Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Charles Guenzer
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Patent number: 6399511Abstract: A dielectric etch process applicable etching a dielectric layer with an underlying stop layer. It is particularly though not necessarily applicable to forming a dual-damascene interconnect structure by a counterbore process, in which a deep via is etched prior to the formation of a trench connecting two of more vias. A single metallization fills the dual-damascene structure. The substrate is formed with a lower stop layer, a lower dielectric layer, an upper stop layer, and an upper dielectric layer. For example, the dielectric layers may be silicon dioxide, and the stop layers, silicon nitride. The initial deep via etch includes at least two substeps. A first substep includes a non-selective etch through the upper stop layer followed by a second substep of selectively etching through the lower dielectric layer and stopping on the lower stop layer. The first substep may be preceded by yet another substep including a selective etch part ways through the upper dielectric layer.Type: GrantFiled: December 1, 2000Date of Patent: June 4, 2002Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Betty Tang, Jian Ding
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Patent number: 6387287Abstract: An oxide etching process, particularly useful for selectively etching oxide over a feature having a non-oxide composition, such as silicon nitride and especially when that feature has a corner that is prone to faceting during the oxide etch. The invention uses one of three hydrogen-free fluorocarbons having a low F/C ratio, specifically hexafluorobutadiene (C4F6), hexafluorocyclobutene (C4F6), and hexafluorobenzene (C6F6). At least hexafluorobutadiene has a boiling point below 10° C. and is commercially available. The fluorocarbon together with a substantial amount of a noble gas such as argon is excited into a high-density plasma in a reactor which inductively couples plasma source power into the chamber and RF biases the pedestal electrode supporting the wafer. Preferably, one of two two-step etch process is used. In the first, the source and bias power are reduced towards the end of the etch.Type: GrantFiled: March 25, 1999Date of Patent: May 14, 2002Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Hoiman Hung, Joseph P Caulfield, Hongqing Shan, Ruiping Wang, Gerald Zheyao Yin
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Patent number: 6362109Abstract: A single-step plasma etch process for etching both oxide and nitride selectively to photoresist and silicon. The etching gas includes a fluorocarbon, difluoromethane, oxygen, and carbon monoxide. The fluorocarbon is preferably hydrogen free. Preferred fluorocarbons are hexafluorobutadiene (C4F6), octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8), and carbon tetrafluoride (CF4), of which C4F6 is the most preferred. Approximately equal amounts are supplied of the fluorocarbon, difluoromethane, and oxygen and a significantly larger amount of carbon monoxide. The chemistry is also applicable to etching organo silicate glass selectively to photoresist.Type: GrantFiled: June 2, 2000Date of Patent: March 26, 2002Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Yungsang Kim, Takehiko Komatsu, Claes H. Bjorkman, Hongqing Shan
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Patent number: 6361705Abstract: A plasma etch process, particularly applicable to an self-aligned contact etch in a high-density plasma for selectively etching oxide over nitride, although selectivity to silicon is also achieved. In the process, a fluoropropane or a fluoropropylene is a principal etching gas in the presence of a substantial amount of an inactive gas such as argon. Good nitride selectivity has been achieved with hexafluoropropylene (C3F6), octafluoropropane (C3F8), heptafluoropropane (C3HF7), hexafluoropropane (C3H2F6). The process may use one or more of the these gases in proportions to optimize selectivity and a wide process window. Difluoromethane (CH2F2) or other fluorocarbons may be combined with the above gases, particularly with C3F6 for optimum selectivity over other materials without the occurrence of etch stop in narrow contact holes and with a wide process window.Type: GrantFiled: March 1, 1999Date of Patent: March 26, 2002Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Ruiping Wang, Gerald Z. Yin, Hao A. Lu, Robert W. Wu, Jian Ding
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Patent number: 6357432Abstract: A method of fabricating support members for wafer processing fixtures and the produce are disclosed. In the first step of the method, an elongate support member basic form is provided. The basic form has a substantially wedge-shaped cross-section and angular comers. A plurality of wafer-retaining slots are cut along one side of the support member basic form. The support member basic form can include a front surface and a rear surface, with at least one angular comer occurring on each of the surfaces. The comers have a larger radius on the rear than in the front. Attachment structures on terminal ends can be fixed to bases. The elongate support member basic form can be fabricated from an inert crystalline material, such as polycrystalline silicon or monocrystalline silicon.Type: GrantFiled: January 29, 2001Date of Patent: March 19, 2002Assignee: Integrated Materials, Inc.Inventors: Raanan Zehavi, Robert Davis
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Patent number: 6326307Abstract: A photoresist plasma pretreatment performed prior to a plasma oxide etch. The plasma pretreatment is performed with an argon plasma or a carbon tetrafluoride and trifluoromethane plasma with lower power than in the main etch or is performed with a plasma of difluoromethane or trifluoromethane and carbon monoxide but no argon diluent gas. Thereby, striations on the oxide wall are reduced.Type: GrantFiled: November 15, 1999Date of Patent: December 4, 2001Assignee: Appllied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Roger A. Lindley, Henry Fong, Yunsang Kim, Takehito Komatsu, Ajey M. Joshi, Bryan Y. Pu, Hongqing Shan
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Patent number: 6308654Abstract: A plasma reactor appropriate for fabrication, especially etching, of semiconductor integrated circuits and similar processes in which the chamber has a top comprising a truncated conical dome and, preferably, a counter electrode disposed at the top of the conical dome. An RF coil is wrapped around the conical dome to inductively couple RF energy into a plasma within the chamber dome. The dome temperature can be controlled in a number of ways. A heat sink can be attached to the outside rim of the dome. A rigid conical thermal control sheath can be fit to the outside of the dome, and any differential thermal expansion between the two is accommodated by the conical geometry, thus assuring good thermal contact. The rigid thermal control sheath can include resistive heating, fluid cooling, or both. Alternatively, a flexible resistive heater can be wrapped around the dome inside the RF coil.Type: GrantFiled: October 18, 1996Date of Patent: October 30, 2001Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Gerhard Schneider, Viktor Shel, Andrew Nguyen, Robert W. Wu, Gerald Z. Yin
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Patent number: 6284149Abstract: A plasma etching process for etching a carbon-based low-k dielectric layer in a multi-layer inter-level dielectric. The low-k dielectric may be divinyl siloxane-benzocyclobutene (BCB), which contains about 4% silicon, the remainder being carbon, hydrogen, and a little oxygen. The BCB etch uses an etching gas of oxygen, a fluorocarbon, and nitrogen and no argon. An N2/O2 ratio of between 1:1 and 3:1 produces vertical walls in the BCB. In a dual-damascene structure, the inter-level dielectric includes two BCB layers, each underlaid by a respective stop layer. Photolithography with an organic photoresist needs a hard mask of silicon oxide or nitride over the upper BCB layer. After the BCB etch has cleared all the photoresist, the bias power applied to the cathode supporting the wafer needs to be set to a low value while the separately controlled plasma source power is set reasonably high, thereby reducing faceting of the exposed hard mask.Type: GrantFiled: September 18, 1998Date of Patent: September 4, 2001Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Zongyu Li, Karsten Schneider, Axel Walter, Jian Ding
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Patent number: 6211092Abstract: A dielectric etch process particularly applicable to forming a dual-damascene interconnect structure by a counterbore process, in which a deep via is etched prior to the formation of a trench connecting two of more vias. A single metallization fills the dual-damascene structure. The substrate is formed with a lower stop layer, a lower dielectric layer, an upper stop layer, and an upper dielectric layer. For example, the dielectric layers may be silicon dioxide, and the stop layers, silicon nitride. The initial deep via etch includes at least two substeps. A first substep includes a non-selective etch through the upper stop layer followed by a second substep of selectively etching through the lower dielectric layer and stopping on the lower stop layer. The first substep may be preceded by yet another substep including a selective etch part ways through the upper dielectric layer.Type: GrantFiled: July 9, 1998Date of Patent: April 3, 2001Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Betty Tang, Jian Ding
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Patent number: 6183655Abstract: A plasma etch process, particularly applicable to a self-aligned contact etch or other advanced structures requiring high-selectivity to nitride or other non-oxide materials and producing no etch stop. The process is preferably performed in a high-density plasma reactor for etching holes with either high or low aspect rations. In this process, hexafluoropropylene (C3F6) is the principal etching gas and another hydrofluorocarbon such as CH2F2 or C3H2F6 is added at least in part for its polymer-forming ability, which increases selectivity of etching oxide to nitride. The process gas also includes a substantial amount of an inactive gas such as argon. The process gas mixture can be balanced between the active etching gas and the polymer former in proportions to optimize selectivity over other materials without the occurrence of etch stop in narrow contact holes and with a wide process window.Type: GrantFiled: March 27, 1998Date of Patent: February 6, 2001Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Ruiping Wang, Gerald Z. Yin, Robert W. Wu, Jian Ding
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Patent number: 6174451Abstract: An oxide etching process, particular useful for selectively etching oxide over a feature having a non-oxide composition, such as silicon nitride and especially when that feature has a corner that is prone to faceting during the oxide etch. The invention uses one of three unsaturated 3- and 4-carbon fluorocarbons, specifically hexafluorobutadiene (C4F6), pentafluoropropylene (C3HF5), and trifluoropropyne (C3HF3), all of which have boiling points below 10° C. and are commercially available. The unsaturated hydrofluorocarbon together with argon is excited into a high-density plasma in a reactor which inductively couples plasma source power into the chamber and RF biases the pedestal electrode supporting the wafer. Preferably, a two-step etch is used process is used in which the above etching gas is used in the main step to provide a good vertical profile and a more strongly polymerizing fluorocarbon such as difluoromethane (CH2F2) is added in the over etch to protect the nitride corner.Type: GrantFiled: November 16, 1998Date of Patent: January 16, 2001Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Raymond Hung, Joseph P. Caulfield, Hongching Shan, Ruiping Wang, Gerald Z. Yin
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Patent number: 6171974Abstract: A plasma etch process for oxide having high selectivity to silicon is disclosed comprising the use of a mixture of SiF4 and one or more other fluorine-containing etch gases in an etch chamber maintained within a pressure range of from about 1 milliTorr to about 200 milliTorr. Preferably, the etch chamber also contains an exposed silicon surface. The plasma may be generated by a capacitive discharge type plasma generator, if pressures of at least about 50 milliTorr are used, but preferably the plasma is generated by an electromagnetically coupled plasma generator. The high selectivity exhibited by the etch process of the invention permits use of an electromagnetically coupled plasma generator which, in turn, permits operation of the etch process at reduced pressures of preferably from about 1 milliTorr to about 30 milliTorr resulting in the etching of vertical sidewall openings in the oxide layer.Type: GrantFiled: January 24, 1992Date of Patent: January 9, 2001Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Jeffrey Marks, Jerry Yuen-Kui Wong, David W. Groechel, Peter R. Keswick, Chan-Lon Yang
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Patent number: 6168726Abstract: A process for etching an oxidized organo-silane film exhibiting a low dielectric constant and having a most preferred atomic composition of 52% hydrogen, 8% carbon, 19% silicon, and 21% oxygen. The process of etching deep holes in the organo-silane film while stopping on a nitride or other non-oxide layer is preferably performed in an inductively coupled high-density plasma reactor with a main etching gas mixture of a fluorocarbon, such as C4F8, and argon while the pedestal electrode supporting the wafer is RF biased. For very deep and narrow holes, oxygen or nitrogen may be added to volatize carbon. In an integrated process in which an oxygen plasma is used either for the film etching or for post-etch treatments such as ashing or nitride removal, the oxygen plasma should be excited only when no RF bias is applied to the pedestal electrode, and thereafter the sample should be annealed in an inert environment to recover the low dielectric constant.Type: GrantFiled: November 25, 1998Date of Patent: January 2, 2001Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Zongyu Li, Jian Ding, Mehul Naik
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Patent number: 6152074Abstract: A multi-beam source for deposition of a material on to a substrate with enhanced deposition rate, uniformity and beam directionality. A plurality of orifices are provided in a head unit having a cavity containing a vapor of the deposition material. The cavity and the vapor contained therein are maintained at a high temperature to increase the deposition rate. The orifices are maintained at the same high temperature and act as heated collimators to produce highly directional beams for deposition of materials into high aspect ratio features. When used in jet vapor deposition techniques, an inert gas flow is introduced into the cavity and forced out thereof through the orifices as jets to transport particles of the deposition material to the substrate.Type: GrantFiled: August 1, 1997Date of Patent: November 28, 2000Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Marc O. Schweitzer, Barry L. Chin, Ivo J. Raaijmakers
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Patent number: 6120640Abstract: A plasma etch reactor having interior surfaces facing the plasma composed of boron carbide, preferably principally composed of B.sub.4 C. The boron carbide may be a bulk sintered body or may be a layer of boron carbide coated on a chamber part. The boron carbide coating may be applied by thermal spraying, such as plasma spraying, by chemical vapor deposition, or by other layer forming technique such as a surface converting reaction. The boron carbide is highly resistant to high-density plasma etchants such as BCl.sub.3. The plasma sprayed coating is advantageously applied to only a portion of an anodized aluminum wall. The boron carbide may be sprayed over the exposed portion of the aluminum over which the anodization has been removed. A band of the aluminum substrate at the transition between the anodization and the boron carbide is roughened prior to anodization so that the boron carbide sticks to the correspondingly roughened surface of the anodization.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 1996Date of Patent: September 19, 2000Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Hong Shih, Nianci Han, Steve S. Y. Mak, Gerald Zheyao Yin
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Patent number: 6079356Abstract: A plasma reaction chamber particularly suited for plasma-enhance chemical vapor deposition of titanium using TiCl.sub.4 as the precursor. The reactor includes a perforated showerhead faceplate and a perforated blocker plate within the showerhead to evenly distribute the atomized TiCl.sub.4. Both the showerhead faceplate and the blocker plate are made of solid nickel. RF power is applied between the showerhead faceplate and the heater pedestal supporting the wafer to excite the processing gas into a plasma. A shield ring is set on the periphery of the heater pedestal to confine the plasma to the processing region above the wafer. The shield ring is supported on the heater pedestal by a downwardly descending ridge, thereby minimizing thermal flow. The shield ring also protects the periphery of the top surface of the heater pedestal not covered by the wafer. An isolator electrically insulates the RF-driven showerhead from the chamber body and is disposed generally above the shield ring.Type: GrantFiled: February 13, 1998Date of Patent: June 27, 2000Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Salvador Umotoy, Anh N. Nguyen, Truc T. Tran, Lawrence Chung-Lei, Mei Chang
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Patent number: 6074959Abstract: A plasma etch process, particularly applicable to a self-aligned contact etch or other advanced structures requiring high-selectivity to nitride or other non-oxide materials and no etch stop. The process is preferably performed in a high-density plasma reactor for etching holes with either high or low aspect rations. In this process, hexafluoropropane (C.sub.3 H.sub.2 F.sub.6) is the principal etching gas in the presence of a substantial amount of an inactive gas such as argon. The process can also be used with the closely related gases heptafluoropropane (C.sub.3 HF.sub.7) and pentafluoropropane (C.sub.3 H.sub.3 F.sub.5). The process may use one or more of the these gases in proportions to optimize selectivity over other materials without the occurrence of etch stop in narrow contact holes and with a wide process window. Difluoromethane (CH.sub.2 F.sub.2) or other fluorocarbons may be combined with the above gases for optimum selectivity for a design of a specific contact feature.Type: GrantFiled: November 5, 1997Date of Patent: June 13, 2000Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Ruiping Wang, Gerald Z. Yin, Robert W. Wu, Jian Ding
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Patent number: 6009830Abstract: A plasma etch reactor having independent gas feeds above the wafer and either at the sides or below the wafer. Preferably, a carrier gas such as argon is supplied from a showerhead electrode above the wafer while an etching gas is supplied from below. In the case of selectively etching an oxide over a non-oxide layer, the etchant gas should include one or more fluorocarbons.Type: GrantFiled: November 21, 1997Date of Patent: January 4, 2000Assignee: Applied Materials Inc.Inventors: Haojiang Li, Robert W. Wu
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Patent number: 5965463Abstract: A low-temperature process for selectively etching oxide with high selectivity over silicon in a high-density plasma reactor. The principal etching gas is a hydrogen-free fluorocarbon, such as C.sub.2 F.sub.6 or C.sub.4 F.sub.8, to which is added a silane or similar silicon-bearing gas, e.g., the monosilane SiH.sub.4. The fluorocarbon and silane are added in a ratio within the range of 2 to 5, preferably 2.5 to 3. The process provides high polysilicon selectivity, high photoresist facet selectivity, and steep profile angles. Selectivity is enhanced by operating at high flow rates. Silicon tetrafluoride may be added to enhance the oxide etching rate. The process may operate at temperatures of chamber parts below 180.degree. C. and even down to 120.degree. C. The process enables the fabrication of a bi-level contact structure with a wide process window.Type: GrantFiled: July 3, 1997Date of Patent: October 12, 1999Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Chunshi Cui, Robert W. Wu, Gerald Zheyao Yin
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Patent number: 5910221Abstract: A plasma reactor, for example, for processing a semiconductor wafer, in which parts of the chamber are formed of multiple pieces of silicon carbide that have been bonded together. The bonding may be performed by diffusion bonding or by using a bonding agent such as polyimide. These silicon carbide parts typically face and define a plasma region. Preferably, the surface facing the plasma is coated with a silicon carbide film, such as that deposited by chemical vapor deposition, which is more resistant to erosion by the plasma. Advantageously, the different parts are formed with different electrical resistivities consistent with forming an advantageous plasma.Type: GrantFiled: June 18, 1997Date of Patent: June 8, 1999Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventor: Robert W. Wu