the process found to remove oxides from the substrate surface. In one implementation, the first plasma cleaning chamber 414 is a Siconi ^TM or Selectra ^TM chamber available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, California

In one implementation, at least one transition station (such as one of the passing stations 406, 408) is configured as a plasma cleaning chamber. Alternatively, a plasma cleaning chamber may be coupled to one of the pass-through stations 406, 408 for removing contaminants from the surface of the substrate. Accordingly, the processing system 400 may have a second plasma cleaning chamber that is one of the pass-through stations 406, 408 or connected to one of the pass-through stations 406, 408. In one implementation shown in FIG. 4, the pass-through station 406 includes a second plasma cleaning chamber 416. The second plasma cleaning chamber 416 may be a version of the processing chamber 300 (FIG. 3), which is adapted to perform at least part of the processes found in block 104 for removing contaminants from the surface of the substrate. It should be noted that although only one plasma cleaning chamber 416 is shown coupled to the passing station, in this case, the passing station 406, the plasma cleaning chamber (such as a version of the processing chamber 300) may be coupled to the passing station 406 and 408.

The second transfer chamber 410 also has a robot substrate transfer mechanism (not shown) for transferring substrates between a set of loading gate chambers 412 and the first plasma cleaning chamber 414 or the second plasma cleaning chamber 416. . The factory interface 420 is connected to the second transfer chamber 410 through the load lock chamber 412. The factory interface 420 is coupled to one or more pods 430 on opposite sides of the load lock chamber 412. The bay 430 is usually a front opening unified pods (FOUP) that can enter and exit a clean room (not shown).

Although two transfer chambers are illustrated, it is contemplated that either transfer chamber may be omitted. In an implementation in which the second transfer chamber 410 is omitted, the second plasma cleaning chamber 416 may be disposed in the first transfer chamber 404 or coupled to the first transfer chamber at a position currently occupied by the passing station 406 or 408. A transfer chamber 404. The first transfer chamber 404 may be coupled to one or more processing chambers capable of forming crystalline silicon or silicon germanium, such as an epitaxial chamber, such as a Centura ^TM Epi chamber available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, California. room. Alternatively, the first transfer chamber 404 may be omitted, and the second plasma cleaning chamber 416 may be provided in the passing station 406 or coupled to the passing station 406, and the via station 406 is coupled to the second transfer chamber 410. In this case, the second transfer chamber 410 may be configured to be coupled to one or more processing chambers capable of forming crystalline silicon or silicon germanium.

In operation, the substrate is placed in a transfer gate (not shown) in one of the loading gate chambers 412 and is carried from the cabin 430 to the vacuum processing system 400. The robotic transport mechanism in the second transfer chamber 410 transports the substrates one at a time from the loading gate chamber 412 to the first plasma cleaning chamber 414, where the cleaning process (such as the process found in block 102) is performed to transfer The oxide is removed from the substrate surface. Once the oxide is removed from the substrate surface, a robotic transport mechanism provided in the second transfer chamber 410 moves the substrate from the first plasma cleaning chamber 414 to the second plasma cleaning chamber 416, where a reduction process is performed ( (Process as found in block 104) to remove contaminants (such as carbon or hydrocarbons) from the substrate surface. It is expected that the steps here can also be performed in the reverse order, that is, the substrate is transferred from the second plasma cleaning chamber 416 to the first plasma cleaning chamber 414 using a robotic conveying mechanism. In either case, the clean substrate is then transferred from the second plasma cleaning chamber 416 (or the first plasma cleaning chamber 414) to one or more by a robotic transport mechanism provided in the first transfer chamber 404. Multiple processing chambers 402a-402d. The one or more processing chambers 402 a-402 d may include an epitaxial processing chamber in which a layer forming process is performed, such as the epitaxial deposition described in block 106.

Once the processing in one or more processing chambers 402a-402d is completed, a robotic transport mechanism disposed within the first transfer chamber 404 moves the substrate from one of the processing chambers 402 to the passing station 408. The substrate is then removed from the passing station 408 by a robotic transport mechanism provided in the second transfer chamber 410 and transferred to another loading gate chamber 412, whereby the substrate is removed from the vacuum processing system 400.

Since the processing of all three blocks 102, 104, and 106 is performed within the same vacuum processing system 400, since the substrate is transferred between different chambers, the vacuum is not broken, which reduces the possibility of contamination and improves the deposition process Crystal film quality. It should be understood that for purposes of illustration, this specification describes the movement of a substrate. A controller (not shown) can be used to schedule the movement of the substrate through the vacuum processing system 400 according to a desired schedule, which can vary depending on the application.

Advantages of this disclosure include an improved vacuum processing system that integrates two different types of pre-cleaning processing chambers and epitaxial processing chambers on the same vacuum processing system. The pre-cleaning processing chamber may include a first plasma cleaning processing chamber and a second plasma cleaning processing chamber. Coexistence of two types of surface material removal chambers on the same vacuum processing system allows the substrate to maintain a vacuum between surface preparation and epitaxial deposition, which reduces the time the substrate is exposed to the surrounding environment and eliminates the need for separate processing chambers The need to prepare substrates in a chamber or system. This architecture also maximizes the number of processing chambers on the vacuum system, because the passing station between the two transfer chambers also acts as a pre-cleaning processing chamber, which also reduces the overall substrate transfer time.

Although the foregoing is directed to the implementation of this disclosure, other and further implementations of this disclosure can be designed without departing from the basic scope of this disclosure.

100‧‧‧ Processing sequence
200‧‧‧ treatment chamber
202‧‧‧Controller
210‧‧‧ substrate
212‧‧‧chamber body
214‧‧‧ cover assembly
216‧‧‧Support components
218‧‧‧Vacuum pump
220‧‧‧first electrode
221‧‧‧vacuum port
222‧‧‧Second electrode
224‧‧‧ Power
225‧‧‧Gas inlet
226‧‧‧Gas inlet
228‧‧‧Barrier
230‧‧‧Gas distribution board
232‧‧‧ substrate support
234‧‧‧Actuator
236‧‧‧axis
300‧‧‧Processing chamber
303‧‧‧ flange
308‧‧‧ substrate
310‧‧‧ chamber body
314‧‧‧heater
315‧‧‧ opening
316‧‧‧ chamber enclosure
317‧‧‧Pump
318‧‧‧Handling Kit Housing
324‧‧‧ Top Pad
325‧‧‧ bottom pad
326‧‧‧Gas distribution board
327‧‧‧hole
329‧‧‧shielded
330‧‧‧Treatment area
331‧‧‧Inner surface
335‧‧‧Heating element
337‧‧‧Drive unit
338‧‧‧Focus ring
340‧‧‧ chamber cover
341‧‧‧center axis
342‧‧‧Port
344‧‧‧liner
348‧‧‧Air chamber
350‧‧‧Remote Plasma Source
352‧‧‧First magnet
354‧‧‧Second magnet
356‧‧‧catheter
360‧‧‧channel tube
361‧‧‧ foreline vacuum line
363‧‧‧throttle valve
370‧‧‧Inner surface
400‧‧‧Vacuum processing system
402‧‧‧Processing chamber
402a‧‧‧Processing chamber
402b‧‧‧Processing chamber
402c‧‧‧Processing chamber
402d‧‧‧Processing chamber
404‧‧‧ chamber
406‧‧‧Via Station
408‧‧‧Via Station
410‧‧‧ chamber
412‧‧‧load lock chamber
414‧‧‧The first plasma cleaning chamber
416‧‧‧Second plasma cleaning chamber
420‧‧‧factory interface
430‧‧‧cabin

The implementation of this disclosure has been briefly summarized previously, and is discussed in more detail below, which can be understood by referring to the implementation of this disclosure shown in the attached drawings. However, it is worth noting that the drawings are only typical implementations of the disclosure, and since the disclosure may allow other equivalent implementations, the drawings are not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a processing sequence according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a cleaning chamber for performing the cleaning process of FIG. 1 according to one implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a cleaning chamber for performing the reduction process of FIG. 1 according to one implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a vacuum processing system that can be used to complete the processing sequence of FIG. 1 according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

To facilitate understanding, where possible, the same numerals have been used to represent the same elements in the drawings. For clarity, the figures are not drawn to scale and may be simplified. It is expected that elements and features of one implementation may be used to advantage in other implementations without further description.

Domestic hosting information (please note in order of hosting institution, date, and number) None

Information on foreign deposits (please note in order of deposit country, institution, date, and number) None

300‧‧‧Processing chamber

303‧‧‧ flange

308‧‧‧ substrate

310‧‧‧ chamber body

314‧‧‧heater

315‧‧‧ opening

316‧‧‧ chamber enclosure

317‧‧‧Pump

318‧‧‧Handling Kit Housing

324‧‧‧ Top Pad

325‧‧‧ bottom pad

326‧‧‧Gas distribution board

327‧‧‧hole

329‧‧‧shielded

330‧‧‧Treatment area

331‧‧‧Inner surface

335‧‧‧Heating element

337‧‧‧Drive unit

338‧‧‧Focus ring

340‧‧‧ chamber cover

341‧‧‧center axis

342‧‧‧Port

344‧‧‧liner

348‧‧‧Air chamber

350‧‧‧Remote Plasma Source

352‧‧‧First magnet

354‧‧‧Second magnet

356‧‧‧catheter

360‧‧‧channel tube

361‧‧‧ foreline vacuum line

363‧‧‧throttle valve

370‧‧‧Inner surface

Claims (20)

A vacuum processing system includes: a first transfer chamber coupled to at least one processing chamber; a second transfer chamber; a transition station disposed in the first transfer chamber Between the chamber and the second transfer chamber and the transition station is connected to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, the transition station includes a first plasma cleaning chamber; a second plasma cleaning chamber Chamber, the second plasma cleaning chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber; and a loading gate chamber, the loading gate chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber. The vacuum processing system according to claim 1, wherein the first plasma cleaning chamber includes an inductively coupled plasma source. The vacuum processing system according to claim 1, wherein the first plasma cleaning chamber comprises: a chamber body having a chamber housing surrounding a substrate support, wherein the substrate support includes a Or more heating elements; a driving unit, which is coupled to the substrate support to move the substrate support vertically; a remote plasma source; a channel tube, which channels the remote plasma A source is coupled to the chamber body; at least one magnet, the at least one magnet is disposed near the channel tube; a gas distribution plate, the gas distribution plate is disposed in the chamber body, wherein the gas distribution plate has a A plurality of holes formed by the thickness of the gas distribution plate, and a first gas chamber defined between the gas distribution plate and the substrate support member; a pump coupled to the chamber housing; and a throttle valve, The throttle is disposed between the pump and the chamber housing. The vacuum processing system of claim 3, wherein the one or more heating elements are capable of heating an object to a temperature range of about 450 ° C to about 650 ° C. The vacuum processing system according to claim 3, wherein an inner surface of the channel tube is coated with quartz or made of quartz. The vacuum processing system according to claim 3, wherein the pump and the throttle valve can maintain the pressure in the first plasma cleaning chamber within a pressure range of about 0.005 Torr to about 500 Torr during a process. The vacuum processing system according to claim 3, wherein the chamber body further comprises: a cover member; a liner plate disposed along a bottom surface of the cover member, wherein the liner plate is coated with quartz or made of Manufactured from quartz; a processing kit housing, which is disposed between the cover and the chamber shell, wherein an inner surface of the processing kit housing supports the gas distribution plate; a top gasket , The top gasket is disposed along the inner surface of the processing case, wherein the top gasket is made of quartz coating or made of quartz, and the top gasket, the liner plate, and the gas distribution plate define a A second air chamber; and a bottom gasket disposed on the inner surface of the processing case, wherein the bottom gasket is coated with or made of quartz, and the bottom gasket defines the first gasket An outer boundary of an air chamber. The vacuum processing system according to claim 1, wherein the second plasma cleaning chamber includes a capacitively coupled plasma source. The vacuum processing system according to claim 1, wherein the second plasma cleaning chamber further comprises: a chamber body; a cover assembly coupled to the chamber body, the cover assembly including two electrodes The two electrodes define a plasma volume therebetween; a substrate support, which is disposed in the chamber body; a gas distribution plate, which is disposed between the cover assembly and the substrate support Between; and a vacuum pump, the vacuum pump is coupled to the chamber body. The vacuum processing system according to claim 1, wherein the transition station includes a first passing station and a second passing station, and the first plasma cleaning chamber is disposed in the first passing station. The vacuum processing system according to claim 1, wherein the transition station includes a first passing station and a second passing station, and the first plasma cleaning chamber is coupled to the first passing station. The vacuum processing system according to claim 1, wherein at least one processing chamber is an epitaxial processing chamber. A vacuum processing system includes: a first transfer chamber including a first substrate transfer mechanism; a transition station coupled to the first transfer chamber, the transition station having a coupling Connected to the transition station or a first plasma cleaning chamber disposed in the transition station; and at least one processing chamber, the at least one processing chamber is coupled to the first transfer chamber, wherein the at least one processing chamber The chamber is an epitaxial chamber. The vacuum processing system according to claim 13, wherein the first plasma cleaning chamber comprises: a chamber body having a chamber housing surrounding a substrate support, wherein the substrate support includes a Or more heating elements; a driving unit, which is coupled to the substrate support to move the substrate support vertically; a remote plasma source; a channel tube, which channels the remote plasma A source is coupled to the chamber body; at least one magnet, the at least one magnet is disposed near the channel tube; a gas distribution plate, the gas distribution plate is disposed in the chamber body, wherein the gas distribution plate has a A plurality of holes formed by the thickness of the gas distribution plate, and a first gas chamber is defined between the gas distribution plate and the substrate support; a pump, the pump is coupled to the chamber body. The vacuum processing system according to claim 14, wherein the heating elements are capable of heating an object to a temperature range of about 450 ° C to about 550 ° C or about 550 ° C to about 650 ° C. The vacuum processing system according to claim 13, wherein the epitaxial chamber is capable of forming a crystalline silicon or silicon germanium. The vacuum processing system according to claim 13, further comprising: a second transfer chamber, the second transfer chamber is coupled to the first transfer chamber and the transition station, and the second transfer chamber includes a first transfer chamber Two substrate transfer mechanisms; a second plasma cleaning chamber, the second plasma cleaning chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber; and a loading lock chamber, the loading lock chamber is coupled to the second Transfer chamber. The vacuum processing system according to claim 17, wherein the second plasma cleaning chamber further comprises: a chamber body surrounding the substrate support, wherein the substrate support has a substrate support surface; The cover assembly includes: a first electrode; and a second electrode, wherein the first electrode is vertically disposed above the second electrode, and the first electrode and the second electrode define a plasma volume therebetween; a gas A distribution plate disposed between the cover assembly and the substrate support; and a pump coupled to the chamber body. The vacuum processing system according to claim 13, further comprising: a rapid thermal processing chamber coupled to the first transfer chamber; a plasma etching chamber coupled to the plasma etching chamber To the first transfer chamber; and a degassing chamber, the degassing chamber is coupled to the first transfer chamber. A method for processing a substrate in a vacuum processing system includes the following steps: A substrate is transferred from a loading gate chamber to a first cleaning using a first robotic transport mechanism provided in a first transfer chamber. Chamber, the first cleaning chamber uses a plasma formed by a cleaning gas, the cleaning gas containing a hydrogen-containing gas and a fluorine-containing gas to remove oxides from a surface of the substrate; conveyed by the first robot The mechanism transfers the substrate from the first cleaning chamber to a transition station, which has a second cleaning chamber disposed therein, and the second cleaning chamber uses a hydrogen-containing plasma to remove carbon-containing pollutants from the substrate. Removing the surface of the substrate; and transferring the substrate from the second cleaning chamber to at least one epitaxial processing chamber using a second robotic transport mechanism, the epitaxial processing chamber being coupled to a second transfer chamber The second robotic conveying mechanism is disposed in the second transfer chamber, wherein the transition station is connected to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, and in the vacuum processing system, the vacuum processing system is not damaged. When empty, the substrate is between the loading gate chamber, the first transfer chamber, the first cleaning chamber, the second cleaning chamber, the second transfer chamber, and the epitaxial processing chamber. Transfer.