Abstract: Provided is a mounting table structure for use in forming a thin film on a surface of a target object mounted on the mounting table structure by using a raw material gas including an organic metal compound in a processing chamber. The mounting table structure includes: a mounting table main body which mounts thereon the target object and has therein a heater; and a base which supports the mounting table main body while surrounding a side surface and a bottom surface of the mounting table main body, the base having therein a coolant path where a coolant flows therethrough and being maintained at a temperature higher than the solidification temperature or the liquefaction temperature of the raw material gas, but lower than the decomposition temperature of the raw material gas.

Abstract: In a vacuum processing apparatus, a process station includes processing regions arranged in a row at intervals to perform vacuum processing on substrates, the substrates being sequentially transferred between the processing regions from upstream to downstream; a first transport unit for transferring the substrates in a first preliminary vacuum chamber to the processing region at an upstream end; a second transport unit arranged between the adjacent processing regions; and a third transport unit for transferring the substrates from the processing region at a downstream end to a second preliminary vacuum chamber. The control unit outputs a control signal such that in the transfer operations in which the substrates are respectively transferred to the subsequent downstream processing regions from the first preliminary vacuum chamber to the processing region at the downstream end, time periods of at least two transfer operations partially or totally overlap with each other.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for film formation, characterized by comprising allowing a treatment gas stream containing a metal carbonyl-containing treatment gas and a carbon monoxide-containing carrier gas to flow into a region on the upper outside of the outer periphery of a substrate to be treated in a diameter direction of the substrate while avoiding the surface of the substrate and diffusing the metal carbonyl from the treatment gas stream into the surface of the substrate to form a metal film on the surface of the substrate.

Abstract: Provided is a placing table structure which is disposed in a processing container and has a subject to be processed thereon so as to form a thin film on the subject in the processing container by using raw material gas which generates thermal decomposition reaction having reversibility. The placing table structure is provided with a placing table for placing the subject to be processed on a placing surface, i.e., an upper surface of the placing table structure, and a decomposition restraint gas supply means which is arranged in the placing table for the purpose of supplying decomposition restraint gas, which restraints thermal decomposition of the raw material gas, toward a peripheral section of the subject placed on the placing surface of the placing table.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for forming an oxide film on a silicon wafer, comprising: measuring surface roughness of the silicon wafer and/or crystallinity in a surface layer portion of the silicon wafer in advance; adjusting oxidizing conditions for the silicon wafer based on the measurement value; and forming the oxide film on the silicon wafer under the adjusted oxidizing conditions. As a result, there can be provided the method for forming an oxide film by which the oxidizing conditions can be adjusted based on a state of the surface and/or the surface layer of the silicon wafer before forming the oxide film and even an ultrathin oxide film can be thereby accurately formed.

Abstract: A method and system are provided for integrated substrate processing in Cu metallization. The method includes providing a substrate in a vacuum processing tool containing a plurality of processing systems configured to process the substrate and a substrate transfer system configured to transfer the substrate under vacuum conditions between the plurality of processing systems, and performing an integrated deposition process on the substrate. The plurality of processing systems and the substrate transfer system maintain a base pressure of background gases at 6.8×10?8 Ton or lower, preferably 5×10?8 Torr or lower, during the integrated deposition process. According to one embodiment, the integrated process includes depositing a barrier metal layer on the substrate, and depositing a Cu layer on the barrier metal layer. According to another embodiment, the integrated process further includes depositing a Ru layer on the barrier metal layer, and depositing a Cu layer on the Ru layer.

Abstract: The present invention is a film deposition method of a metal film comprising the steps of: placing an object to be processed having a recess formed in a surface thereof, on a stage in a processing vessel; evacuating the processing vessel to create a vacuum therein; ionizing a metal target in the evacuated processing vessel to generate metal particles including metal ions, by means of a plasma formed by making the plasma from an inert gas; and by applying a bias electric power to the object to be processed placed on the stage to draw the plasma and the metal particles into the object to be processed, scraping a bottom part of the recess to form a scraped recess, and depositing a metal film on an entire surface of the object to be processed including surfaces in the recess and in the scraped recess.

Abstract: A technique for embedding metal in a microscopic recess provided in the surface of a process object, such as a semiconductor wafer, by plasma sputtering. A film forming step and a diffusion step are alternately performed a plurality of times. The film forming step deposits a small amount of metal film in the recess. The diffusion step moves the deposited metal film towards the bottom portion of the recess. In the film forming step, bias power to be applied to a stage for supporting the wafer is set to a value ensuring that, on the surface of the wafer, the rate of metal deposition due to the drawing-in of metal particles is substantially equal to the rate of the sputter etching by plasma. In the diffusion step, the wafer is maintained at a temperature which permits occurrence of surface diffusion of the metal film deposited in the recess.

Abstract: A raw material recovery method for recovering a raw material of an organic metallic compound, which has the property of being stable toward a specific refrigerant without being decomposed thereby, from exhaust gas discharged from a treatment container in which a metallic thin film is formed on the surface of an object to be treated by using source gas obtained by vaporizing the raw material is characterized by being provided with a solidification step for solidifying the unreacted source gas by cooling the exhaust gas by bringing the exhaust gas into contact with the refrigerant and reprecipitating the raw material, and a recovery step for separating and recovering the raw material reprecipitated in the solidification step from the refrigerant. To provide a method for controlling an exhaust gas flow rate so that flow of gas in a processing chamber becomes uniform.

Abstract: Provided is a film-forming method for performing a film-forming process on a surface of a target substrate to be processed in an evacuable processing chamber, a recessed portion being formed on the surface of the target substrate. The method includes a transition metal-containing film processing process in which a transition metal-containing film is formed by a heat treatment by using a source gas containing a transition metal; and a metal film forming process in which a metal film containing an element of the group VIII of the periodic table is formed.

Abstract: A method for forming a modified TaC or TaCN film that may be utilized as a barrier film for Cu metallization. The method includes disposing a substrate in a process chamber of a plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) system configured to perform a PEALD process, depositing a TaC or TaCN film on the substrate using the PEALD process, and modifying the deposited TaC or TaCN film by exposing the deposited TaC or TaCN film to plasma excited hydrogen or atomic hydrogen or a combination thereof in order to remove carbon from at least the plasma exposed portion of the deposited TaCN film. The method further includes forming a metal film on the modified TaCN film, where the modified TaCN film provides stronger adhesion to the metal film than the deposited TaCN film. According to one embodiment, a TaCN film is deposited from alternating exposures of TAIMATA and plasma excited hydrogen.

Abstract: Embodiments of a method and system for improving the consistency of a layer or a plurality of layers with a desired profile in a deposition system are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for film formation, characterized by comprising allowing a treatment gas stream containing a metal carbonyl-containing treatment gas and a carbon monoxide-containing carrier gas to flow into a region on the upper outside of the outer periphery of a substrate to be treated in a diameter direction of the substrate while avoiding the surface of the substrate and diffusing the metal carbonyl from the treatment gas stream into the surface of the substrate to form a metal film on the surface of the substrate.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for forming an oxide film on a silicon wafer, comprising: measuring surface roughness of the silicon wafer and/or crystallinity in a surface layer portion of the silicon wafer in advance; adjusting oxidizing conditions for the silicon wafer based on the measurement value; and forming the oxide film on the silicon wafer under the adjusted oxidizing conditions. As a result, there can be provided the method for forming an oxide film by which the oxidizing conditions can be adjusted based on a state of the surface and/or the surface layer of the silicon wafer before forming the oxide film and even an ultrathin oxide film can be thereby accurately formed.

Abstract: A method for integrating ruthenium (Ru) metal cap layers and modified Ru metal cap layers into copper (Cu) metallization of semiconductor devices to improve electromigration (EM) and stress migration (SM) in bulk Cu metal. In one embodiment, the method includes providing a planarized patterned substrate containing a Cu metal surface and a dielectric layer surface, depositing first Ru metal on the Cu metal surface, and depositing additional Ru metal on the dielectric layer surface, where the amount of the additional Ru metal is less than the amount of the first Ru metal. The method further includes at least substantially removing the additional Ru metal from the dielectric layer surface to improve the selective formation of a Ru metal cap layer on the Cu metal surface. Other embodiments further include incorporating one or more types of modifier elements into the dielectric layer surface, the Cu metal surface, the Ru metal cap layer, or a combination thereof.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a technology for depositing a thin metal film by using a plasma sputtering technique on a top surface of a target object, e.g., a semiconductor wafer or the like, and on a surface of a recess opened at the top surface. The film deposition method is characterized in that a film deposition process to deposit a metal film on a sidewall of the recess by generating metal ions by way of making a metal target sputter with a plasma generated from a discharge gas in the processing container and by applying to the mounting table a bias power to cause a metal film deposition based on a metal ion attraction and a sputter etching based on the plasma generated from the discharge gas simultaneously on the top surface of the target object.

Abstract: Disclosed is a technique for embedding metal in a recess provided in the surface of a process object, such as a semiconductor wafer W, only by plasma sputtering. The metal is copper as a typical example. The recess has a microscopic hole or trench having a diameter or width of 100 nm or less as a typical example. A film forming step and a diffusion step are alternately performed a plurality of times. The film forming step deposits a small amount of a metal film in the recess. The diffusion step moves the deposited metal film toward the bottom portion of the recess. In the film forming step, bias power to be applied to a stage for supporting the wafer W is set to a value ensuring that, on the surface of the wafer W, the rate of metal deposition due to the drawing-in of metal particles is substantially equal to the rate of the sputter etching by plasma. In the diffusion step, the wafer W is maintained at a temperature which permits occurrence of surface diffusion of the metal film deposited in the recess.

Abstract: A film formation method is disclosed for depositing a metal film on a target substrate by supplying a metal carbonyl source in gas phase to a surface of the target substrate and decomposing the source near the surface of the target substrate. The method includes a step of preferentially decomposing the metal carbonyl source in an area near the outer peripheral portion of the target substrate when the metal film is being deposited on the surface of the target substrate. As a result, a CO concentration in the atmosphere is increased locally near the outer peripheral portion of the target substrate and the depositing of the metal film on the outer peripheral portion is better controlled.

Abstract: A method for integrating ruthenium (Ru) metal cap layers and modified Ru metal cap layers into copper (Cu) metallization of semiconductor devices to improve electromigration (EM) and stress migration (SM) in bulk Cu metal. In one embodiment, the method includes providing a planarized patterned substrate containing a Cu metal surface and a dielectric layer surface, depositing first Ru metal on the Cu metal surface, and depositing additional Ru metal on the dielectric layer surface, where the amount of the additional Ru metal is less than the amount of the first Ru metal. The method further includes at least substantially removing the additional Ru metal from the dielectric layer surface to improve the selective formation of a Ru metal cap layer on the Cu metal surface. Other embodiments further include incorporating one or more types of modifier elements into the dielectric layer surface, the Cu metal surface, the Ru metal cap layer, or a combination thereof.

Abstract: The present invention is a film deposition method of a metal film comprising the steps of: placing an object to be processed having a recess formed in a surface thereof, on a stage in a processing vessel; evacuating the processing vessel to create a vacuum therein; ionizing a metal target in the evacuated processing vessel to generate metal particles including metal ions, by means of a plasma formed by making the plasma from an inert gas; and by applying a bias electric power to the object to be processed placed on the stage to draw the plasma and the metal particles into the object to be processed, scraping a bottom part of the recess to form a scraped recess, and depositing a metal film on an entire surface of the object to be processed including surfaces in the recess and in the scraped recess.