H2-based plasma treatment to eliminate within-batch and batch-to-batch etch drift

• Main Authors: SHANKER SUNIL, NGUYEN MINH ANH, HUANG JUDY H, LANG CHI-I
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 01.06.2010
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

This invention relates to electronic device fabrication for making devices such as semiconductor wafers and resolves the detrimental fluorine loading effect on deposition in the reaction chamber of a HDP CVD apparatus used for forming dielectric layers in high aspect ratio, narrow width recessed features with a repeating dep/etch/dep process. The detrimental fluorine loading effect in the chamber on deposition uniformity is reduced and wafers are provided having less deposition thickness variations by employing the method using a passivation treatment and precoating of the chamber before substrates are processed. In a preferred process, after each wafer of a batch is finished, the passivation steps are repeated. In a further preferred process, after all the wafers of a batch are finished, the passivation and precoat procedure is repeated. A preferred passivation gas is a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen.