U.S. patent application number 12/754473 was filed with the patent office on 2010-10-07 for high pressure rf-dc sputtering and methods to improve film uniformity and step-coverage of this process.
This patent application is currently assigned to APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.. Invention is credited to Adolph Miller Allen, Mei Chang, Michael S. Cox, Srinivas Gandikota, Zhenbin Ge, Tza-Jing Gung, Lara Hawrylchak, Zhendong Liu, Muhammad M. Rasheed, Kirankumar Savandaiah, Xianmin Tang, Rongjun Wang, Zhigang Xie, Donny Young.
Application Number | 20100252417 12/754473 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42825288 |
Filed Date | 2010-10-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100252417 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Allen; Adolph Miller ; et
al. |
October 7, 2010 |
HIGH PRESSURE RF-DC SPUTTERING AND METHODS TO IMPROVE FILM
UNIFORMITY AND STEP-COVERAGE OF THIS PROCESS
Abstract
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a processing
chamber used to perform a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process
and methods of depositing multi-compositional films. The processing
chamber may include: an improved RF feed configuration to reduce
any standing wave effects; an improved magnetron design to enhance
RF plasma uniformity, deposited film composition and thickness
uniformity; an improved substrate biasing configuration to improve
process control; and an improved process kit design to improve RF
field uniformity near the critical surfaces of the substrate. The
method includes forming a plasma in a processing region of a
chamber using an RF supply coupled to a multi-compositional target,
translating a magnetron relative to the multi-compositional target,
wherein the magnetron is positioned in a first position relative to
a center point of the multi-compositional target while the
magnetron is translating and the plasma is formed, and depositing a
multi-compositional film on a substrate in the chamber.
Inventors: |
Allen; Adolph Miller;
(Oakland, CA) ; Hawrylchak; Lara; (San Jose,
CA) ; Xie; Zhigang; (San Jose, CA) ; Rasheed;
Muhammad M.; (San Jose, CA) ; Wang; Rongjun;
(Dublin, CA) ; Tang; Xianmin; (San Jose, CA)
; Liu; Zhendong; (San Jose, CA) ; Gung;
Tza-Jing; (San Jose, CA) ; Gandikota; Srinivas;
(Santa Clara, CA) ; Chang; Mei; (Saratoga, CA)
; Cox; Michael S.; (San Jose, CA) ; Young;
Donny; (San Jose, CA) ; Savandaiah; Kirankumar;
(Bangalore, IN) ; Ge; Zhenbin; (San Jose,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PATTERSON & SHERIDAN, LLP - - APPM/TX
3040 POST OAK BOULEVARD, SUITE 1500
HOUSTON
TX
77056
US
|
Assignee: |
APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Santa Clara
CA
|
Family ID: |
42825288 |
Appl. No.: |
12/754473 |
Filed: |
April 5, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61166682 |
Apr 3, 2009 |
|
|
|
61319377 |
Mar 31, 2010 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
204/192.12 ;
204/298.08 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01J 37/3452 20130101;
C23C 14/564 20130101; H01J 37/32642 20130101; C23C 14/548 20130101;
H01J 37/345 20130101; H01J 37/3455 20130101; H01J 37/3405 20130101;
H01J 37/3408 20130101; H01J 37/3441 20130101; C23C 14/345 20130101;
C23C 14/3492 20130101; H01J 37/3411 20130101; C23C 14/35
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
204/192.12 ;
204/298.08 |
International
Class: |
C23C 14/34 20060101
C23C014/34 |
Claims
1. A plasma processing chamber comprising: a target having a first
surface that is in contact with a processing region and a second
surface that is opposite the first surface; an RF power supply
coupled to the target; a DC power supply coupled to the target; a
substrate support having a substrate receiving surface; a magnetron
disposed adjacent to the second surface of the target, wherein the
magnetron comprises: an outer pole comprising a plurality of
magnets; and an inner pole comprising a plurality of magnets,
wherein the outer and inner poles form an open-loop magnetron
assembly.
2. The plasma processing chamber of claim 1, further comprising: a
center feed that is electrically coupled to the target and has a
first surface and a second surface, wherein the RF power supply is
coupled to first surface and the second surface is coupled to the
target, and the center feed is positioned over the central axis of
the target.
3. The plasma processing chamber of claim 1, further comprising a
center feed that is electrically coupled to the target, and having
a cross-section that extends between a first surface and a second
surface and is symmetric about a first axis, wherein the RF power
supply is coupled to the first surface, and a diameter aspect ratio
between about 0.001/mm and about 0.025/mm, and wherein the
cross-section surface extends between the first surface and the
second surface.
4. The plasma processing chamber of claim 1, further comprising: a
grounded shield that at least partially encloses a portion of the
processing region and is electrically coupled to a ground; the
substrate support further comprising an electrode disposed below
the substrate receiving surface; a cover ring; and a deposition
ring disposed over a portion of the substrate support, wherein
during processing the cover ring is disposed on a portion of the
deposition ring, the cover ring is electrically isolated from the
ground, and the deposition ring and the cover ring are disposed
below the substrate receiving surface that is disposed below the
target.
5. The plasma processing chamber of claim 4, further comprising: a
variable capacitor that is disposed between the electrode and the
ground; and a controller that is adapted to adjust the amount of
capacitance of the variable capacitor during processing.
6. A plasma processing chamber comprising: a target having a first
surface that is in contact with a processing region, a second
surface that is opposite the first surface and an edge; an RF power
supply coupled to the target; a substrate support having a
substrate receiving surface; a motor having a shaft that has a
rotation axis; and a magnetron disposed adjacent to the second
surface of the target, wherein the magnetron comprises: a cross arm
that is coupled to the shaft; a plate coupled to the cross arm at a
pivot point, wherein the pivot point is a distance from the
rotation axis; and an outer pole and an inner pole that are coupled
to the plate and form an open-loop magnetron assembly.
7. The plasma processing chamber of claim 6, wherein the center of
mass of the plate is configured to move a first distance from the
rotation axis when rotated in a first direction, and the center of
mass of the plate is configured to move a second distance from the
rotation axis when rotated in a second direction.
8. The plasma processing chamber of claim 6, wherein the center of
mass of the plate is configured to rotate about the pivot point in
a third direction when the shaft is rotated in a first direction,
and the center of mass of the plate is configured to rotate in a
fourth direction about the pivot axis when the shaft is rotated in
a second direction that is opposite to the first direction.
9. The plasma processing chamber of claim 6, wherein the outer pole
and the inner pole form a portion of an arc.
10. The plasma processing chamber of claim 6, further comprising: a
grounded shield that at least partially encloses a portion of the
processing region and is electrically coupled to a ground; the
substrate support further comprising an electrode disposed below
the substrate receiving surface; a cover ring; and a deposition
ring disposed over a portion of the substrate support, wherein
during processing the cover ring is disposed on a portion of the
deposition ring, the cover ring is electrically isolated from the
ground, and the deposition ring and the cover ring are disposed
below the substrate receiving surface that is disposed below the
target.
11. A plasma processing chamber comprising: a target having a first
surface that is in contact with a processing region, a second
surface that is opposite the first surface and an edge; an RF power
supply coupled to the target; a substrate support having a
substrate receiving surface; a motor having a shaft that has a
rotation axis; and a magnetron disposed adjacent to the second
surface of the target, wherein the magnetron comprises: an outer
pole and a inner pole that are concentric about a first axis that
extends through a center point and form a closed-loop magnetron
assembly, wherein the plurality of magnets disposed in the inner
and outer poles is not symmetric about a second axis that extends
through the center point and is perpendicular to the first
axis.
12. The plasma processing chamber of claim 11, further comprising:
a grounded shield that at least partially encloses a portion of the
processing region and is electrically coupled to a ground; the
substrate support further comprising an electrode disposed below
the substrate receiving surface; a cover ring; and a deposition
ring disposed over a portion of the substrate support, wherein
during processing the cover ring is disposed on a portion of the
deposition ring, the cover ring is electrically isolated from the
ground, and the deposition ring and the cover ring are disposed
below the substrate receiving surface that is disposed below the
target.
13. A plasma processing chamber comprising: a target having a first
surface that is in contact with a processing region, a second
surface that is opposite the first surface; an RF power supply
coupled to the target; a grounded shield that at least partially
encloses a portion of the processing region and is electrically
coupled to a ground; and a substrate support assembly comprising: a
support having a substrate receiving surface that is below the
target; a cover ring; and a deposition ring disposed over a portion
of the support, wherein when a substrate is disposed on the
substrate receiving surface during processing the cover ring is
disposed on a portion of the deposition ring, the cover ring is
electrically isolated from the ground, and the deposition ring and
the cover ring are disposed below the substrate receiving
surface.
14. The plasma processing chamber of claim 13, further comprising:
a motor having a shaft that has a rotation axis; and a magnetron
disposed adjacent to the second surface of the target, wherein the
magnetron comprises: an outer pole and an inner pole that are
concentric about a first axis that extends through a center point
and form a closed-loop magnetron assembly, wherein the plurality of
magnets disposed in the inner and outer poles is not symmetric
about a second axis that extends through the center point and is
perpendicular to the first axis.
15. The plasma processing chamber of claim 13, further comprising:
an electrode disposed in the support; a variable capacitor that is
disposed between the electrode and the ground; and a controller
that is adapted to adjust the amount of capacitance of the variable
capacitor during processing.
16. The plasma processing chamber of claim 13, further comprising:
a motor having a shaft that has a rotation axis; and a magnetron
disposed adjacent to the second surface of the target, wherein the
magnetron comprises: an outer pole comprising a plurality of
magnets; and an inner pole comprising a plurality of magnets,
wherein the outer and inner poles form an open-loop magnetron
assembly.
17. The plasma processing chamber of claim 13, further comprising:
a center feed that is electrically coupled to the target and has a
first surface and a second surface, wherein the RF power supply is
coupled to first surface and the second surface is coupled to the
target, and the center feed is positioned over the central axis of
the target.
18. The plasma processing chamber of claim 13, further comprising a
center feed that is electrically coupled to the target, and having
a cross-section that extends between a first surface and a second
surface and is symmetric about a first axis, wherein the RF power
supply is coupled to first surface, and a diameter aspect ratio
between about 0.001/mm and about 0.025/mm, and wherein the
cross-section surface extends between the first surface and the
second surface.
19. A method of depositing a thin film, comprising: forming a
plasma in a processing region of a chamber using an RF power supply
coupled to a multi-compositional target in the chamber, the
multi-compositional target having a first surface that is in
contact with the processing region of the chamber and a second
surface that is opposite the first surface; translating a magnetron
relative to the multi-compositional target, wherein the magnetron
is positioned in a first position relative to a center point of the
multi-compositional target while the magnetron is translating and
the plasma is formed; and depositing a multi-compositional film on
a substrate positioned on a substrate support in the chamber.
20. A method of depositing a thin film on a substrate, comprising:
delivering energy to a plasma formed in a processing region of a
chamber, wherein delivering energy comprises delivering RF power
from an RF power supply to a multi-compositional target and
delivering DC power from a DC power supply to the
multi-compositional target, the multi-compositional target having a
first surface that is in contact with a processing region of the
chamber and a second surface that is opposite the first surface;
translating a magnetron relative to the multi-compositional target,
wherein the magnetron is positioned in a first position relative to
a center point of the multi-compositional target while the
magnetron is translating and the plasma is formed; adjusting a bias
voltage on an electrode disposed near a substrate receiving surface
of a substrate support, wherein the bias voltage is adjusted by
changing the capacitance of a variable capacitor to control the
bias voltage achieved at the electrode relative to an electrical
ground; pressurizing the processing region to at least 20 mTorr;
and depositing a metal alloy film on a substrate disposed on the
substrate receiving surface.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 61/166,682 (APPM/014067L), filed Apr. 3, 2009,
which is herein incorporated by reference. This application also
claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
61/319,377 (APPM/015091 L), filed Mar. 31, 2010, which is herein
incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to
methods and an apparatus of forming metal and dielectric layers.
More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to methods
and an apparatus for forming a metal gate and associated dielectric
layers.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0003] Integrated circuits may include more than one million
micro-electronic devices such as transistors, capacitors, and
resistors. One type of integrated circuit are field effect
transistors (e.g., complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)
field effect transistors) that are formed on a substrate (e.g.,
semiconductor substrate) and cooperate to perform various functions
within the circuit. A CMOS transistor comprises a gate structure
disposed between source and drain regions that are formed in the
substrate. The gate structure generally comprises a gate electrode
and a gate dielectric. The gate electrode is disposed over the gate
dielectric to control a flow of charge carriers in a channel region
formed between the drain and source regions beneath the gate
dielectric. To increase the speed of the transistor, the gate
dielectric may be formed from a material having a dielectric
constant greater than 4.0. Herein such dielectric materials are
referred to as high-k materials.
[0004] The gate dielectric layer may be formed of dielectric
materials such as silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2), or a high-k
dielectric material having a dielectric constant greater than 4.0,
such as SiON, SiN, hafnium oxide (HfO.sub.2), hafnium silicate
(HfSiO.sub.2), hafnium silicon oxynitride (HfSiON), zirconium oxide
(ZrO.sub.2), zirconium silicate (ZrSiO.sub.2), barium strontium
titanate (BaSrTiO.sub.3, or BST), lead zirconate titanate
(Pb(ZrTi)O.sub.3, or PZT), and the like. It should be noted,
however, that the film stack may comprise layers formed of other
materials.
[0005] Gate stacks may also incorporate metal layers formed on the
high-k dielectric instead of conventional polysilicon. The metal
layers may include TiN, TiAl, WN, HfC, HfN, silicides for FUSI or
fully silicided metal gates.
[0006] Further, a high mobility interface layer may be deposited in
the gate structure between the substrate and the high-k dielectric
layer. Various methods may be used to form CMOS high-k/metal gate
stack structures such as a replacement gate approach, a gate first
approach, and a gate last approach.
[0007] Fabrication of gate structures of field effect transistors
having the high-k gate dielectric/gate last approach comprises a
series of processing steps (e.g., depositing multiple layers). In a
gate stack structure forming process, not only conformal films are
required, but also the good qualities of the interfacial layers
between each layer are essential.
[0008] In conventional CMOS fabrication schemes, the substrate is
required to pass between tools having the various reactors coupled
thereto. The process of passing the substrate between tools
necessitates the removal of the substrate from the vacuum
environment of one tool for transfer at ambient pressures to the
vacuum environment of a second tool. In the ambient environment,
the substrates are exposed to mechanical and chemical contaminants,
such as particles, moisture, and the like, that may damage the gate
structures being fabricated and possibly form an undesired
interfacial layer, e.g., native oxide, between each layer while
transferring. As gate structures become smaller and/or thinner to
increase the device speed, the detrimental effect of forming
interfacial layers or contamination becomes an increased concern.
Additionally, the time spent on transferring the substrate between
the cluster tools decreases productivity in manufacture of the
field effect transistors.
[0009] Additionally, fabrication processes for gate stack
structures may include a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process to
form the metal layers. However, residual particles from
organo-metallic precursors may contaminate the underlying
dielectric layers when forming the metal portion of the gate stack,
adversely affecting the dielectric properties of the gate
dielectric layer. Furthermore, as transistor sizes decrease below
45 nm and have higher aspect ratios, achieving sufficient film
uniformity and step-coverage becomes increasingly difficult.
[0010] Therefore, there is a need in the art for methods and an
apparatus for forming a gate stack that has improved
properties.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] In one embodiment of the invention, a high pressure RF DC
PVD chamber is disclosed having a dual ring magnetron comprising
asymmetric magnet rings, a low profile cover ring and deposition
ring, and a pedestal capacitive tuner.
[0012] In another embodiment of the invention, a method for
depositing a metal film is disclosed. The method includes flowing a
high pressure gas into a chamber, igniting a plasma from the gas
using an RF and DC power source electrically connected to a
sputtering target, forming a dense plasma by using a magnetron,
tuning a pedestal to match the RF power source, and depositing a
metal film on a substrate in the chamber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] So that the manner in which the above recited features of
the present invention can be understood in detail, a more
particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above,
may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are
illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however,
that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of
this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of
its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective
embodiments.
[0014] FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of a chamber according to
one embodiment of the invention.
[0015] FIG. 1B depicts an isometric view of a chamber according to
one embodiment of the invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a close-up cross-sectional view of a portion of
the chamber illustrated in FIG. 1A according to one embodiment of
the invention.
[0017] FIG. 3A is a close-up cross-sectional view of a portion of
the chamber illustrated in FIG. 1A according to one embodiment of
the invention.
[0018] FIG. 3B is a top view of a portion of the chamber
illustrated in FIG. 1A according to one embodiment of the
invention.
[0019] FIG. 3C is a top view of a portion of the chamber
illustrated in FIG. 1A according to one embodiment of the
invention.
[0020] FIG. 4A is an isometric view of a magnetron viewed from the
target side according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0021] FIG. 4B is a bottom view of a portion of the magnetron
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0022] FIG. 4C is a bottom view of a portion of the magnetron
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0023] FIG. 4D is a bottom view of a portion of the magnetron
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0024] FIG. 4E is a top view of a portion of the magnetron
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0025] FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a process
kit according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0026] FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a
conventional process kit.
[0027] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an impedance controller
according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0028] FIGS. 7A-7H depict a schematic cross section of an example
of a process for forming a CMOS type integrated circuit.
[0029] FIG. 8 illustrates elastic collisions of particles during a
sputtering process.
[0030] FIG. 9 illustrates the sputtering distribution of a
multi-component target in a sputtering chamber.
[0031] FIGS. 10A-10C illustrate the erosion tracks formed in a
sputtering target during processing.
[0032] FIG. 11 illustrates a process diagram of the method of
depositing a film according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0033] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals
have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements
that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements
and features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in
other embodiments without further recitation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0034] Embodiments of the invention generally provide a processing
chamber used to perform a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process.
In one embodiment, the process chamber design is adapted to deposit
a desired material using an RF physical vapor deposition (PVD)
process. The processing chamber disclosed herein may be especially
useful for depositing multi-compositional films. The processing
chamber's design features may include: an improved RF feed
configuration to reduce any standing wave effects; an improved
magnetron design to enhance RF plasma uniformity, deposited film
composition and thickness uniformity; an improved substrate biasing
configuration to improve process control; and an improved process
kit design to improve RF field uniformity near the critical
surfaces of the substrate to promote greater process uniformity and
repeatability.
[0035] FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary semiconductor processing
chamber 100 having an upper process assembly 108, a process kit 150
and a pedestal assembly 120, which are all configured to process a
substrate 105 disposed in a processing region 110. The process kit
150 includes a one-piece grounded shield 160, a lower process kit
165, and an isolator ring assembly 180. In the version shown, the
processing chamber 100 comprises a sputtering chamber, also called
a physical vapor deposition or PVD chamber, capable of depositing a
single or multi-compositional material from a target 132 on the
substrate 105. The processing chamber 100 may also be used to
deposit aluminum, copper, nickel, platinum, hafnium, silver,
chrome, gold, molybdenum, silicon, ruthenium, tantalum, tantalum
nitride, tantalum carbide, titanium nitride, tungsten, tungsten
nitride, lanthanum, alumina, lanthanum oxides, nickel platinum
alloys, and titanium, and or combination thereof. Such processing
chambers are available from Applied Materials located in Santa
Clara, Calif. It is contemplated that other processing chambers
including those from other manufacturers may be adapted to benefit
from one or more of the embodiments of the invention described
herein.
[0036] The processing chamber 100 includes a chamber body 101
having sidewalls 104, a bottom wall 106, and an upper process
assembly 108 that enclose a processing region 110 or plasma zone.
The chamber body 101 is typically fabricated from welded plates of
stainless steel or a unitary block of aluminum. In one embodiment,
the sidewalls comprise aluminum and the bottom wall comprises
stainless steel plate. The sidewalls 104 generally contain a slit
valve (not shown) to provide for entry and egress of a substrate
105 from the processing chamber 100. Components in the upper
process assembly 108 of the processing chamber 100 in cooperation
with the grounded shield 160, pedestal assembly 120 and cover ring
170 confine the plasma formed in the processing region 110 to the
region above the substrate 105.
[0037] A pedestal assembly 120 is supported from the bottom wall
106 of the chamber 100. The pedestal assembly 120 supports a
deposition ring 502 along with the substrate 105 during processing.
The pedestal assembly 120 is coupled to the bottom wall 106 of the
chamber 100 by a lift mechanism 122, which is configured to move
the pedestal assembly 120 between an upper processing position and
lower transfer position. Additionally, in the lower transfer
position, lift pins 123 are moved through the pedestal assembly 120
to position the substrate a distance from the pedestal assembly 120
to facilitate the exchange of the substrate with a substrate
transfer mechanism disposed exterior to the processing chamber 100,
such as a single blade robot (not shown). A bellows 124 is
typically disposed between the pedestal assembly 120 and the
chamber bottom wall 106 to isolate the processing region 110 from
the interior of the pedestal assembly 120 and the exterior of the
chamber.
[0038] The pedestal assembly 120 generally includes a support 126
sealingly coupled to a platform housing 128. The platform housing
128 is typically fabricated from a metallic material such as
stainless steel or aluminum. A cooling plate (not shown) is
generally disposed within the platform housing 128 to thermally
regulate the support 126. One pedestal assembly 120 that may be
adapted to benefit from the embodiments described herein is
described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,499, issued Apr. 16, 1996 to
Davenport et al. which is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
[0039] The support 126 may be comprised of aluminum or ceramic. The
substrate support 126 has a substrate receiving surface 127 that
receives and supports the substrate 105 during processing, the
substrate receiving surface 127 being substantially parallel to a
sputtering surface 133 of the target 132. The support 126 also has
a peripheral edge 129 that terminates before an overhanging edge
105A of the substrate 105. The support 126 may be an electrostatic
chuck, a ceramic body, a heater or a combination thereof. In one
embodiment, the support 126 is an electrostatic chuck that includes
a dielectric body having a conductive layer, or electrode 126A,
embedded therein. The dielectric body is typically fabricated from
a high thermal conductivity dielectric material such as pyrolytic
boron nitride, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, alumina or an
equivalent material. Other aspects of the pedestal assembly 120 and
support 126 are further described below. In one embodiment, the
conductive layer 126A is configured so that when a DC voltage is
applied to the conductive layer 126A, by an electrostatic chuck
power supply 143, a substrate 105 disposed on the substrate
receiving surface 127 will be electrostatically chucked thereto to
improve the heat transfer between the substrate 105 and the support
126. In another embodiment, an impedance controller 141 is also
coupled to the conductive layer 126A so that a voltage can be
maintained on the substrate during processing to affect the plasma
interaction with the surface of the substrate 105.
[0040] The chamber 100 is controlled by a system controller 190
that is generally designed to facilitate the control and automation
of the processing chamber 100 and typically includes a central
processing unit (CPU) (not shown), memory (not shown), and support
circuits (or I/O) (not shown). The CPU may be one of any form of
computer processors that are used in industrial settings for
controlling various system functions, substrate movement, chamber
processes, and support hardware (e.g., sensors, robots, motors,
etc.), and monitor the processes (e.g., substrate support
temperature, power supply variables, chamber process time, I/O
signals, etc.). The memory is connected to the CPU, and may be one
or more of a readily available memory, such as random access memory
(RAM), read only memory (ROM), floppy disk, hard disk, or any other
form of digital storage, local or remote. Software instructions and
data can be coded and stored within the memory for instructing the
CPU. The support circuits are also connected to the CPU for
supporting the processor in a conventional manner. The support
circuits may include cache, power supplies, clock circuits,
input/output circuitry, subsystems, and the like. A program (or
computer instructions) readable by the system controller 190
determines which tasks are performable on a substrate. Preferably,
the program is software readable by the system controller 190 that
includes code to perform tasks relating to monitoring, execution
and control of the movement and various process recipe tasks and
recipe steps being performed in the processing chamber 100. For
example, the controller 190 can comprise program code that includes
a substrate positioning instruction set to operate the pedestal
assembly 120; a gas flow control instruction set to operate gas
flow control valves to set a flow of sputtering gas to the chamber
100; a gas pressure control instruction set to operate a throttle
valve or gate valve to maintain a pressure in the chamber 100; a
temperature control instruction set to control a temperature
control system (not shown) in the pedestal assembly 120 or
sidewalls 104 to set temperatures of the substrate or sidewalls
104, respectively; and a process monitoring instruction set to
monitor the process in the chamber 100.
[0041] The chamber 100 also contains a process kit 150 which
comprises various components that can be easily removed from the
chamber 100, for example, to clean sputtering deposits off the
component surfaces, replace or repair eroded components, or to
adapt the chamber 100 for other processes. In one embodiment, the
process kit 150 comprises an isolator ring assembly 180, a grounded
shield 160 and a ring assembly 168 for placement about a peripheral
edge 129 of the support 126 that terminates before an overhanging
edge of the substrate 105.
[0042] FIG. 1B is an isometric view of the processing chamber 100
that is coupled to a processing position of a cluster tool 103. The
cluster tool 103 may also contain other processing chambers (not
shown) that are adapted to perform one or more processing steps on
a substrate prior to or after performing the deposition process in
the processing chamber 100. An exemplary cluster tool 103 may
include a Centura.TM. or an Endura.TM. systems available from
Applied Materials, Santa Clara, Calif. The cluster tool 103 may
include one or more load-lock chambers (not shown), one or more
process chambers, and a cool-down chamber (not shown), all of which
are attached to a central transfer chamber 103A. In one example,
the cluster tool 103 may have processing chambers that are
configured to perform a number of substrate processing operations
such as cyclical layer deposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD),
physical vapor deposition (PVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD),
etch, pre-clean, degas, anneal, orientation and other substrate
processes. A transfer tool, for example, a robot (not shown)
disposed in the transfer chamber 103A, may be used to transfer
substrates to and from one or more chambers attached to the cluster
tool 103.
[0043] With reference to FIGS. 1A and 2, in one embodiment, the
process chamber 100 includes an isolator ring assembly 180 that
includes an isolator ring 250 and support ring 267 that are
disposed adjacent to the target 132, the edge 216 of the grounded
shield 160 and target isolator 136. The isolator ring 250 extends
about and surrounds the outer edge of the sputtering surface 133 of
the target 132. The isolator ring 250 of the isolator ring assembly
180 comprises a top wall 252, a bottom wall 254, and a support rim
256 that extends radially outward from the top wall 252 of the
isolator ring 250. An example of an exemplary isolator ring design
is further described in the commonly assigned U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/433,315, which is herein incorporated by
reference.
[0044] The top wall 252 comprises an inner periphery 258, a top
surface 260 positioned adjacent to the target 132, and an outer
periphery 262 positioned adjacent to the target isolator 136. The
support rim 256 comprises a bottom contact surface 264 and an upper
surface 266. The bottom contact surface 264 of the support rim 256
is supported by a spring member 267A (e.g., compressible metal
spring element) that is coupled to the support ring 267 to bias the
isolator ring towards and against the surface of the target
isolator 136. The use of the spring member 267A can help reduce the
tolerance stack-up between the isolator ring 250, and its
supporting components, and the sputtering surface 133 so that a
desirable gap can be reliably maintained between the top surface
260 of the isolator ring 250 and the sputtering surface 133. The
gap formed between the top surface 260 and the sputtering surface
133 is important to prevent the plasma formed in the processing
region 110 from extending into the gap, and causing sealing and/or
particle problems to occur. The bottom wall 254 comprises an inner
periphery 268, an outer periphery 270, and a bottom surface 272.
The inner periphery 268 of the bottom wall 254 and the inner
periphery 258 of the top wall 252 form a unitary surface.
[0045] A vertical trench 276 is formed at a transition point 278
between the outer periphery 270 of the bottom wall 254 and the
bottom contact surface 264 of the support rim 256. The step 221 of
the shield 160 in combination with the vertical trench 276 provides
a labyrinth gap that prevents conductive material from creating a
surface bridge between the isolator ring assembly 180 and the
shield 160, thus maintaining electrical discontinuity while still
providing shielding to the chamber walls 104, 106. In one
embodiment, the isolator ring assembly 180 provides a gap between
the target 132 and the ground components of the process kit 150
while still providing shielding to the chamber walls. The stepped
design of the isolator ring assembly 180 allows for the shield 160
to be centered with respect to the adapter 220, which is also the
mounting point for the mating shields and the alignment features
for the target 132. The stepped design also eliminates line-of-site
deposition from the target 132 to the support ring 267, eliminating
arcing concerns in this area.
[0046] In one embodiment, the isolator ring assembly 180 has a
grit-blasted surface texture or arc sprayed aluminum film deposited
thereon to achieve a surface roughness (Ra value) of at least
180.+-.20 microinches (0.0041-0.0051 mm) to enhance film adherence.
The support rim 256 allows for the isolator ring assembly 180 to be
centered with respect to the adapter 220 while eliminating the
line-of-site from the target 132 to the grounded shield 160 thus
eliminating stray plasma concerns. In one embodiment the support
ring 267 comprises a series of alignment pins (not shown) that
locate/align with a series of slots (not shown) in the shield
160.
[0047] The inner surface 214 of the shield 160 generally encircles
the sputtering surface 133 of a sputtering target 132 that faces
the support 126 and the peripheral edge 129 of the support 126. The
shield 160 covers and shadows the sidewalls 104 of the chamber 100
to reduce deposition of sputtering deposits originating from the
sputtering surface 133 of the sputtering target 132 onto the
components and surfaces behind the shield 160. For example, the
shield 160 can protect the surfaces of the support 126, the
overhanging edge of the substrate 105, sidewalls 104 and bottom
wall 106 of the chamber 100.
Lid Assembly Region
[0048] The upper process assembly 108 may also comprise an RF
source 181, a direct current (DC) source 182, an adaptor 102, a
motor 193, and a lid assembly 130. The lid assembly 130 generally
comprises a target 132, a magnetron system 189 and a lid enclosure
191. The upper process assembly 108 is supported by the sidewalls
104 when in a closed position, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. A
ceramic target isolator 136 is disposed between the isolator ring
assembly 180, the target 132 and adaptor 102 of the lid assembly
130 to prevent vacuum leakage therebetween. The adaptor 102 is
sealably coupled to the sidewalls 104, and is configured to help
with the removal of the upper process assembly 108 and isolator
ring assembly 180.
[0049] When in the processing position, the target 132 is disposed
adjacent to the adaptor 102, and is exposed to the processing
region 110 of the processing chamber 100. The target 132 contains
material that is deposited on the substrate 105 during a PVD, or
sputtering, process. The isolator ring assembly 180 is disposed
between the target 132 and the shield 160 and chamber body 101 to
electrically isolate the target 132 from the shield 160 and chamber
body 101.
[0050] During processing, the target 132 is biased relative to a
grounded region of the processing chamber (e.g., chamber body 101
and adaptor 102) by a power source disposed in the RF source 181
and/or the direct current (DC) source 182. It is believed that by
delivering RF energy and DC power to the target 132 during a high
pressure PVD process, significant process advantages can be
achieved over conventional low pressure DC plasma processing
techniques when used in conjunction with sputtering a
multi-compositional film, such as sputtering titanium and aluminum,
or titanium and tungsten to name just a few. Additionally, in one
embodiment, the combination of RF and DC power sources allows for a
lower overall RF power to be used during processing versus a RF
only source, which can help to decrease plasma related damage of
the substrate and increase device yield. In one embodiment, the RF
source 181 comprises an RF power source 181A and an RF match 181B
that are configured to efficiently deliver RF energy to the target
132. In one example, the RF power source 181A is capable of
generating RF currents at a frequency of between about 13.56 MHz
and about 128 MHz at powers between about 0 and about 5 kWatts. In
one example, the DC power supply 182A in the DC source 182 is
capable of delivering between about 0 and about 10 kWatts of DC
power. In another example, the RF power source 181A is capable of
generating an RF power density of between about 0 and about 33
kWatts/m.sup.2 at the target and the DC source 182 is capable of
delivering a power density of between about 0 and about 66
kWatts/m.sup.2.
[0051] During processing, a gas, such as argon, is supplied to the
processing region 110 from a gas source 142 via conduits 144. The
gas source 142 may comprise a non-reactive gas such as argon,
krypton, helium or xenon, which is capable of energetically
impinging upon and sputtering material from the target 132. The gas
source 142 may also include a reactive gas, such as one or more of
an oxygen-containing gas or a nitrogen-containing gas, which is
capable of reacting with the sputtering material to form a layer on
a substrate. Spent process gas and byproducts are exhausted from
the chamber 100 through exhaust ports 146 that receive spent
process gas and direct the spent process gas to an exhaust conduit
148 having an adjustable position gate valve 147 to control the
pressure in the processing region 110 in the chamber 100. The
exhaust conduit 148 is connected to one or more exhaust pump 149,
such as a cryopump. Typically, the pressure of the sputtering gas
in the chamber 100 during processing is set to sub-atmospheric
levels, such as a vacuum environment, for example, a pressure of
about 0.6 mTorr to about 400 mTorr. In one embodiment, the
processing pressure is set to about 20 mTorr to about 100 mTorr. A
plasma is formed between the substrate 105 and the target 132 from
the gas. Ions within the plasma are accelerated toward the target
132 and cause material to become dislodged from the target 132. The
dislodged target material is deposited on the substrate.
[0052] Referring to FIG. 3A, the lid enclosure 191 generally
comprises a conductive wall 185, a center feed 184 and shielding
186 (FIGS. 1A and 1B). In this configuration, the conductive wall
185, the center feed 184, the target 132 and a portion of the motor
193 enclose and form a back region 134. The back region 134 is a
sealed region disposed on the back side of the target 132 and is
generally filled with a flowing liquid during processing to remove
the heat generated at the target 132 during processing. In one
embodiment, the conductive wall 185 and center feed 184 are
configured to support the motor 193 and magnetron system 189, so
that the motor 193 can rotate the magnetron system 189 during
processing. In one embodiment the motor 193 is electrically
isolated from the RF or DC power delivered from the power supplies
by use of a dielectric layer 193B, such as Delrin, G10, or
Ardel.
[0053] The shielding 186 may comprise one or more dielectric
materials that are positioned to enclose and prevent the RF energy
delivered to the target 132 from interfering with and affecting
other processing chambers disposed in the cluster tool 103 (FIG.
1B). In one configuration, the shielding 186 may comprise a Delrin,
G10, Ardel or other similar material and/or a thin grounded sheet
metal RF shield.
Power Delivery
[0054] In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1A, during
processing the capacitively coupled target 132 is powered during
plasma processing using RF or VHF energy to ionize and dissociate a
processing gas near the sputtering surface 133 of the target 132 so
that the ionized gas will sputter material from the biased target.
However, as processing chamber sizes grow to process 300 mm and
larger substrates, due to finite reactor dimensions and boundary
conditions on the electrodes, the generated RF fields can
inherently form standing waves in the processing region 110 at
typical RF and VHF frequencies. If the size of the electrodes
becomes comparable with the excitation wavelengths, electromagnetic
effects created by the formed standing wave can cause
non-uniformities in plasma and the deposited film on the substrate.
The standing waves and plasma non-uniformities have a strong
influence on the thickness and properties of thin films deposited
by PVD reactors or on the process uniformity in plasma processing
chambers in general. Non-uniform films may lead to center-to-edge
and edge-to-edge non-uniformities, which in some cases may lead to
non-functioning devices.
[0055] In some cases, the standing wave effects and related plasma
non-uniformities may be improved to an extent by shaping the
electrodes (e.g., PVD target), lowering the RF frequencies, and
tuning the processing parameters, such as chamber pressure, and/or
combinations thereof. However, when as the processing chamber size
increases to reflect the demand for larger substrates, simply
scaling up the aforementioned countermeasures to the standing wave
effect and plasma non-uniformities may not be sufficient and/or
lead to non-ideal plasma processing conditions.
[0056] It is believed that these non-uniformities can be further
induced and exacerbated as the processing pressures are increased
and by the non-symmetric delivery of RF power to the electrode. The
non-symmetric delivery of RF power causes an uneven spread of the
delivered RF power to the electrode that creates plasma
non-uniformity. FIG. 3B is a schematic top view of a target 132
that schematically illustrates the flow of RF power delivered from
an asymmetrically positioned power delivery point "F" across the
target surface. As shown, the RF power delivery point "F" is offset
from the center "M" of the target 132 by a distance "0". In this
configuration, the current flow emanating from the power delivery
point "F" is non-uniform since it will flow different distances to
spread across the surface of the target, for example, as
schematically illustrated by the current flow in opposing
directions C.sub.12 and C.sub.11 that have different path lengths
in order to reach the edge of the target 132. It is believed that
the uneven flow will setup non-symmetric standing waves in the
processing region 110, which will cause plasma and deposition
non-uniformity.
[0057] In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3C, the RF
power is delivered to a center feed 184 that is positioned at the
center "M", or center axis, of the target 132. In this
configuration, the RF energy delivered from the RF power source
181A disposed in the RF source 181 is configured to flow through
the center feed 184 and the conductive wall 185 to the target 132
during processing. In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3C,
the center feed 184 is axially symmetric about the center "M" of
the target 132. In one embodiment, the aspect ratio of the center
feed 184 is configured so that the delivery of RF energy at one
edge of the upper surface 184A of the center feed 184, as shown in
FIG. 3A, will allow the uniform delivery of RF energy to the
conductive wall 185 and/or target 132 at the lower surface 1846 of
the center feed 184. The RF current generally flows along the path
shown by arrows "C" in FIG. 3A. In this case, the RF current flow
emanating from the center feed 184 (e.g., reference numerals
C.sub.21 in FIG. 3C) will be uniform and the plasma uniformity and
affect of the RF standing wave will be minimized and/or
removed.
[0058] In some embodiments, the center feed 184 may have a length
"A" to inner diameter ratio (e.g., diameter "D2"), or diameter
aspect ratio, of at least about 1:1. It is believed that, providing
a diameter aspect ratio of at least 1:1 or longer provides for more
uniform RF delivery from the center feed 184. In one embodiment,
the inner diameter, or diameter "D2" of the center feed 184 may be
as small as possible, for example, from about 1 inch to about 6
inches, or about 4 inches in diameter. Providing a smaller inner
diameter facilitates maintaining a desired diameter aspect ratio
without greatly increasing the length of the center feed 184. In
some configurations, for example, the center feed 184 may have a
length "A" of between about 1 (25.4 mm) to about 12 inches (304.8
mm), or about 4 inches (101.6 mm).
[0059] The amount that the RF or VHF current penetrates into a
conductive article is a function of the frequency of the current
and the material's physical properties. Therefore, the conductivity
of the material that the center feed 184 is made from and/or the
coatings that are disposed over a surface of the center feed 184
can affect its ability to distribute the delivered RF or VHF
current. In one example, the center feed 184 and/or conductive wall
185 are formed from an aluminum (e.g., 6061T6 aluminum) or
austenitic stainless steel material. Therefore, in some
embodiments, it may be desirable to define a surface area aspect
ratio that can be used to design a center feed 184 that has a
desirable RF power delivery uniformity. The surface area aspect
ratio, which is defined as a ratio of the length "A" of the center
feed 184 to the surface area along which the RF power is configured
to propagate. In one example, using the configuration illustrated
in FIGS. 3A and 3C, the aspect ratio is the length "A" relative to
the areas of the surfaces found on diameters D.sub.1 and D.sub.2
(e.g., .pi.D.sub.1A+.pi.D.sub.2A) along which the RF current can
flow. In one example, the aspect ratio of a centrally positioned
center feed 184 is between about 0.001/mm and about 0.025/mm, such
as about 0.016/mm. In another example, a centrally positioned
center feed 184 is formed from 6061 T6 aluminum and has a surface
area ratio of about 0.006/mm, where the length "A" is about 101.6
mm and the diameter "D1" is about 25.4 mm and diameter "D2" is
about 33 mm.
[0060] It should be noted that while FIG. 3C illustrates a center
feed that is annular in cross-section, this configuration is not
intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention described
herein. In some embodiment, the cross-section of the center feed
184 that extends between the upper surface 184A and the lower
surface 184B may have a square, hexagonal or other shaped
cross-section that is able to substantially evenly distribute the
RF power to the conductive wall 185 and/or target 132. It should be
noted that the upper surface 184A and the lower surface 184B need
not be parallel to each other and thus the length "A" can be
defined as the minimum distance between the upper surface 184A and
the lower surface 184B.
Magnetron Assembly
[0061] To provide efficient sputtering, a magnetron system 189 is
positioned in back of the target 132 in the upper process assembly
108 to create a magnetic field in the processing region 110
adjacent the sputtering surface 133 of the target 132. The magnetic
field is created to trap electrons and ions to thereby increase the
plasma density and to thereby also increase the sputtering rate.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the magnetron system
189 includes a source magnetron assembly 420 that comprises a
rotation plate 413, an outer pole 421 and an inner pole 422. The
rotation plate 413 generally allows the positioning of the magnetic
field generating components in the source magnetron assembly 420 to
be moved relative to the central axis 194 of the chamber 100.
[0062] FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4D, illustrate a source magnetron assembly
420 that is positioned at a first radial position relative to the
central axis 194, as viewed from the sputtering surface 133 side of
the target 132. FIG. 4C illustrates the source magnetron assembly
420 when it is positioned at a second radial position relative to
the central axis 194, which is different from the first radial
position, and as discussed below is created by adjusting the
rotation direction and speed. The rotation plate 413 is generally
adapted to support and magnetically couple the outer pole 421 of a
first magnetic polarity in the vertical direction and the inner
pole 422 having a second magnetic polarity opposite to that of the
first magnetic polarity. The inner pole 422 is separated from the
outer pole 421 by a gap 426, and each of the poles generally
comprises one or more magnets and a pole piece 429. The magnetic
field extending between the two poles 421, 422 creates a plasma
region "P" (FIGS. 3A, 4D) adjacent a first portion of the
sputtering face of the target 132. The plasma region "P" forms a
high density plasma region that generally follows the shape of the
gap 426.
[0063] In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4A-4D, the magnetron
system 189 is a non-closed loop design (e.g., open loop design) to
reduce the intensity of the plasma formed in the plasma region "P"
to compensate for the use of the improved ionization potential
created by the delivery of the RF energy, from the RF source 181,
to the target 132. One will note that RF-powered plasmas are more
effective in increasing the ionization of atoms (e.g., gas atoms
and sputtered atoms) in the plasma than a DC-powered plasma, due to
the more efficient coupling of the applied energy to the electrons
in the plasma and other electron-plasma interaction phenomena that
increase the energy of the electrons and enhance the ionization
levels in the plasma.
[0064] In general, a "closed loop" magnetron configuration is
formed such that the outer pole of the magnetron surrounds the
inner pole of the magnetron forming a gap between the poles that is
a continuous loop. In the closed loop configuration, the magnetic
fields that emerge and reenter through a surface of the target form
a "closed loop" pattern can be used to confine electrons near the
surface of the target in a closed pattern, which is often called a
"racetrack" type pattern. A closed loop, as opposed to the
open-loop, magnetron configuration is able to confine electrons and
generate a high density plasma near the sputtering surface 133 of
the target 132 to increase the sputtering yield.
[0065] In an open loop magnetron configuration, the electrons
trapped between the inner and outer poles will migrate, leak out
and escape from the B-fields created at open ends of the magnetron,
thus only holding the electrons for a short period of time during
the sputtering process due to the reduced confinement of the
electrons. However, surprisingly it has been found that the use of
an open loop magnetron configuration, as described herein, provides
significant step coverage improvements and provides an improved
material composition uniformity across the substrate surface, when
used in conjunction with the RF and DC sputtering of
multi-compositional targets described herein.
[0066] In one embodiment of the magnetron system 189, a rotary
shaft 193A powered by the motor 193 extends along a central axis
194 and supports a radial shifting mechanism 410, which comprises
the rotation plate 413, counterweight 415 and the source magnetron
assembly 420. Thereby, the radial shifting mechanism 410 moves the
source magnetron assembly 420 in complementary radial directions,
such as radially towards or away from the central axis 194 (i.e.,
reference numerals "S" in FIG. 4A) as the motor 193 is rotated in
different directions R.sub.1, R.sub.2 (FIGS. 4B, 4C).
[0067] During processing, sputtering significantly heats the target
132. Accordingly, a back region 134 is sealed to the back of the
target 132 and is filled with a liquid of cooling water, which is
chilled by an unillustrated chiller and water piping recirculating
the cooling water. The rotary shaft 193A penetrates the back
chamber 100 through a rotary seal (not shown). The magnetron system
189 including the radial shifting mechanism 410 is immersed in the
liquid disposed in the back region 134.
[0068] FIG. 4A, which is an isometric view of one embodiment of the
magnetron system 189, generally includes a cross arm 414 fixed at
its center to the rotary shaft 193A by a clamp 414A. One end of the
cross arm supports a counterweight 415. The other end of the cross
arm 414, which is across the rotation axis 194 from the
counterweight 415, supports a pivot 412, or rotation bearing, that
is used to rotatably support the source magnetron assembly 420 for
rotation about an offset vertical pivot axis 419. In one
configuration, the pivot axis 419 is substantially parallel to the
rotation axis 194. In this configuration the magnetron 420 on the
cross arm 414 allows it to swing in different and complementary
radial directions with respect to the rotation center 194. The
complementary motion arises due to the center of mass of the source
magnetron assembly 420 being a distance from the pivot axis 419.
Thus, as the cross arm 414 and source magnetron assembly 420 are
rotated by the motor 193, the centripetal acceleration acting on
the source magnetron assembly 420 cause it to pivot about pivot
axis 419 in one direction or the other depending on the direction
that the motor 193 is turning. The center of mass of the source
magnetron assembly 420 may be defined as the center of gravity of
the source magnetron assembly 420, which may be in-board of the
inner pole 422, or closer to the rotation axis 194, for the
configuration illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4D.
[0069] The switching between the two positions is effected by
reversing the direction of rotation of the rotary shaft 139A about
the rotation axis 194 and hence of the entire magnetron system 189
about the rotation axis 194. As illustrated in the top plan view of
FIG. 4D, when the rotary shaft 139A rotates the cross arm 414 in
the counter clockwise direction R.sub.1 about the rotation axis
194, the inertia and impeding forces cause the source magnetron
assembly 420 to rotate in the counter-clockwise direction about the
pivot axis 419 until the bumper 416 fixed to the source magnetron
assembly 420 engages one side of the cross arm 414. In this
processing configuration, or magnetron processing position, the
source magnetron assembly 420 is disposed at its radially outward
position close to the edge of the target 132, so that the source
magnetron assembly 420 can support a plasma for sputter deposition
or sputter etching of the substrate 105. This position may be
referred to as a magnetron "out" position or first position.
[0070] Alternately, as illustrated in the top plan view of FIG. 4C,
when the rotary shaft 193A rotates the cross arm 414 in the
counter-clockwise direction R.sub.2 about the rotation axis 194,
the inertia and impeding forces cause the source magnetron assembly
420 to rotate in a clockwise direction about the pivot axis 419
until the bumper 417 (FIG. 4A), which is fixed to the source
magnetron assembly 420 engages the other side of the cross arm 414.
In this configuration, the source magnetron assembly 420 is
disposed at its inward location away from the edge of the target
132 and closer to the rotation axis 194 so that the source
magnetron assembly 420 can support a plasma near the center of the
target to clean this region. This position may be referred to as a
magnetron "in" position or second position.
[0071] In some embodiments, the source magnetron assembly 420 is an
unbalanced magnetron. In one embodiment, the relative imbalance is
small and thus is near a ratio of one. Typically, the imbalance is
defined as the ratio of the total magnetic intensity or magnetic
flux integrated over the outer pole 421 divided by the total
magnetic intensity or magnetic flux integrated over the inner pole
422. It has been found that keeping the outer to inner field
strength imbalance between about 0.5 and about 1.5 the RF
deposition process of multi-compositional films can be improved. In
one embodiment, the outer to inner field strength imbalance is a
ratio of between about 18:17 and about 20:16. The magnetic
imbalance causes part of the magnetic field emanating from the
outer pole 421 to project towards the substrate 105 and guide
ionized sputter particles to the substrate 105. Because the source
magnetron assembly 420 is spread over a wide area of the target
this tends to broaden the plasma region "P" and reduce its overall
plasma intensity created by the delivery of the RF and DC power to
the target 132. However, the source magnetron assembly 420 will
create a higher density plasma in the plasma region "P" versus
portions of the target 132 that are not directly adjacent to the
source magnetron assembly 420. As a result, the target 132 is
primarily sputtered in the area that the source magnetron assembly
420 sweeps and the formed plasma causes a sizable fraction of the
sputtered particles to be ionized. The ionized particles are at
least partially guided towards the substrate 105 by the unbalanced
magnetic field.
[0072] In one embodiment, as noted above and illustrated in FIGS.
4A and 4D, the source magnetron assembly 420 is formed in a
non-closed loop design to reduce the intensity of the plasma formed
in the plasma region "P". In this configuration, the non-closed
loop design is formed in an arc shape that has a radius D (FIGS. 4B
and 4D), which extends from the arc center to the center of the gap
426. The arc may be sized and positioned so that the center of the
radius D of the arc is coextensive with the center of the rotation
axis 194 when it is disposed in the magnetron in a first processing
position. In one embodiment, the formed arc has a radius between
about 7.3 inches (185 mm) and 8.3 inches (210 mm) and the target
132 has a diameter of about 17.8 inches (454 mm). In one
embodiment, the arc is circular in shape and subtends an angle 441
(FIG. 4D) between about 70 and about 180 degrees, such as about 130
degrees. In one embodiment, the distance from the rotation axis 194
to the pivot axis 419 is equal to about the radius D of the
arc.
[0073] In one embodiment, the outer pole 421 and inner pole 422
each comprise a plurality of magnets 423 that are positioned in an
array pattern on either side of the gap 426 and are capped by a
pole piece 429 (FIG. 4A). In one configuration, the north (N) poles
of the magnets 423 in the outer pole 421 are positioned away from
the rotation plate 413 and south (S) poles of the magnets 423 in
the inner pole 422 are positioned away from the rotation plate 413.
In some configurations, a magnetic yoke (not shown) is disposed
between the magnets of the inner and outer poles and the rotation
plate 413. In one example, the source magnetron assembly 420
comprises an outer pole 421 that has 18 magnets contained therein
and an inner pole 422 that has 17 magnets contained therein, where
the magnets 423 are made from an Alnico alloy, rare-earth material,
or other similar material. In one embodiment, the magnets 423 are
each configured to create a magnetic field having a strength, at or
near their tip, of between about 1.1 kGauss and about 2.3 kGauss.
In one embodiment, the gap 426 and outer pole 421 and/or inner pole
422 are uniform in width across the formed arc. In one embodiment,
the arc has a width of about 1 to about 1.5 inches (38.1 mm).
[0074] It has been found that the uniformity of sputter deposition
is improved if the source magnetron assembly 420 is positioned on a
radially outer portion of the target 132. However, if the principal
sputtering is occurring in an outer circumferential band of the
target 132, some of the sputtered target atoms are likely to
redeposit on inner portions of the target 132. It is believed that,
since the relative sputtering rate occurring away from the source
magnetron assembly 420 is likely small, the redeposited material is
likely to build up towards the rotation axis 194. If the
redeposited film grows sufficiently thick, it is likely to flake
off and create significant particles, thereby degrading the quality
of the film deposited on the substrate 105 and any devices formed
near the particles falling from the middle of the target 132.
Therefore, in one configuration, as shown in FIG. 4C, the rotation
direction of the shaft 193A is changed by commands sent from the
controller 190 to cause the source magnetron assembly 420 to pivot
about the pivot 412 to a position that enhances the sputtering of
material near the center of the target 132. In one configuration
the centrally positioned magnetron assembly 420 will allow the
generated plasma to extend near and/or over the center of the
target 132 to remove the redeposited material disposed thereon. As
further discussed below, the redeposited material on the target
surface can affect the composition of the sputter deposited layer
formed on the substrate, because of the difference in material
composition of regions of the exposed target surface 133 over time
due to the preferential redeposition of one sputtered element
versus another on regions of the target surface 133 outside of the
formed magnetron "race track," or erosion grooves 916 (FIG. 10B).
Areas outside the "race track" generally include regions outside of
the erosion groove(s) 916, such as the center region 918 and an
outside edge region of the target 920. Sputtering of the regions
that are outside of the magnetron created erosion groove(s) 916 is
much more of an issue in RF generated plasmas versus pure DC
generated plasmas due to the increased ease in uniformly generating
a plasma across the target surface by the delivery of RF energy to
the target.
[0075] FIG. 4E illustrates an alternate embodiment of the magnetron
system 189 in which an outer pole 424 and an inner pole 425 form a
closed loop ring magnetron that is centered about the center "M" of
the target 132. In one embodiment, a radially symmetric shaped
magnetron design is used that is an imbalanced and non-magnetically
symmetric closed loop magnetron design that may be useful for
depositing a film using an RF and DC plasma.
[0076] In one embodiment, the magnets 423 disposed in the outer
pole 424 and inner pole 425 are distributed symmetrically about a
first axis 491 and asymmetrically distributed about a second axis
492. In one embodiment, the outer pole 424 and inner pole 425 have
an outer to inner field strength imbalance between about 0.5 and
about 1.5 at a point between the outer pole 424 and inner pole 425
along the first axis 491. In another embodiment of the imbalanced
closed loop design, the imbalance between the outer pole 424 and
inner pole 425 at a point between the outer pole 424 and inner pole
425 along the first axis 491 has a ratio between about 18:17 and
about 20:16, outer to inner field strength. It is noted that the
magnetic field imbalance between the inner and outer poles is
different than the asymmetry of the magnets 423 relative to the
second axis 492, since the imbalance relates to the fields created
between the poles and the asymmetry relates to the presence, or
variation in average magnetic field strength, at various regions
across the surface of the target. In this configuration, an
unbalanced closed loop magnetron is used to create a ring shaped
plasma region "PR" that may be centered about the gap 427.
[0077] The plasma density will generally be higher in the
processing region adjacent to a region of the magnetron system 189
above the second axis 492 (FIG. 4E), or region having the highest
density of magnets 431, versus the region of the magnetron system
189 below the second axis 492, or region having the lowest density
of magnets, or no magnets. While the pole piece plates 424A, 425A
coupled in the outer pole 424 and inner pole 425, respectively, are
circular and are magnetically conductive, the magnetic field
created between the poles along the first axis 491 in the region
below the second axis 492 will be significantly lower than the
magnetic field created between the poles along the first axis 491
in the region above the second axis 492.
[0078] In one example, the magnetic field strength at a point
between the outer pole 424 and inner pole 425 along the first axis
491 below the second axis 192 is orders of magnitude less than the
magnetic field strength at a point between the outer pole 424 and
inner pole 425 along the first axis 491 above the second axis 192,
or even having a magnitude of nearly zero. In this configuration,
it is believed that the electrons positioned adjacent to the less
magnetized region, such as the half section of the below the second
axis 492 shown in FIG. 4E, are better able to escape the formed
closed loop between the inner and outer poles, and thus move
radially toward the target center "M". The escaped electrons can
thus help to increase the ionization of gases near the center
region of the target to improve target utilization. In one
embodiment, the inner diameter of the magnetron is 6.5 inches and
the outer diameter is 8.3 inches. The magnetron spins on a
generally central axis above the target and the chamber, and thus
in one embodiment is configured to be rotated about its center "M"
by the motor 193 during processing.
Substrate Deposition Process Control
[0079] In one embodiment of the processing chamber 100, an
impedance controller 141 (FIG. 1A) is coupled between an electrode
and RF ground to adjust the bias voltage on the substrate during
processing to control the degree of bombardment on the substrate
surface. In one embodiment, the electrode is disposed adjacent to
the substrate receiving surface 127 of a support 126, and comprises
the electrode 126A. In a PVD reactor, tuning of the bombardment of
the substrate surface by the control of the impedance of the
electrode to ground, will affect step coverage, overhang geometry
and deposited film's properties, such as grain size, film stress,
crystal orientation, film density, roughness and film composition.
Therefore, the impedance controller 141 can thus be used to alter
the deposition rate, the etching rate and even the composition of a
multi-compositional film at the substrate surface. In one
embodiment, the impedance controller 141 is employed to enable or
prevent deposition or etching, by the appropriate adjustment of
impedance of the electrode/substrate to ground.
[0080] FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of the impedance
controller 141 that has a variable capacitor tuning circuit with a
feedback circuit to control the properties of a deposited metal or
non-metal layer on a substrate. As discussed below, the variable
capacitive tuning circuit can be automated for a given set point
during one or more parts of a PVD deposition recipe step. The
actual impedance set point can be adjusted based on the measured
current or bias voltage, or by some user defined set point, such as
percentage of the full scale of the capacitance of the variable
capacitor. The set point can depend on the desired processing
results to be achieved on the substrate.
[0081] Referring to FIG. 6, the impedance controller 141 can
include a variable capacitor 610, an input 616, an optional output
circuit 618, an optional inductor 620, optional resistor 621, an
interface 622, a processor 624, a motor controller 626 and a motor
628. The motor 628 is preferably a stepper motor that is attached
to the variable capacitor 610 in a manner to be able to vary the
capacitance of the variable capacitor 610. The addition of an
inductor 620 may be optional, and generally can be effective to
dampen or compensate for the variation in inductance created by
having different cable lengths between the impedance controller 141
and the electrode 126A in different chamber setups. The addition of
the inductor 620 may be useful to prevent the need to re-calculate
the impedance control set points for every different chamber
position and configuration in the cluster tool 103.
[0082] Also, the output circuit 618 is optional, and can include a
sensor to determine the substrate bias voltage during processing.
The sensor can be a voltage sensor or a current sensor. These
sensors can be used to provide feedback to control a motor and to
control the operational set point of the variable capacitor 610.
The output circuit 618, if included, can provide a feedback signal
to the interface 622. The interface 622 provides the feedback
signal to the processor 624 and controller 190. The processor 624
can be a dedicated electric circuit or it can also be a
microprocessor or microcontroller based circuit.
[0083] The variable capacitor 610 setting is used to adjust the
impedance to ground and thus adjust the plasma and ion interaction
with the substrate during processing. The variable capacitor 610 is
connected to the input 616, which is coupled to the electrode 126A.
In one embodiment, the input 616 is coupled to the electrode 126A
through one or more additional components, such as the optional
inductor 620. In accordance with various aspects of the present
invention, it is contemplated that other components can be provided
in the circuit of FIG. 6. In one example, the variable capacitor
610 has a capacitance that varies from between about 50 picoFarads
(pF) and about 1000 picoFarads (pF) and the optional inductor 620
has an inductance of about 0.26 microhenries (pH).
[0084] The interface 622 can also receive a signal from the motor
controller 626. The processor 624 controls the motor controller 626
which controls the motor 628 in accordance with the signal and the
received information from the outputs of the sensors. The motor
controller 626 causes the motor 628, which is preferably a stepper
motor, to step through its positions to vary the capacitance of the
variable capacitor 610 as a function of the mode control signal and
of the outputs of the sensors.
[0085] In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the
impedance controller 141 is contained in a housing 605 that is
mounted to the processing chamber 100. By mounting the impedance
controller 141 to the processing chamber 100, the control of the
bias voltage on substrate can be more easily controlled and more
efficient.
[0086] The processor 624 can also be a special purpose interface
circuit. The main purpose of the interface circuit or processor 624
is to control the motor controller 626 based on the input received
from a sensor, such as voltage sensor 662 or the current sensor 663
that are attached to a portion of the circuit formed in the
impedance controller 141, as just described. If the processor 624
specifies a desired bias voltage set point, then the motor
controller 626 is controlled to generate the capacitance to achieve
the set point. For example, if the processor 624 is controlling the
substrate bias voltage based on a measured voltage in the impedance
controller 141, then the motor controller 626 controls the motor
628 in accordance with the output of the voltage sensor 662 to
maintain a constant voltage in the circuit. In another example, if
the processor 624 is controlling the substrate bias voltage based
on a measured current in the impedance controller 141, then the
motor controller 626 controls the motor 628 to maintain a constant
current through the circuit. Any type of well known voltage sensor
can be used in accordance with the various aspects of the present
invention and can be connected between the processing chamber side
of the variable capacitor 610 and ground. Similarly, any type of
well know current sensor (not shown) can be used in accordance with
the various aspects of the present invention. Both voltage sensors
and current sensors are well known in the art.
Lower Process Kit and Substrate Support Assembly
[0087] Referring to FIGS. 1A and 5A, the lower process kit 165
comprises a deposition ring 502 and a cover ring 170. The
deposition ring 502 is generally formed in an annular shape, or
annular band, surrounding the support 126. The cover ring 170 at
least partially covers a portion of the deposition ring 502. During
processing the deposition ring 502 and the cover ring 170 cooperate
with one another to reduce formation of sputter deposits on the
peripheral edges 129 of the support 126 and the overhanging edge
105A of the substrate 105.
[0088] The cover ring 170 encircles and at least partially covers
the deposition ring 502 to receive, and thus, shadow the deposition
ring 502 from the bulk of the sputtering deposits. The cover ring
170 is fabricated from a material that can resist erosion by the
sputtering plasma, for example, a metallic material such as
stainless steel, titanium or aluminum, or a ceramic material, such
as aluminum oxide. In one embodiment, the cover ring 170 is formed
from a stainless steel material. In one embodiment, a surface of
the cover ring 170 is treated with a twin-wire aluminum arc-spray
coating, such as, for example, CLEANCOAT.TM., to reduce particle
shedding from the surface of the cover ring 170. In one embodiment,
the deposition ring 502 is fabricated from a dielectric material
that can resist erosion by the sputtering plasma, for example, a
ceramic material, such as aluminum oxide.
[0089] The cover ring 170 comprises an annular ring 510 comprising
a top surface 573 that is sloped radially inwards and encircles the
support 126. The top surface 573 of the annular ring 510 has an
inner periphery 571 and an outer periphery 516. The inner periphery
571 comprises a projecting brim 572 which overlies the radially
inward dip comprising an open inner channel of the deposition ring
502. The projecting brim 572 reduces deposition of sputtering
deposits on the open inner channel disposed between the surface 503
of the deposition ring 502 and the projecting brim 572. The
projecting brim 572 is sized, shaped, and positioned to cooperate
with and complement the arc-shaped gap 402 to form a convoluted and
constricted flow path between the cover ring 170 and deposition
ring 502 that inhibits the flow of process deposits onto the
support 126 and the platform housing 128.
[0090] The top surface 573 may be inclined at an angle of between
about 10 degrees and about 20 degrees from the horizontal. The
angle of the top surface 573 of the cover ring 170 is designed to
minimize the buildup of sputter deposits nearest to the overhanging
edge of the substrate 105, which would otherwise negatively impact
the particle performance obtained across the substrate 105. The
cover ring may comprise any material that is compatible with
process chemistries such as titanium or stainless steel. In one
embodiment, the cover ring 170 has an outer diameter, that is
between about 15.5 inches (39.4 cm) and about 16 inches (40.6 cm).
In one embodiment, the cover ring 170 has a height between about 1
inch (2.5 cm) and about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm).
[0091] The space or gap 554 between the ring support portion 561 of
the shield 160 and the cover ring 170 forms a convoluted S-shaped
pathway or labyrinth for plasma to travel. The shape of the pathway
is advantageous, for example, because it hinders and impedes
ingress of plasma species into this region, reducing undesirable
deposition of sputtered material.
[0092] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A, the cover ring 170
is designed and positioned relative to the grounded shield 160
during processing, so that will not be in contact with the grounded
shield, and thus will electrically "float". Further, in one
embodiment, it is desirable to position the cover ring 170 and
deposition ring 502 so that they are a distance from the substrate
105 and below the substrate receiving surface 127 of the support
126 to allow the electric field "E" created by the delivery of RF
and/or DC power to the target 132 to be more uniform across the
surface of the substrate during processing. It is believed that
electrically floating surfaces, such as the surfaces of the cover
ring 170 will be subject to electron bombardment during various
parts of the delivered RF power's half-cycle, thus affecting the
uniformity of the RF electric field in a region near the edge 105A
of the substrate 105. Bombardment is believed to occur when the RF
potential from the power source 181A at the top surface 573 is more
positive than the average DC potential formed at the top surface
573. Therefore, in one embodiment, it is desirable to assure that
the deposited film layer formed on the upper surfaces of the cover
ring 170 does not have an electric path to ground and that it is
disposed a distance away from the edge 105A of the substrate 105.
In one example, the inner periphery 571 of the cover ring 170 is
disposed a distance of at least 0.5 inches (12.7 mm) from the edge
105A of the substrate 105. In another example, the inner periphery
571 of the cover ring 170 is disposed a distance of between about
0.5 inches (12.7 mm) and about 3 inches (76.2 mm), such as about 1
inch (25.4 mm) from the edge 105A of the substrate 105.
[0093] It has also been found that the placement of electrically
floating surfaces, such as the surfaces of the cover ring 170,
above the exposed surfaces of the substrate 105, or above the
substrate receiving surface 127, will have an undesirable affect on
the deposited film uniformity across the substrate 105. FIG. 5B
illustrates a conventional processing kit configuration in which
the inner periphery 571A and top surface 573A of a conventional
cover ring 170A are positioned above the substrate receiving
surface 127 and surface 105B of the substrate 105. It has been
found in these conditions that the deposited layer tends to be thin
near the edge of the substrate 105. It is believed that the reduced
deposition near the substrate edge 105A is created by the increased
deposition of the ionized deposited film atoms on the top surface
573 of the cover ring 170, due to the increased interaction of the
plasma with the process kit surfaces disposed above the substrate
surface 105B. Therefore, in one embodiment, the cover ring 170 and
deposition ring 502 are positioned below the substrate receiving
surface 127, which as shown in FIG. 5A as being below the extension
line "T". In one embodiment, the cover ring 170 and deposition ring
502 are positioned below the substrate receiving surface 127 (e.g.,
extension line "T") by about 0.2 inches (5 mm) It should be noted
that while the discussion herein and illustrations in FIGS. 1A-6
all describe the substrate receiving surface 127 as being
positioned below the target 132, and the cover ring 170 and
deposition ring 502 being below the substrate receiving surface
127, this vertically oriented configuration is not intended to be
limiting as to the scope of the invention described herein, and is
only used as a reference frame to define the relative order and/or
distances of each of the components to one another. In some
embodiments, the substrate receiving surface 127 can be positioned
in other orientations relative to the target 132 (e.g., above,
horizontally aligned), while the cover ring 170 and deposition ring
502 are still disposed a distance further from the target 132 than
the substrate receiving surface 127 is from the target 132.
[0094] In another embodiment, it is desirable to assure that a
deposited film layer formed on the upper surfaces 504 of the
deposition ring 502, which is formed from a dielectric material,
does not have an electric path to ground to prevent the electric
field in the region near the edge 105A of the substrate from
varying over time (e.g., process kit life). To prevent the film
layers deposited on the upper surfaces 504 from making electrical
contact with the shield 160 and cover ring 170, the projecting brim
572 of the cover ring 170 is sized, shaped, and positioned to
prevent the deposition on the deposition ring 502 from forming a
bridge with the layers deposited on the cover ring 170 and from
making their way to the shield 160.
[0095] The components of the lower process kit 165 work alone and
in combination to significantly reduce particle generation and
stray plasmas. In comparison with existing multiple part shields,
which provided an extended RF return path contributing to RF
harmonics causing stray plasma outside the process cavity, the one
piece shield described above reduces the RF return path thus
providing improved plasma containment in the interior processing
region. The flat base-plate of the one piece shield provides an
additional shortened return path for RF through the pedestal to
further reduce harmonics and stray plasma as well as providing a
landing for existing grounding hardware.
[0096] Referring to FIG. 5A, in one embodiment, the pedestal
assembly 120 further comprises a pedestal grounding assembly 530
that is adapted to assure that the bellows 124 are grounded during
processing. If the bellows 124 achieve a different RF potential
than the shield 160 it can affect the plasma uniformity and cause
arcing to occur in the processing chamber, which will affect the
deposited film layer's properties, generate particles and/or affect
the process uniformity. In one embodiment, the pedestal grounding
assembly 530 comprises a plate 531 that contains a conductive
spring 532. The conductive spring 532 and plate 531 are configured
to make electrical contact with a surface of the shield 160 when
the pedestal assembly 120 is moved to the processing position
(shown in FIG. 5A) in a direction "V" by the lift mechanism 122.
The conductive spring 532 may disengage from the shield 160 when
the pedestal assembly 120 is moved to the transfer position (shown
in FIG. 1A) in a direction "V" by the lift mechanism 122.
Processing Details
[0097] Embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus
and methods for forming integrated circuit devices, such as CMOS
type integrated circuits. However, embodiments of the invention may
also be used for forming various semiconductor devices,
thin-film-transistors, etc. In one embodiment, the apparatus are
adapted to perform metal deposition when forming a high-k/metal
gate type structure, in particular when using a "gate last"
approach. The general principles of this invention have been shown
to apply to the deposition of various different metals and
compounds, such as tungsten (W), tungsten nitride (WN), titanium
(Ti), titanium nitride (TiN), and titanium-aluminum (TiAI) alloy,
HfC, HfN, silicides for FUSI, and Al. In one example, the
embodiments disclosed herein are useful for depositing a layer
comprising at least two different elements, such as a titanium
aluminum (TiAl) layer that has a 50-50 alloy composition.
[0098] As device structures get smaller, especially in device
formed in the sub-45 nm nodes, good film step-coverage inside an
integrated circuit structure is essential to form the various
device components in a functional semiconductor device, such as a
metal gate, contact, and interconnect features. Various methods
have been used to improve PVD step-coverage, such as long
target-substrate spacing, ionized metal plasma (IMP), application
of strong magnetic fields by a magnetron, re-sputtering, etc.
[0099] Embodiments of the invention use a high pressure process,
combined with RF and DC sputtering, and capacitive coupling, among
others. In this configuration, which is different from IMP, the RF
power is applied directly to the target instead of a coil. The high
pressure with RF power generates high density plasma near the
target.
[0100] When sputtered using a high pressure with RF plasma, atoms
or species passing through the plasma, are more easily ionized,
which significantly increases the ion/neutral ratio. Additionally,
when atoms or species approach the substrate in a high pressure
ambient, many collisions may happen which help reduce the energy of
species in a vertical direction, normal to the substrate surface,
and increase its movement in a direction parallel to the substrate.
Also different from IMP, since species get ionized near the target,
and are not accelerated and/or guided by an external
electromagnetic field as in an IMP process, the RF deposition
process will provide better sidewall coverage compared to an IMP
type process (e.g., inductive coil). Additionally, the plasma tends
to form at a distance away from the substrate, helping to reduce
plasma damage which makes this method suitable for contact, metal
gate, and other front end applications.
[0101] Embodiments of the invention include methods to improve the
film uniformity and step-coverage for this deposition process.
Other advantages of this process may include no bottom coverage
asymmetry and less bottom coverage dependency on structure size.
While the description below primarily discusses the processes of
metal gate formation, this configuration is not intended to be
limiting as to the scope of the invention described herein.
Embodiments of the invention provide the ability to deposit metals
having a desirable work-function for high-k metal gates, such as in
forming MOSFET devices as previously described, particularly for
the "gate replacement" or "gate last" methods. Metals having a
desirable work-function, which are used for high-k metal gate
stacks, are desirable as an alternative to adjusting threshold
voltages semiconductor devices. The work function of different
materials, including metals, varies, and will be chosen based on
the requirements for the particular semiconductor device, such as a
CMOS semiconductor device.
[0102] Additionally, embodiments provide the ability to sputter
using RF energy to decrease damage on the substrate compared to
traditional PVD processes. Embodiments also provide the ability to
use the benefits of high electron containment to control targeted
erosion using magnets in a magnetron and DC power, and the more
diffuse plasma (full-face erosion) created using an RF energy.
Moreover, the embodiments provide the ability to lower deposition
rates for control over thin films (10A or less) and to sputter
dielectric materials (e.g. LaOx, AlOx, etc). Other potential novel
work function materials like TixAlyN may be controlled to achieve
desired stoichiometries and work functions.
[0103] Embodiments of the invention also provide continuous path
shields for good RF containment and coherent return path in
addition to a simple form for a reduced cost manufacturing method.
The low profile cover ring and deposition ring design disclosed
herein allow an RF-DC PVD source to be used in high-pressure
applications that require good step coverage at very low film
non-uniformity. The substrate support includes capacitive tuning to
improve the deposited film properties and film uniformity. The
variable capacitor allows the impedance of the RF grounding path to
be adjusted, so that the process uniformity for multiple recipe
types/conditions can be adjusted.
[0104] The deposition of work function metals for the replacement
gate application for MOSFET devices such as CMOS metal gates below
the 45 nm node requires that films be deposited with good step
coverage (bottom thickness/field thickness) for features with top
openings from 35 nanometers (nm) down to 12 nm and aspect ratios
ranging from 2.5 to 5. An RF-DC PVD chamber forming "gate first"
applications have typically been formed at low pressures (around 2
mTorr) leading to highly uniform films deposited on the field
region of the substrate, but not in the features. These low
pressure deposited films may have poor step coverage that is on the
order of 15-20%. In order to achieve the high step coverage, such
as 75% and higher, which is desired for the "replacement gate"
approach, a high pressure process may be used.
[0105] FIGS. 7A-7H illustrates cross-sections of a MOSFET
transistor, such as a CMOS transistor 700 during processing. The
CMOS transistor 700 incorporates a gate dielectric layer, a gate
metal layer, and distinct work function metals along the gate wall
such as a p-metal and an n-metal. The figures illustrate a
substrate on which a gate dielectric layer and gate metal layer are
disposed. Side wall spacers are shown adjacent to the vertical
sidewalls of gate dielectric layer and gate metal layer.
Embodiments of the invention may be used to form the gate stack of
the MOSFET transistor shown in FIGS. 7A-7H.
[0106] FIGS. 7A-7H depict cross-sectional views of a MOSFET, such
as a CMOS transistor 700 that may be formed using embodiments of
the present invention. FIGS. 7A-7H depicts a gate last approach to
forming the CMOS transistor. FIG. 7A shows a CMOS transistor 700
having a substrate 702, with a shallow trench isolation (STI) 704
formed therein according to known methods. A high mobility
interface layer 706 is formed on the substrate surface and over the
STI 704, followed by formation of a high-k dielectric layer 708 on
layer 706. A layer of polysilicon 710 is deposited on the substrate
and layers 706, 708 as shown in FIG. 7B. The polysilicon 710
undergoes a photolithography process and etch to form the areas
where the gate structures 711 will be formed, as shown in FIG.
7C.
[0107] In various subsequent steps, spacers 717, salicidation 716,
stress nitride layer 714, and source/drain regions 712 are formed
on the substrate according to known methods in the art. A pre-metal
dielectric layer 718 is formed over the remaining layers and
polished to the geometry shown in FIG. 7D. The polysilicon gate
structures 711 are then etched forming trenches 720, as shown in
FIG. 7E. Next, doped metal gates are deposited in the trench 720,
such as a p-metal gate 723 and an n-metal gate 722, as shown in
FIG. 7F. The gate structures are then filled with metal 724, as
shown in FIG. 7G. Lastly, the substrate is polished to form metal
gates 725 on the substrate 702. Embodiments of the invention may be
particularly useful in forming high-k metal gates, especially metal
gates having metal alloys.
[0108] FIGS. 1A-6 depict various views of a RF-DC PVD chamber 100
according to embodiments of the invention. The RF-DC PVD chamber
100 allows a high pressure sputtering of thin metal films to form
gate stacks, such as using the gate last approach described in
FIGS. 7A-7H. The chamber includes an RF source with local matching
network for sputtering target materials using RF energy. A
magnetron helps control film uniformity, and an additional DC
connection to the target enhances erosion and uniformity
control.
[0109] The shape of the target may also impact the plasma
distribution, thus affecting the film uniformity. Various target
geometries may be used according to embodiments of the invention,
such as a flat, frustum, or concave shape. Frustrum targets tend to
have thicker edge and higher bump in the mid-radius. Concave
targets tend to focus plasma to the center of the target and result
in thicker center and less bump in the mid-radius. In one
embodiment, the target may reduce trace metal contamination and
uses a 6061A1 alloy backing plate. In one embodiment, a
multi-component target may be used in the processing chamber 100,
wherein the multi-component target comprises a material having at
least two different elements disposed therein. In embodiment, the
multi-compositional target is TiAl alloy target that has a 1:1, a
3:1, or a 1:3 composition ratio in various embodiments of the
invention. A multi-component TiAl target having a 1:1 ratio may
have effective barriers to the Al fill that prevents formation of
TiAl.sub.3 at higher temperatures. If Ti and Al are deposited
separately and excess Al is available, then TiAl.sub.3 will
form.
[0110] Multi-component targets provide a unique challenge for
sputtering films having the desired thickness uniformity,
composition uniformity, Rs uniformity, composition ratio, step
coverage, bottom coverage, overhang, etc. The different components,
for example, elements in a multi-component target sputter
differently based on the plasma properties, mass of the elements,
bonding and crystal structure of the elements in the target, as
well as other variables. The bombardment of a multi-component solid
surface with ions and/or neutral atoms from the neighboring plasma
can alter the chemical composition of the target surface due to the
difference in the sputter yield of the different constituent
components of the target. FIGS. 8 and 9 further illustrate some of
these issues.
[0111] FIG. 8 illustrates the elastic collision, and hence
scattering, of various components having different masses, m1 and
m2. Schematic 800 illustrates a particle m2 that is stationary and
the affect of a collision with another particle having a mass ml,
such as an Ar+ ion from a plasma. Schematic 802 illustrates a
collision of two moving particles m1 and m2, and the resulting
scattering of both particles due to their collision. On a much
larger scale, the general scattering distribution of sputtered
components within a chamber, or sputter profile, may be
characterized by a cosine distribution, an under cosine
distribution, or an over cosine sputtering distribution. FIG. 9
illustrates the sputtering distribution 900, or flux distribution,
of elements from a multi-component target 906. For example, in one
embodiment of the invention where the multi-component target 906 is
a titanium-aluminum (TiAl) target, the sputtering distribution will
be very different for each constituent material. Aluminum is a
lighter atom (mass=27) compared to titanium (mass=48) and argon
(mass=40), and thus will have a different flux distribution than
titanium will have from the target surface.
[0112] It has been found that argon ions (Ar+) accelerated from the
plasma to the target, will collide with the aluminum atoms and form
an under cosine 902 flux distribution, or sputtering distribution.
In contrast, as the Ar+ ions collide with the titanium atoms in the
target 906, its sputtering distribution is characterized more
closely with an over cosine distribution 904. Thus, the aluminum
atoms tend to travel more horizontally than vertically compared to
titanium atoms. Aluminum atoms are spread more diffusely, losing a
lot more aluminum atoms to the shield rather than the substrate.
However, at the center of the substrate, the Al is slightly higher
because of the under cosine pressure profile. Thus, as pressure
increases, the deposition rate needs to also increase because more
scattering is going to the shield.
[0113] The unequal sputtering distribution of elements from a
target causes non-uniform composition properties of the film
sputtered on a substrate within the chamber. For example, the under
cosine sputtering distribution of aluminum may lead to high amounts
of aluminum on the peripheral regions of a substrate whereas the
over cosine sputtering distribution of titanium may lead to high
amounts of titanium in the center region of the substrate, without
compensating for the unequal distribution ratios of the two
constituent components in the target 906.
[0114] Increasing pressure of the chamber also effects the
scattering distribution of the sputtered components. Increasing the
pressure will result in more aluminum scattered due to its lower
mass than titanium and its interaction with energetic ions and
neutrals in the plasma. Re-sputtering may also affect the film
properties and target composition during processing. Atoms from the
deposited film may re-sputter from the film to another location on
the substrate or even back into the processing region and onto
surrounding components, such as the shield or target. At least one
challenge of a multi-compositional target is to deposit a film on a
substrate having a uniform compositional ratio across the surface
of the substrate, and to achieve the overall desired step
coverage.
[0115] Another challenge of using a multi-compositional target is
the changing ratio of component materials in the target over time.
The chemical composition of the target surface changes, forming a
region known as the altered layer. Upon initial bombardment of the
surface the constituent component with highest sputter yield is
preferentially removed from the surface, enriching the surface
layer in the lower sputter yield material until a steady state is
reached. However, a non-steady state condition may still occur
after some erosion of the target during prolonged use, leading to
non-uniform composition distribution. In the example of a TiAl
target, the target may shift aluminum rich because the aluminum,
although easier to initially sputter from the target, may travel
more horizontally and rebound from surrounding components to
redeposit on the target. Whereas titanium tends to move more
vertically and is heavier and thus will not be scattered as much by
the components in the plasma. Thus, sputtering of
multi-compositional targets may also require specific processing
steps to maintain desired and/or uniform target surface composition
in order to achieve a desired sputtered film composition.
[0116] The addition of DC power to a plasma also has an affect on
the deposited film layer properties from a multi-compositional
target. DC power coupled to the target produces a target voltage
and a corresponding sheath surrounding the target surface 133.
Increasing the DC power widens the sheath, accelerating the Ar+
ions more and providing more energy to the Ar+ ions, which also
affects the directionality, or flux distribution, of the sputtered
material from the target surface (e.g., cosine distribution).
Increased DC voltage applied to the target improves the composition
ratio of the film formed on the substrate surface because of more
over-cosine like sputter distribution from multi-component target
that is thus more directed towards the substrate. More neutral
deposition occurs and ion flux increases with increased voltage,
which also helps directionality of the sputtered species. The
higher the voltage, the more normal to the target face (i.e. the
target first surface) the ions are that enter target and the more
normal to the target face the sputtering species are as they leave
the target.
[0117] Increased DC target voltage sharpens, or tends to shift the
flux distribution of the elements towards a more over cosine
distribution, leading to less scattering of the sputtered species.
Lower target voltages (e.g. 300 volts or less) tend produce a
larger spread and when increasing DC and target voltage (e.g. to
around 500 volts), the spread decreases and composition ratio
improves, which is due at least in part to the decreased amount of
scattering. As DC power is increased for a fixed RF power, the
ratio is coming down and approaching one. The target potential is
going higher so the sputter angle is more normal to the surface in
both cases so both sputtering profiles tending towards more over
cosine distribution. Also, as the DC power increases, the ion to
neutral ratio in an RF plasma will become lower, so increased DC
voltage will also tend to reduce the resputtering of the substrate
surface due to the application of a bias to the substrate. The
increased neutral flux will generally not increase the scattering
of the sputtered material in the plasma.
[0118] The step coverage of a film in a feature on a substrate
tends to decrease with increased DC power to the multi-component
targets. Increased DC power results in higher neutral flux which
means the effective ion fraction is lower. Thus, less of the
sputtered material is ionized, resulting in a reduced amount of
sputtered material that reaches the bottom of the feature relative
to the amount deposited in the field. The neutral flux distribution
can be considered essentially isotropic in energy and direction,
whereas the ion flux (i.e. charged particles) to the substrate is
accelerated through the substrate bias potential and there has much
more directed kinetic energy which results in the improved step
coverage.
[0119] Still, even significantly higher DC power only leads to
perhaps 20% decrease of step coverage. So there is still a decent
amount of metal ionization such that those ions are attracted to
the substrate and go into the feature. Additionally, the
composition ratio of aluminum to titanium of the film deposited on
the substrate also decreases with increased DC power due to the
increased vertical directionality of the sputtered material coming
from the target.
[0120] In some cases, improved bottom coverage can be achieved by
dropping the DC power because the film can be re-sputtered more due
to the application of a bias to the substrate surface. However, the
resputtering of the substrate surface may also be detrimental to
the composition ratio, making it difficult to tune by just
controlling the DC power. In some embodiments of the invention, a
plasma is ignited by using a DC source 182 coupled to the
multi-compositional target 132.
[0121] RF power delivered to a DC powered target may decrease the
target voltage and provide a corresponding sheath surrounding and
dominating the DC power induced sheath. While, an RF-DC powered
target has a thicker plasma sheath formed below the target, and an
overall higher voltage drop between the target and the plasma, the
conductivity of the plasma will be increased due to the increased
ion concentration in the plasma, which will make the target voltage
drop at low to moderate RF powers. Thus, an argon ion (Ar+) is
accelerated even more with a thicker sheath, providing a higher
sputtering ion energy. In some cases, the peak to peak voltage
created by the addition of RF power will further increase the ion
energy of the plasma some. The thicker sheath will increase the
scattering yield. RF power increases the ionization of the plasma
which helps improve the affects of substrate bias on the depositing
ions, and thus help improve step coverage of the film. Plasma
ionization is also increase as RF frequency is increased, leading
to increased electron movement. The sputter yield also increases as
the energy level of the argon ions increase due to increased RF
power. When applying RF power to DC power, the target voltage will
vary with time and thus may be measured, for example, using a DC
voltage sensor that provides the RMS or mean voltage value.
[0122] RF power may need to be at a minimum power to provide the
ionization levels that improve sputtering and film properties, and
in particular to improve step coverage of the film. The RF power
setting during film deposition may be between about 1 kW and about
3.5 kW, for example, about 2 kW. In another embodiment, the RF
power setting may be about 3.2 kW. Impressing an RF power on top of
the DC power will change the target voltage, scattering, and
sputter yield, which affects the composition ratio. In one
embodiment, the target voltage may be between about 300 volts to
about 550 volts, such as about 520 volts or about 400 volts. As the
target voltage increases, the Al:Ti ratio decreases. A higher power
creates a high power density, thus decreasing the scattering angle
difference which in turned decreases the Al:Ti ratio. Also higher
power increases the edge effect, and Rs uniformity becomes
worse.
[0123] In light of the above, embodiments of the invention may
include applying DC power from a DC power source 182 coupled to the
multi-compositional target 132 when an RF plasma is formed in the
processing region 110. In another embodiment of the invention, the
DC power source may be set from about 450 W to about 2.5 kW and the
RF power source may be set from about 1 kW to about 3.5 kW. For
example, in one embodiment of the invention, the DC power source
and the RF power source are both set at about 2 kW. In yet another
embodiment of the invention, the DC power source is set at about 2
kW and the RF power source is set at about 3.2 kW. More
specifically, in one embodiment if the target voltage is 320 volts,
the RF power is at 2 kW and the DC power is at 540 W, which
provides good step coverage for high aspect ratio features.
[0124] In another embodiment, the target voltage is at 500 volts
and both the RF and DC power is at 2 kW, which maintains a good
composition ratio of the film. The target may be measured, for
example, using a DC voltage sensor that provides the RMS or mean
voltage value.
[0125] RF powered plasma may reach a point when argon is ionized
and in turn the sputtered metal becomes more ionized which provides
improved bottom coverage of substrate features due to the
application of a substrate bias. As the pressure in the processing
region drops, bottom coverage also drops, especially below 10 mTorr
pressures. Lower pressures cause the composition to be more like a
DC only powered plasma with an Al:Ti ratio near 1:1, but decrease
the step coverage. So RF power in addition to high pressure helps
improve bottom coverage of features in a substrate, especially
features having high aspect ratios, where adequate bottom coverage
can be very difficult to achieve.
[0126] Typical pressures in the processing region may be varied
depending on the type of multi-component target that is used, the
feature size formed on the substrate and the desired film
properties. The pressure of the chamber during film deposition may
be between about 20 mTorr and about 60 mTorr or even 75 mTorr, for
example, about 22 mTorr, 30 mTorr, or 40 mTorr depending on desired
process effects due to the chamber pressure. In one embodiment of
the invention, the Ar flow rate may be from about 50 sccm to 100
sccm, for example 75 sccm. The gate valve 147 may be completely or
partially open during chamber processing.
[0127] However, increasing the pressure in the processing region
too much may lead to increased scattering, especially for binary
films such as TiAl. As previously discussed, aluminum and titanium
scatter differently off the multi-component target. The difference
of the angular distribution arriving at the substrates may thus be
modulated by adjusting parameters that can affect the average
collision frequency after the species are sputtered from the
target. Increased process pressure may also lead to higher
collision frequencies, or collision times, between the sputtered
species and the ions and electrons in the plasma and thus a wider
difference in the angular distribution for different elements.
However, higher applied power from either DC or RF sources may lead
to narrow angular distribution differences by providing more
forward momentum for the sputtered atoms.
[0128] Increasing the pressure in the processing region may also
improve bottom coverage. However, increasing the pressure in the
processing region too much can also increase scattering of the
sputtered species off the target, leading to less directionality,
and thus less bottom coverage. To combat this effect of increased
pressure, the target voltage may be increased to decrease the
effect of scattering of any binary components, which have different
sputter yields and distributions, such as aluminum and titanium.
Increasing the DC power also increases the deposition rate which is
also helpful to combat the increased scattering effect of higher
pressure on the system, however, the step coverage may drop some
because the field thickness is growing faster than what is possible
inside the substrate features.
[0129] Pressure thus can help change the sputtering distribution
off the target to a preferred profile to help improve deposited
film characteristics. The pressure also affects the re-distribution
of sputtered species on the target, substrate, and the shield.
Higher pressures may cause the lighter compounds, such as aluminum,
to redistribute to the shield and target in particular, thus
changing the target's surface compositional ratio and decreasing
the amount of aluminum that reaches the substrate surface.
Increased pressure provides a greater difference in scattering
angle differences, which increases the Al:Ti composition ratio.
Higher pressures also provide less edge effect, thus improving Rs
uniformity. Pressure has a greater affect on improving Rs and
thickness uniformity than DC, RF, power, or capacitive tuner
position, which will be discussed in more detail below.
[0130] Pressure also affects the ionization of argon and the
sputtered species passing through the plasma towards the substrate.
Increased pressure and RF power applied to the plasma may also
produce what is known as penning ionization. Penning ionization is
a process involving reactions between neutral atoms and/or
molecules. In penning ionization, the interaction between a
gas-phase excited-state atom or molecule and a target molecule
results in formation of a radical molecular cation, and electron,
and a neutral gas molecule. For example, argon atoms may ionize
other argon atoms in the plasma due to penning ionization, thereby
causing RF power to more directly excite the argon plasma. The
desired Argon ion energy for the process may be between about 45 eV
(electron volts) and about 70 eV, such as about 50 eV. The target
voltage also drops as the pressure of the processing chamber
increases because the path to ground becomes more conductive. The
sheath thickness drops with increased pressure which affects the
target voltage and the redistribution of atoms on the target.
[0131] A magnetron may also influence film deposition and
properties. The type and position of a magnetron will produce
differing magnetic B-fields, which also affects the composition
ratio of multi-compositional films. Aside from covering the target
and eroding the target, positioning the magnetron above the
multi-compositional target at certain locations also helps improve
the Ti:Al ratio. Placing the magnetron in certain positions will
help prevent losing so much aluminum to the shield, which normally
occurs due to the diffuseness of aluminum as previously discussed.
For example, the same sputtering profile will occur by placing the
magnetron at the center of the target, but locally if the species
spread from the center position, completely changing where the
sputtered species will spread out through the chamber. In one
situation, the aluminum is also diffuse, but it's not running off
to the shield, but rather it is spread over the whole area of the
substrate.
[0132] In a single element uniform sputtering profile type
situation, depending on chamber geometries such as substrate
spacing from the target and target size, the sputtering profile of
the single element at any instant in time may be characterized as a
single point source providing uniform coverage over the substrate
as the magnetron rotates. However, with multi-compositional targets
having two different profiles, uniform coverage may be difficult.
But when the magnetron is in the center and the sputtering occurs
mainly from the center, Rs uniformity suffers, even though the
composition ratio may be improved because the sputtering source is
over the center and the sputtered species spread out pretty evenly
over the substrate, resulting in a relatively even distribution
over the substrate.
[0133] A closed loop magnetron confines the plasma between the
B-field boundaries formed by the magnetron, which will depend on
the exact configuration of magnets and type of magnets used in the
magnetron. An erosion track will develop in the target having a
certain shape and location depending on the type of magnetron and
how it's used. In a DC plasma, the magnetron confines the electrons
to run around the plasma track and help ionize the plasma.
Essentially, the magnetron helps confine the electrons locally so
you can always supply area region where argon is ionized close to
the target surface, and thus tends to build up a target erosion
track in that same area. Thus, the magnetron helps control where
the erosion track is formed on the target face.
[0134] An open loop magnetron creates a weaker B-field at the open
end locations, resulting in a better RF power transmitted into the
plasma as a whole versus a non-magnetron containing RF sputtering
processing chamber. However, for RF sputtering processes in
general, a magnetron is not necessary to sputter. The RF power
itself allows power to be delivered from the target into the
electrons, which is used to ionize the argon atoms without needing
the magnetic confinement of the magnetron. Placing a closed loop
magnetron closer to the target center seemed to make the process
untunable with the RF power source. Thus, confining the electrons
near the center portion of the target along with RF power seems to
provide little to no benefit to the sputtering process.
[0135] By using an open loop magnet, a full continuous closed
plasma track is not created, in other words, the electrons are
trapped but only for a time, and then they can diffuse out of the
magnetic field capturing region. This is because the magnetic field
created between the poles of an open loop magnetron does not form a
continuous closed-loop path when looking along a 2-D plane parallel
to the target surface. In other words, tracing a path that follows
portions of the formed magnetic field where the magnetic field
vector is parallel to the target face (i.e., B.sub.z=0; where the
z-direction is normal to the target face) along a 2-D plane that is
parallel to the target surface, the path does not form a continuous
closed loop. The film composition may depend strongly on the
relative locations between the plasma erosion track and the
substrate position. The magnetron position will modulate the plasma
erosion track and adjust the film composition. For example, the
magnetron position may be in a first position, forming a plasma
near an outer region of the target as depicted in FIG. 4D. The
deposited film composition on the substrate may approach 1 when the
magnetron is in the first position, accounting for the differing
distribution profiles of the constituent elements of the target.
The magnetron may be spaced above the target from between about 2.2
mm to 2.8 mm, such as 2.5 mm. The magnetron may rotate at between
about 60 to about 70 rpm, such as 65 rpm.
[0136] A DC only plasma with a magnetron traps the electrons in
generally a more defined region. Adding RF power essentially tunes
the electrons and the argon so that the plasma is much more highly
energized even though they're confined to a smaller area. The open
loop magnetron permits the electrons to escape by only partially
confining them in the plasma area under the magnetron. The open
loop magnetron may allow sputtering of a larger portion of the
target surface. Thus, the magnetic field between the inner and
outer pole are open on one end, and electrons will leak out of the
magnetic field associated with either end of the poles. It has been
found that, placing the magnetron in the "out" position can improve
the composition ratio of the Al and Ti on the substrate surface,
due to the affect of the varying sputtering distributions of the
multi-component target elements. Additionally, moving the magnetron
to a center region or "in" position may be used to clean the
chamber such as redeposited sputter material on the target, which
will be discussed in greater detail below with reference to FIGS.
10A-10C.
[0137] Deposited film properties may also be affected by the
substrate bias. An automatically adjusted variable capacitive tuner
may be used to provide a bias to the substrate support as described
above. Adjusting the capacitance of the capacitive tuner will vary
the bias voltage on the substrate support. Different positions of
the capacitive tuner may be used to deposit and/or resputter the
deposited film. In some cases, the substrate bias is used in an
"etch mode" that incurs no net deposition, to modulate stress in a
film formed on the surface of the substrate. The sputtered metal
atoms have different masses and thus by adjusting the bias voltage
on the substrate one can change the deposited film composition one
way or another, by adjusting the ion bombardment and resputtering
of the deposited film. For example, since aluminum and titanium
have different sputter yields, varying the bias voltage can be used
to change how energetic the bombardment is, which will alter the
composition ratio of the deposited film.
[0138] In one example, the higher the positive voltage on the
substrate, the more titanium rich will be the deposition, since the
larger, heavier titanium atom is not as easily redirected as
aluminum. Thus, under positive substrate bias voltage, the more
neutral containing titanium atoms in the plasma tend to make it to
the surface of the substrate. Whereas, aluminum is lighter and more
easily ionized, and will not reach the substrate surface due to the
positive bias voltage with same degree as titanium, leading to a
titanium rich film. On the other side of the spectrum, at high
negative substrate bias voltages, aluminum will move around more
than titanium because it more easily resputters by the arriving
ions pulled from the plasma by the application of the substrate
bias. The negative voltage affects the energy of the ions that
strike the substrate surface, which will move aluminum atoms around
more, also yielding a titanium rich surface. And since one material
preferentially resputters at a different rate versus another,
setting the substrate bias voltage effectively controls the amount
of resputtering, and thus the composition ratio as well. Thus, a
middle substrate bias voltage that is not too positive or too
negative is necessary to achieve substantially uniform composition
ratios of the deposited film on the substrate.
[0139] As the capacitance of the variable capacitor in the
impedance controller 141 increases, the Al:Ti ratio decreases,
approaching 1, for example 1.2, and even less than 1 in some
conditions, such as 0.90. In one embodiment, the Al:Ti ratio is
between about 0.9 to about 1.2, such as 1.0 and 1.1. The average
composition ratio from center to edge may be between about 1.15 to
about 1.16. Aluminum is easier to sputter away by Ar+ ions when the
bias voltage becomes negative. When the bias voltage is positive,
the Al and Ti ions are pushed away from the substrate. The Al:Ti
ratio however increases because the Ti ion fraction is lower than
the Al ion fraction in the plasma. The resonance setting of the
circuit in the impedance controller 141 also affects bias voltage.
As the bias voltage approaches the resonance, the Al:Ti ratio
decreases, due to the near maximum negative substrate bias voltage
achieved at the substrate. In one embodiment the voltage bias on
the substrate may be from +250 to -250 V.sub.dc. In another
embodiment, the voltage bias on the substrata is between about -150
volts to +50 volts.
[0140] As shown in FIG. 6, one embodiment of the invention includes
adjusting a bias voltage on an electrode 126A disposed in the
substrate support 126 that has a substrate receiving surface 127
disposed in the processing region 110, wherein the bias voltage is
adjusted by changing the capacitance of a variable capacitor 610 to
control the bias voltage achieved at the electrode 126A relative to
an electrical ground. The capacitance of the variable capacitor 610
is varied between 5 and 1,000 picofarads. For example, the variable
capacitor may be set at 12.5% of total capacity or as high as 85%
of total capacity. The resonance of the system may be at around 55%
total capacity.
[0141] Thus, by using the various parameters discussed above,
various methods may be used to improve step-coverage and film
uniformity when using the above apparatuses. In one embodiment of
the invention, a high pressure, RF power, and DC power are used in
a RF-DC PVD chamber to deposit a metal film in a gate
structure.
[0142] FIG. 11 depicts a process flow of a method 1100 of
depositing a thin film according to various embodiments of the
invention. At 1102, the method includes forming a plasma in a
processing region 110 of a chamber 100 as shown in FIG. 1A. The
plasma is formed by using an RF power supply 181 coupled to a
multi-compositional target 132 in the chamber 100, the
multi-compositional target 132 has a first surface, such as
sputtering surface 133, that is in contact with the processing
region 110 of the chamber 100 and a second surface 135 that is
opposite the first surface 132. At 1104, the method includes
translating a magnetron system 189 relative to the
multi-compositional target 132, wherein the magnetron system 189 is
positioned in a first position, such as depicted in FIG. 4D,
relative to a center point of the multi-compositional target 132
while the magnetron system is translating and the plasma P is
formed. At 1106, a multi-compositional film is deposited on a
substrate 105 positioned on a substrate support 126 in the chamber.
The multi-compositional film may be a metal alloy, such as a TiAl
alloy, deposited in a metal gate 725, as depicted in FIGS. 7A-7H.
The multi-compositional film is deposited at 120 A per minute and
is about 100 .ANG. thick. In one embodiment, the film thickness may
be between about 40 .ANG. and about 150 .ANG. with deposition rates
from about 30 .ANG./min. to 240 .ANG./min. However, the desired
thickness is governed by the work function requirement and a person
of ordinary skill could adjust that accordingly. Embodiments of the
invention may be able to process more than 20 substrates an
hour.
[0143] In another embodiment of the invention, the magnetron system
189 is disposed adjacent the second surface 135 of the
multi-compositional target 132 while the magnetron system 189 is
translated by rotating the magnetron system 189 about the center
point of the multi-compositional target as illustrated in FIGS.
4B-4D. As discussed previously, the magnetron system may include an
outer pole 421 comprising a plurality of magnets 423 and an inner
pole 422 comprising a plurality of magnets 423, wherein the outer
and inner poles form an open-loop magnetron assembly. In another
embodiment, the method includes varying a bias voltage on a
substrate by adjusting a capacitance of a variable capacitor 610
that is coupled between an electrode 126A disposed in the substrate
support 126 and an electrical ground.
[0144] The method also includes positioning a cover ring 170 a
distance from an peripheral edge 129 of a substrate receiving
surface 127 of the substrate support 126, wherein a surface of the
cover ring that is exposed to the formed plasma is also disposed a
distance farther away from the multi-compositional target 132 than
the substrate receiving surface 127, and the cover ring 170 is not
in electrical communication with the electrical ground when the
plasma is formed in the processing region. In another embodiment,
the spacing between the multi-compositional target 132 and the
substrate 105 may be between 174 to 182 mm. As you move farther
away from the target, the more under cosine sputtered material will
hit the shield at a greater rate. So spacing will also affect the
scattering. Additionally, increased spacing moves the substrate
away from the plasma.
[0145] In another embodiment, the magnetron system may include an
outer pole 424 and an inner pole 425 that are concentric about a
first axis 491 that extends through a center point and form a
closed-loop magnetron assembly such as illustrated in FIG. 4E. The
plurality of magnets 423 are disposed in the inner and outer poles
425, 424 and are not symmetric about a second axis 492 that extends
through the center point and is perpendicular to the first axis
491. In the embodiments of the invention, the step coverage may be
as high as 80% in high aspect ratio features on a substrate. In
some embodiment, the step coverage may be even 100%.
[0146] In another embodiment, a method of depositing a thin film
includes delivering energy to a plasma formed in a processing
region of a chamber, wherein delivering energy comprises delivering
RF power from an RF power supply to a multi-compositional target
and delivering DC power from a DC power supply to the
multi-compositional target. Delivering DC power means to apply a DC
energy from a DC power supply, such as a DC voltage or current to
the multi-component target. Delivering RF power means to apply an
RF energy from an RT power supply to the multi-component
target.
[0147] The method also includes translating a magnetron relative to
the multi-compositional target, wherein the magnetron is positioned
in a first position relative to a center point of the
multi-compositional target while the magnetron is translating and
the plasma is formed; adjusting a bias voltage on an electrode
disposed near a substrate receiving surface of a substrate support,
wherein the bias voltage is adjusted by changing the capacitance of
a variable capacitor to control the bias voltage achieved at the
electrode relative to an electrical ground; pressurizing the
processing region to at least 20 mTorr; and depositing a metal
alloy film on a substrate disposed on the substrate receiving
surface.
[0148] In another embodiment of the invention, a pre-deposition
burn-in of the target is performed to get the preferred altered
layer on the target before beginning film deposition. Target burn
in removes contaminants remaining from the target manufacturing
process, adsorbed gases from the target, and conditions the process
kit to be ready for TiAl film deposition. Target burn in can also
begin formation of the "race track" or erosion grooves in the
target.
[0149] After processing a batch of substrates, the chamber may need
to be cleaned and the target reconditioned in particular. As
previously discussed, the constituent elements from the
multi-compositional target may redeposit on the target. Aluminum is
particularly susceptible to redeposit on the target center area
because of its light mass and the scattering effects of the
process. FIGS. 10A-10C depict a target during various stages of
use. FIG. 10A illustrates a new target assembly 910 having a
backing plate 912 and a multi-component target 914, for example
comprising a TiAl alloy having a 1:1 ratio. After burn-in and
during the film deposition process, the race track or erosion
grooves 916 begin to form in the target. As the magnetron is
rotating in the "out" position during sputtering, the plasma forms
underneath the magnetron along an outer region of the target.
[0150] The center region 918 also experiences some erosion but not
as much since the plasma is denser under the target in the outer
region where the magnetron is located. Over processing time
however, constituent material may be redeposited on the target
forming a redeposit region 919 having a different composition than
the rest of the target, as shown in FIG. 10C. One batch may be from
25 to 50 substrates, and the degree to which the redeposit region
919 forms and necessitates cleaning prior to further film
deposition will depend on the various processing settings.
[0151] A post-deposition cleaning process may be performed after
processing a batch of substrates. The cleaning process may comprise
a first process and a second process. The first process may include
removing the substrate from the chamber and moving the source
magnetron assembly 420 to a second position. In one example, the
position of the source magnetron assembly 420 is adjusted by
changing the rotation direction of the magnetron translation device
(e.g., motor 193). The second position is the "in" position as
shown in FIG. 4C. A plasma P is then ignited using RF and DC power
coupled to the multi-component target 132 and a plasma is formed
under an inner portion of the first surface of the
multi-compositional target. The chamber is pressurized to 2 mTorr.
The re-deposited material 919, which was built up on the center
region 918 of the target, is subsequently removed. Both the DC
power and RF power are set at 2 kW during the first process. The
variable capacitor may be set at 12.5%. The plasma may remain on to
clean the chamber for as long as 45 seconds. Portions of the first
process, such as the plasma ignition/formation and removal, may be
repeated as many as 7 times to remove the redeposit from the center
of the target.
[0152] The second process includes moving the magnetron assembly to
the first position or "out" position as shown in FIG. 4D. A plasma
is ignited using RF and DC power coupled to the multi-component
target and a plasma formed under an outer portion of the first
surface of the multi-compositional target. The chamber is
pressurized to 40 mTorr and the erosion grooves 916 are re-formed
in the multi-compositional target to look similar to FIG. 10B.
[0153] In the high pressure range of embodiments of the invention,
the RF power excites the plasma ions, such as Ar, and the elevated
pressure and Ar ion collisions increase the ion fraction. Heavier
gases such as krypton (Kr) or xenon (Xe) may produce more effective
scattering so that the horizontal velocity of the ions may be
reduced. This is especially useful for heavier metal deposition
such as tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), etc. Embodiments of the
invention provide the ability to achieve high film uniformities and
step-coverage.
[0154] According to embodiments of the invention, the RF power
applied to the target and high pressure generates a high density
plasma near the target. When the sputtered species pass through the
plasma, they get ionized, which significantly increases the
ion/neutral ratio of the plasma. Additionally, when the sputtered
species go to the substrate in a high pressure ambient, many
collisions happen which help reduce the energy of species parallel
to the substrate direction and increases its vertical
directionality. Since the atoms get ionized near the target and not
near the substrate surface (as the plasma is constrained by the
asymmetric B-field from the magnetron) the velocity of the ions are
not as vertical as other types of methods, such as ionized metal
plasma (IMP), providing better sidewall/step coverage.
[0155] Using RF-DC power sources coupled to the multi-component
target provides asymmetry and imbalance which allows the electrons
to move radially toward the target center and plasma center thus
helping to increase the ionization and target utilization.
[0156] Improved step-coverage of this process may occur because of
the following reasons. A high density plasma forms under the
target, so that metal species get ionized when they pass through
the plasma. High pressure and high RF power increases the RF plasma
density, meaning increased density of electrons and Ar+. High
pressure also reduces the mean free path so that metal species are
more easily hit by electrons or Ar+, and get ionized. Additionally,
the sputtered metal has a lower horizontal velocity near the
substrate surface so that the metal ion can be easily pulled down
to the substrate. The low velocity of metal species is achieved by
losing its original velocity along the horizontal direction through
multiple random scattering with Ar+which is further enhanced by
high pressure. Thus, according to embodiments of the invention,
uniform film composition from multi-component targets having good
step coverage, uniform thickness, desired constituent ratios, and
Rs values may be formed.
[0157] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the
present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention
may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and
the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
* * * * *