TWI703665B - A vacuum platform with process chambers for removing carbon contaminants and surface oxide from semiconductor substrates - Google Patents

Abstract

Implementations of the present disclosure generally relate to an improved vacuum processing system. In one implementation, the vacuum processing system includes a first transfer chamber coupling to at least one epitaxy process chamber, a second transfer chamber, a transition station disposed between the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, a first plasma-cleaning chamber coupled to the second transfer chamber for removing oxides from a surface of a substrate, and a load lock chamber coupled to the second transfer chamber. The transition station connects to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, and the transition station includes a second plasma-cleaning chamber for removing carbon-containing contaminants from the surface of the substrate.

Description

Vacuum platform with processing chamber for removing carbon contaminants and surface oxides from semiconductor substrates

The implementation of the present 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 bath of molten silicon, and then sawing the solidified single crystal block into multiple substrates. An epitaxial silicon layer can then be formed on the single crystal silicon substrate to form a defect-free silicon layer that can be doped or undoped. Semiconductor components such as transistors can be manufactured 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 surface of the single crystal silicon and epitaxial silicon layer is exposed to the surrounding conditions of a typical substrate manufacturing facility, the surface of the single crystal silicon and epitaxial silicon layer is easily contaminated. For example, before the epitaxial layer is deposited, since the substrate is transported to the surrounding environment of the substrate processing equipment and/or exposed to the surrounding environment of the substrate processing equipment, a native oxide layer may be formed on the surface of the single crystal silicon. In addition, foreign contaminants (such as carbon and oxygen species) present in the surrounding environment may be deposited on the surface of the single crystal. The presence of the native oxide layer or contaminants on the surface of the single crystal silicon has a negative impact on the quality of the epitaxial layer subsequently 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 the 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 the surface of a substrate before performing an epitaxial deposition process, which minimizes substrate transfer time and minimizes exposure to the surrounding environment.

The implementation of the present disclosure generally relates to an improved vacuum processing system and method for removing contaminants and native oxides from the 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 lock chamber, the first transfer chamber is coupled to At least one processing chamber, the transition station is arranged between the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber and connected to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, the transition station includes a first electrical A 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. The transition station is coupled to the first transfer chamber. The station has a first plasma cleaning chamber coupled to or disposed therein, 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 for processing a substrate in a vacuum processing system is provided. The method includes the following steps: using a first robot transport mechanism arranged in a first transfer chamber to transfer the substrate from the loading gate chamber to the first cleaning chamber, and the first cleaning chamber uses plasma formed by cleaning gas, The cleaning gas includes hydrogen-containing gas and fluorine-containing gas to remove oxides from the surface of the substrate. The substrate is transferred from the first cleaning chamber to the transition station by the first robot transport mechanism, and the transition station has a first Two cleaning chambers, the second cleaning chamber uses hydrogen-containing plasma to remove carbon-containing contaminants from the surface of the substrate, and uses a second robot transport mechanism arranged in the second transfer chamber to clean the substrate 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 in Without breaking the vacuum in the vacuum processing system, the substrate is placed in the loading gate chamber, the first transfer chamber, the first cleaning chamber, the second cleaning chamber, the second transfer chamber, and the epitaxial wafer. Transfer between processing chambers.

FIG. 1 shows a processing sequence 100 according to an implementation of the present disclosure. At block 102, a cleaning process is used to remove the oxide from the surface of the semiconductor substrate. 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 arranged 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 cleanroom environments for several hours may become significant enough to cause accumulated oxides and Contaminants affect the quality of the epitaxial layer that is subsequently formed.

The surface of the substrate can be cleaned by performing oxide removal treatment and pollutant removal treatment. 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 treatment may include a plasma etching process. The plasma etching process can 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 can be inductively or capacitively coupled, or the plasma can 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 where the substrate is provided. The term "spatially separated" as used herein can refer to the use of one or more chamber components (such as the barrier 228 and the gas distribution plate 230 as shown in FIG. 2) or even the remote plasma chamber The plasma generation area separated from the substrate processing area by the conduit between the substrate processing chamber.

In one implementation, a capacitively coupled plasma source is used to generate plasma. Radicals from the plasma can pass through a gas distribution plate disposed above the substrate, and the substrate is positioned on the support at about 25 degrees Celsius to about 100 degrees Celsius. The processing pressure may be under subatmospheric pressure, such as about 20 mTorr to about 25 mTorr. Free radicals reach the substrate and then react with surface oxides. Exemplary processing chambers that may be suitable for performing plasma etching processes include the Siconi ^™ or Selectra ^™ chambers available from Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, California, USA. Chambers of 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 exposing the substrate to NF ₃ and NH ₃ plasma byproducts at the same time. In one example, the plasma etching process may be similar to or may include the 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, no matter whether the silicon is amorphous, crystalline or polycrystalline, it cannot be easily etched. 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, the solid by-products can be subsequently removed via sublimation. The plasma etching process makes the surface of the substrate have silicon-hydrogen (Si-H) bonding on it.

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 treatment can use hydrogen-containing plasma to remove contaminants. The plasma may be formed by a cleaning gas, which contains hydrogen (H ₂ ), helium (He), argon (Ar), ammonia (NH ₃ ), or a combination of these gases. The plasma can be inductively or capacitively coupled, or the plasma can be excited by a microwave source in the processing chamber. The processing chamber may be a remote plasma chamber physically separated from the processing chamber where the substrate is provided.

In one implementation, an inductively coupled plasma source is used to generate plasma, and the inductively coupled plasma source is a remote plasma source (RPS) subjected to the reduction treatment 104. The free radicals from the plasma can pass through the channel tube and the gas distribution plate arranged above the substrate. The substrate is positioned on the support at about 25 degrees Celsius to about 400 degrees Celsius. The processing pressure may be at sub-atmospheric pressure, for example, 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 reduction processing include AKTIV Pre-Clean ^™ , Siconi ^™ , PCxT Reactive Preclean ^™ (RPC), or Selectra ^™ chambers available from Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, California, USA. Chambers of other manufacturers can also be used.

At block 106, an epitaxial layer is formed on the surface of the substrate. As described above, if it has been cleaned previously, the surface of the substrate is free of oxides and contaminants, which improves the quality of the epitaxial layer 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). A high temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process can be used to form the epitaxial layer. The epitaxial layer can 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, ethylsilane, germanium, hydrogen chloride, or a combination of the above) 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 the Centura ^™ Epi chamber available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, California. Chambers of other manufacturers can also be used.

Blocks 102, 104, and 106 can be executed in a processing system, such as the vacuum processing system shown in FIG. It is expected that the processing described in blocks 102 and 104 can be reversed. In addition, the processing described in blocks 102 and 104 can be repeated as many times as necessary.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the processing chamber 200, which is adapted to perform at least part of the processing found in block 102, and thus remove 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 main body 212, and the support assembly 216 is at least partially disposed in the chamber main body 212. The vacuum system can be used to remove gas from the processing chamber 200. The vacuum system includes a vacuum pump 218 coupled to a vacuum port 221, and the vacuum port 221 is provided in the chamber body 212. The processing chamber 200 also includes a controller 202 for controlling the processing in the processing chamber 200.

The cover assembly 214 includes at least two stacked elements, and the at least two stacked elements are configured to form a plasma volume or cavity. 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, and the one or more gas inlets 226 are used to provide cleaning gas to the surface of the substrate through the barrier 228 and the gas distribution plate 230 (such as a shower head). The cleaning gas can use the free radicals of the plasma formed by the cleaning gas. The cleaning gas includes hydrogen (H ₂ ), helium (He), argon (Ar), ammonia (NH ₃ ), fluorine-containing gas (such as NF ₃ ) or The combination of these gases.

Alternatively, different cleaning processes can be used to clean the substrate surface. For example, the remote plasma containing He and NF ₃ can be introduced into the processing chamber 200 through the gas distribution plate 230, and NH ₃ can be directly injected into the processing chamber through the individual gas inlet 225 provided on the side of the chamber body 212 200 in.

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 extending through a central 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), which prevents vacuum leakage 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 main body 212.

The substrate support 232 has a flat or substantially flat substrate support surface for supporting the substrate to be processed thereon. The substrate support 232 can be vertically moved in the chamber main 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 can be raised to a position close to the cover assembly 214 to control the temperature of the substrate 210 being processed. In this way, the substrate 210 can be heated by the radiation emitted by the gas distribution plate 230 or the convection from the gas distribution plate 230.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the processing chamber 300, which is suitable for performing at least part of the processing found in block 104 and thus removing contaminants (such as carbon or hydrocarbons) accumulated on the surface of the substrate. The processing chamber 300 has a chamber body 310, and the chamber body 310 includes 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 housing 318 has a shielding portion 329 extending downward from the inner surface 331 of the processing kit housing 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 the gas or radicals are evenly distributed to the substrate 308. The gas flowing through the hole 327 is distributed on the substrate 308 disposed 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 electrically neutral radicals within the processing area 330. In one example, the shielding 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, and the remote plasma source 350 is coupled to the port 342 via a channel tube 360. The port 342 is formed in the cover 340. The channel tube 360 defines a conduit 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 remote 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 plasma generated in the remote plasma source 350 before it enters 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 to the passage tube 360. The magnet generates a magnetic field across the channel tube 360 to filter charged particles with reactive radicals flowing out of the remote plasma source 350.

In the implementation shown in FIG. 3, the first magnet 352 and the second magnet 354 are arranged adjacent to the passage tube 360. The first magnet 352 and the second magnet 354 may be permanent magnets or electromagnets. The magnets 352, 354 may be arranged to face each other across the first inner diameter of the channel tube 360. For example, the magnets 352, 354 may be adhered or fixed on the opposite side of the outer circumference of the channel tube 360. It is also conceivable that the magnets 352 and 354 can be fixed to the chamber cover 340 or other parts of the chamber body 310. The relative distance between the opposing magnets formed in the channel tube 360 and the duct 356 affects the strength of the magnetic field passing through the duct 356, and thus affects the filtration efficiency. The magnetic field can also be adjusted by using different magnets, that is, replacing the magnets 352 and 354 with different strengths. The charged particles passing through are drawn to contact with the inner surface 370 of the channel tube 360 and become electrically neutral non-ionic substances. In this way, the filtered electrically neutral free radicals are delivered to the surface of the substrate to react with the pollutants thereon and clean the pollutants.

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

The liner 344 may be provided along the bottom surface of the cover 340. The backing plate 344 may be coated or made of quartz. The liner 344 defines the upper boundary of the air chamber 348. Therefore, the liner 344, the top liner 324, and the gas distribution plate 326 define a gas chamber 348 therein. The bottom liner 325 may be disposed along the inner surface 331 of the processing kit housing 318. The bottom liner 325 may have an annular body surrounding the treatment area 330, and the inner surface of the annular body defines the outer boundary of the treatment area 330. The bottom pad 325 may be coated with quartz or made of quartz. The bottom pad 325 may be supported by the shielding part 329. In the example shown, the flange 303 extends radially inwardly at the end of the shielding portion 329 to support the bottom gasket 325. Therefore, the channel tube 360, the liner plate 344, the top liner 324, the bottom liner 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 the recombination of free radicals. 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 free radicals reach the substrate surface provided on the substrate support and react with the substrate surface, these electrically neutral free radicals remain active to remove unwanted materials (such as native oxides) from the substrate surface.

The heater (or substrate support) 314 is provided in the processing area 330 of the chamber main 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 that is used to support the substrate 308 on the substrate support surface during processing (the processing described above with respect to blocks 102 and 104). An optional focus ring 338 may be provided on the heater 314 around the periphery of the substrate supporting surface. The focus ring 338 confines the plasma or neutral species in 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, in which a plurality of sapphire contacts (not shown) are provided on the substrate supporting surface to minimize the 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 other heating devices such as resistance heaters, thermoelectric devices, or conduits for flowing heat transfer fluid. 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, for example, 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 supporting surface, so that when the heater 314 is positioned in the loading position, the 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, which 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 the fore vacuum line 361. The fore-vacuum line 361 is connected to the chamber main 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 front 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 in 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 in the processing chamber 300 at 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 processing, such as annealing, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, epitaxial processing, etching processing, thermal oxidation or thermal nitriding, degassing, etc. In one implementation, the processing chamber 402a may be an epitaxial deposition chamber, such as the Centura ^™ Epi chamber available from Applied Materials of Santa Clara, California, which can form 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 and 408. The vacuum conditions are maintained by the stations 406 and 408 while allowing the substrate to be transferred between the first transfer chamber 404 and the second transfer chamber 410. The first transfer chamber 404 has a robot substrate transfer mechanism (not shown) for transferring substrates between the passing stations 406 and 408 and any one of the processing chambers 402a to 402d.

One ends of the stations 406 and 408 are 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. The first plasma cleaning chamber 414 may be a plasma chamber such as the processing chamber 200 (FIG. 2), which is suitable for performing the steps in 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 passing stations 406, 408) is configured as a plasma cleaning chamber. Alternatively, the plasma cleaning chamber may be coupled to one of the pass stations 406, 408 for removing contaminants from the surface of the substrate. Therefore, the processing system 400 may have a second plasma cleaning chamber, the second plasma cleaning chamber being one of the passing stations 406 and 408 or connected to one of the passing stations 406 and 408. In one implementation shown in FIG. 4, the passing 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 processing 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 pass station, in this case, the pass station 406, the plasma cleaning chamber (such as a version of the processing chamber 300) may be coupled to the pass station 406 and 408.

The second transfer chamber 410 also has a robotic 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 the opposite side of the load lock chamber 412. The cabin 430 is usually a front opening unified pods (FOUP) that can enter and exit a clean room (not shown).

Although two transfer chambers are shown, it is conceivable 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 provided in the first transfer chamber 404 or coupled to the second plasma cleaning chamber at a position occupied by the passing station 406 or 408 as shown currently One 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 the Centura ^TM Epi chamber available from Applied Materials 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, which is coupled to the second transfer chamber 410 through the station 406. 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 lock (not shown) in one of the load lock chambers 412 and loaded from the chamber 430 to the vacuum processing system 400. The robot transport mechanism in the second transfer chamber 410 transports the substrates from the load lock chamber 412 to the first plasma cleaning chamber 414 one at a time, where the cleaning process (such as the process found in block 102) is executed to remove The oxide is removed from the surface of the substrate. Once the oxide is removed from the surface of the substrate, the robot transport mechanism provided in the second transfer chamber 410 transfers 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 surface of the substrate. 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 robot transport 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 the robot transport mechanism provided in the first transfer chamber 404 Multiple processing chambers 402a-402d. The one or more processing chambers 402a-402d may include an epitaxial processing chamber in which a layer formation process, such as the epitaxial deposition described in block 106, is performed.

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

Since the processing of all three blocks 102, 104, and 106 are performed in 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 deposition. The quality of the crystal film. It should be understood that, for illustrative purposes, this specification describes the movement of the substrate. A controller (not shown) may be used to arrange the movement of the substrate through the vacuum processing system 400 according to a required scheduling program, which may vary according to the application.

The advantages of the present 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. The 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 for substrate preparation on the 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 serves as a pre-cleaning processing chamber, which also reduces the overall transfer time of the substrate.

Although the foregoing is for 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‧‧‧Processing chamber 202‧‧‧Controller 210‧‧‧Substrate 212‧‧‧ Chamber body 214‧‧‧Cover assembly 216‧‧‧Support component 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 plate 232‧‧‧Substrate support 234‧‧‧Actuator 236‧‧‧Axis 300‧‧‧Processing chamber 303‧‧‧Flange 308‧‧‧Substrate 310‧‧‧ Chamber body 314‧‧‧Heater 315‧‧‧Open 316‧‧‧Chamber shell 317‧‧‧Pump 318‧‧‧Processing kit shell 324‧‧‧Top liner 325‧‧‧Bottom liner 326‧‧‧Gas distribution plate 327‧‧‧Hole 329‧‧‧Shielding part 330‧‧‧Processing area 331‧‧‧Inner surface 335‧‧‧Heating element 337‧‧‧Drive unit 338‧‧‧focus ring 340‧‧‧ Chamber cover 341‧‧‧Central axis 342‧‧‧Port 344‧‧‧liner 348‧‧‧Air Chamber 350‧‧‧Remote plasma source 352‧‧‧First magnet 354‧‧‧Second magnet 356‧‧‧Conduit 360‧‧‧Channel pipe 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‧‧‧Passing station 408‧‧‧Passing station 410‧‧‧ Chamber 412‧‧‧Loading lock chamber 414‧‧‧The first plasma cleaning chamber 416‧‧‧Second Plasma Cleaning Chamber 420‧‧‧Factory interface 430‧‧‧ cabin

The implementation of the present disclosure has been briefly summarized above, and there is a more detailed discussion below, which can be understood by referring to the implementation of the present disclosure shown in the attached drawings. However, it is worth noting that the accompanying drawings only illustrate typical implementations of the present disclosure, and since the present disclosure may allow other equivalent implementations, the accompanying drawings are not regarded as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

Fig. 1 shows 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 an implementation of the present disclosure.

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

For ease of understanding, where possible, the same numbers have been used to represent the same elements in the drawings. For clarity, the drawings are not drawn to scale and may be simplified. It is expected that the elements and features of one implementation can be advantageously used in other implementations without repeating them.

Domestic hosting information (please note in the order of hosting organization, date and number)

Foreign hosting information (please note in the order of hosting country, institution, date and number) None

300‧‧‧Processing chamber

303‧‧‧Flange

308‧‧‧Substrate

310‧‧‧ Chamber body

314‧‧‧Heater

315‧‧‧Open

316‧‧‧Chamber shell

317‧‧‧Pump

318‧‧‧Processing kit shell

324‧‧‧Top liner

325‧‧‧Bottom liner

326‧‧‧Gas distribution plate

327‧‧‧Hole

329‧‧‧Shielding part

330‧‧‧Processing area

331‧‧‧Inner surface

335‧‧‧Heating element

337‧‧‧Drive unit

338‧‧‧focus ring

340‧‧‧ Chamber cover

341‧‧‧Central axis

342‧‧‧Port

344‧‧‧liner

348‧‧‧Air Chamber

350‧‧‧Remote plasma source

352‧‧‧First magnet

354‧‧‧Second magnet

356‧‧‧Conduit

360‧‧‧Channel pipe

361‧‧‧Foreline vacuum line

363‧‧‧ Throttle valve

370‧‧‧Inner surface

Claims (17)

A vacuum processing system includes: a first transfer chamber, the first transfer chamber is coupled to at least one processing chamber; a second transfer chamber; a first plasma cleaning chamber, the first plasma The cleaning chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber, and is configured to remove oxides from a surface of a substrate; a transition station, the transition station is disposed in the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber Between and the transition station is connected to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, wherein the transition station includes: a first passing station and a second passing station, and the first passing station and the second passing station At least one of the passing stations includes: a second plasma cleaning chamber coupled to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, and configured to remove carbon Contaminants are removed from the surface of the substrate; a loading lock chamber, the loading lock chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber; and a factory interface, the factory interface is coupled to the loading lock chamber, wherein: The second transfer chamber is configured to transfer the substrate between the first plasma cleaning chamber, the second plasma cleaning chamber, and the load gate chamber, and The first transfer chamber is configured to transfer the substrate between the at least one processing chamber and the second plasma cleaning chamber. The vacuum processing system according to claim 1, wherein the second plasma cleaning chamber includes: a chamber body surrounding a substrate support, wherein the substrate support includes one or more heating elements Actuator, the actuator is coupled to the substrate support to vertically move the substrate support; a remote plasma source; a channel tube, the channel tube coupling the remote plasma source to the Chamber body; at least one magnet, the at least one magnet is arranged near the channel tube; a gas distribution plate, the gas distribution plate is arranged in the chamber body, wherein the gas distribution plate has a thickness passing through the gas distribution plate A plurality of holes are formed, and the gas distribution plate and the substrate support define a processing area therebetween; a pump coupled to the chamber body; and a throttle valve disposed on the Between the pump and the chamber body. The vacuum processing system according to claim 2, wherein the one or more heating elements can heat an object to about 450°C To a temperature range of about 650°C. The vacuum processing system according to claim 2, wherein an inner surface of the channel tube is coated with quartz or made of quartz. The vacuum processing system according to claim 2, wherein the pump and the throttle valve can maintain the pressure in the second 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 2, wherein the chamber body further comprises: a cover; a lining plate arranged along a bottom surface of the cover, wherein the lining plate is coated with quartz or made of quartz Quartz manufacturing; a processing kit housing, the processing kit housing is arranged 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 liner is arranged along the inner surface of the processing kit housing, wherein the top liner is coated with quartz or made of quartz, and the top liner, the liner and the gas distribution plate define a gas therein. Chamber; and a bottom gasket provided on the inner surface of the processing kit housing, wherein the bottom gasket is coated with quartz or made of quartz, and the bottom gasket defines a portion of the processing area Outer boundary. The vacuum processing system according to claim 1, wherein the first plasma cleaning chamber further includes: a chamber body; a cover assembly, the cover assembly is coupled to the chamber body, the cover assembly includes two electrodes , The two electrodes define a plasma volume therebetween; a substrate support, the substrate support is arranged in the chamber body; a gas distribution plate, the gas distribution plate is arranged on the cover assembly and the substrate support Between; and a vacuum pump, which is coupled to the chamber body. 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, the first transfer chamber includes a first substrate transfer mechanism; a second transfer chamber, the second transfer chamber is coupled to the first transfer chamber , The second transfer chamber includes: a second substrate transfer mechanism; a first plasma cleaning chamber, the first plasma cleaning chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber, and is configured to Removed from a surface of a substrate; a transition station, the transition station is coupled to the first transfer chamber and the first Two transfer chambers, wherein the transition station includes: a first passing station and a second passing station, and at least one of the first passing station and the second passing station includes: a second plasma cleaning chamber , The second plasma cleaning chamber is coupled to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, and is configured to remove carbon-containing contaminants from the surface of the substrate; 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 is an epitaxial chamber; and a load lock chamber, the load lock chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber , Wherein: the second transfer chamber is configured to transfer the substrate between the first plasma cleaning chamber, the second plasma cleaning chamber, and the load lock chamber, and the first transfer chamber It is configured to transfer the substrate between the at least one processing chamber and the second plasma cleaning chamber. The vacuum processing system according to claim 9, wherein the first plasma cleaning chamber includes: a chamber body having a housing surrounding a substrate support, wherein the substrate support includes one or more A plurality of heating elements; a driving unit coupled to the substrate support to vertically move the substrate support; A remote plasma source; a channel tube that couples the remote plasma source to the chamber body; at least one magnet, the at least one magnet is arranged near the channel tube; a gas distribution plate, the The gas distribution plate is disposed in the chamber body, wherein the gas distribution plate has a plurality of holes formed through the thickness of the gas distribution plate, and the gas distribution plate and the substrate support define a first gas therebetween Chamber; and a pump coupled to the chamber body. The vacuum processing system according to claim 10, wherein the heating elements can heat 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 9, wherein the epitaxial chamber can form a crystalline silicon or silicon germanium. The vacuum processing system according to claim 9, wherein the second plasma cleaning chamber further comprises: a chamber body surrounding a 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 arranged on the Above the two electrodes, the first electrode and the second electrode define a plasma volume therebetween; a gas distribution plate arranged between the cover assembly and the substrate support; and a pump, the pump coupling Connect to the chamber body. The vacuum processing system according to claim 9, 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, comprising the following steps: using a first robot transport mechanism arranged in a first transfer chamber to transfer a substrate from a loading gate chamber to a first cleaning A chamber, the first cleaning chamber uses a plasma formed by a cleaning gas, the cleaning gas includes hydrogen-containing gas and fluorine-containing gas to remove oxides from a surface of the substrate; transported by the first robot The mechanism transfers the substrate from the first cleaning chamber to a transition station. The transition station has a second cleaning chamber disposed therein. The second cleaning chamber uses hydrogen-containing plasma to remove Carbon contaminants are removed from the surface of the substrate; and a second robot transport mechanism is used to transfer the substrate from the second cleaning chamber to at least one epitaxial processing chamber, which is coupled to a second Two transfer chambers, the second robot conveying mechanism is arranged in the second transfer chamber, wherein the transition station is connected to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, and the vacuum processing system is not damaged In the case of a vacuum, the substrate is between the load gate chamber, the first transfer chamber, the first cleaning chamber, the second cleaning chamber, the second transfer chamber, and the epitaxial processing chamber Transfer. A vacuum processing system includes: a first transfer chamber, the first transfer chamber is coupled to at least one processing chamber, the first transfer chamber includes: a first robot conveying mechanism; a second transfer chamber , The second transfer chamber includes: a second robot transport mechanism; a first type of plasma cleaning chamber, the first type of plasma cleaning chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber; a transition station , The transition station is arranged between the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, and the transition station is connected to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, wherein the transition station includes: a first transfer chamber A passing station and a second passing station, and the first passing station and the second passing station At least one of the stations includes: a plasma cleaning chamber of the second type; a load lock chamber coupled to the second transfer chamber; and a factory interface coupled to the factory interface To the loading lock chamber, wherein the second robot transport mechanism of the second transfer chamber is operable to move a substrate to be set in the loading lock chamber to the first type of plasma in the transition station Cleaning chamber and the second type of plasma cleaning chamber, and the first robot transport mechanism of the first transfer chamber is operable to move the substrate from the second type of plasma cleaning chamber to the second At least one processing chamber of a transfer chamber, and wherein the substrate is in the second transfer chamber, the first type plasma cleaning chamber and the second type plasma cleaning chamber, and the first transfer The chamber moves between at least one processing chamber without breaking the vacuum. A vacuum processing system comprising: a first transfer chamber coupled to at least one processing chamber; a second transfer chamber; a first plasma cleaning chamber, the first plasma The cleaning chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber, the first plasma cleaning chamber uses an inductive or capacitive coupling plasma source; a first passing station, the first passing station is arranged in the first transfer chamber Room and the second transfer chamber, and the first passing station is connected to The first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, wherein the first passing station comprises: a second plasma cleaning chamber using an inductive or capacitive coupling plasma source; a second passing station, the second The passing station is arranged between the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, and the second passing station is connected to the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber, wherein the second passing station includes : A third plasma cleaning chamber using a remote plasma source; a loading lock chamber, the loading lock chamber is coupled to the second transfer chamber; and a factory interface, the factory interface is coupled to The loading lock chamber.

Images