Abstract: Embodiments of the present technology may include a method of etching a substrate. The method may include striking a plasma discharge in a plasma region. The method may also include flowing a fluorine-containing precursor into the plasma region to form a plasma effluent. The plasma effluent may flow into a mixing region. The method may further include introducing a hydrogen-and-oxygen-containing compound into the mixing region without first passing the hydrogen-and-oxygen-containing compound into the plasma region. Additionally, the method may include reacting the hydrogen-and-oxygen-containing compound with the plasma effluent in the mixing region to form reaction products. The reaction products may flow through a plurality of openings in a partition to a substrate processing region. The method may also include etching the substrate with the reaction products in the substrate processing region.

Abstract: Methods of forming self-aligned structures on patterned substrates are described. The methods may be used to form metal lines or vias without the use of a separate photolithography pattern definition operation. Self-aligned contacts may be produced regardless of the presence of spacer elements. The methods include directionally ion-implanting a gapfill portion of a gapfill silicon oxide layer to implant into the gapfill portion without substantially ion-implanting the remainder of the gapfill silicon oxide layer (the sidewalls). Subsequently, a remote plasma is formed using a fluorine-containing precursor to etch the patterned substrate such that the gapfill portions of silicon oxide are selectively etched relative to other exposed portions exposed parallel to the ion implantation direction. Without ion implantation, the etch operation would be isotropic owing to the remote nature of the plasma excitation during the etch process.

Abstract: A method of selectively etching silicon nitride from a substrate comprising a silicon nitride layer and a silicon oxide layer includes flowing a fluorine-containing gas into a plasma generation region of a substrate processing chamber and applying energy to the fluorine-containing gas to generate a plasma in the plasma generation region. The plasma comprises fluorine radicals and fluorine ions. The method also includes filtering the plasma to provide a reactive gas having a higher concentration of fluorine radicals than fluorine ions and flowing the reactive gas into a gas reaction region of the substrate processing chamber. The method also includes exposing the substrate to the reactive gas in the gas reaction region of the substrate processing chamber. The reactive gas etches the silicon nitride layer at a higher etch rate than the reactive gas etches the silicon oxide layer.

Abstract: A method of etching patterned heterogeneous silicon-containing structures is described and includes a remote plasma etch with inverted selectivity compared to existing remote plasma etches. The methods may be used to conformally trim polysilicon while removing little or no silicon oxide. More generally, silicon-containing films containing less oxygen are removed more rapidly than silicon-containing films which contain more oxygen. Other exemplary applications include trimming silicon carbon nitride films while essentially retaining silicon oxycarbide. Applications such as these are enabled by the methods presented herein and enable new process flows. These process flows are expected to become desirable for a variety of finer linewidth structures. Methods contained herein may also be used to etch silicon-containing films faster than nitrogen-and-silicon containing films having a greater concentration of nitrogen.

Abstract: Methods are described herein for etching metal films which are difficult to volatize. The methods include exposing a metal film to a chlorine-containing precursor (e.g. Cl2). Chlorine is then removed from the substrate processing region. A carbon-and-nitrogen-containing precursor (e.g. TMEDA) is delivered to the substrate processing region to form volatile metal complexes which desorb from the surface of the metal film. The methods presented remove metal while very slowly removing the other exposed materials. A thin metal oxide layer may be present on the surface of the metal layer, in which case a local plasma from hydrogen may be used to remove the oxygen or amorphize the near surface region, which has been found to increase the overall etch rate.

Abstract: A method of etching exposed silicon oxide on patterned heterogeneous structures is described and includes a gas phase etch using plasma effluents formed in a remote plasma. The remote plasma excites a fluorine-containing precursor in combination with an oxygen-containing precursor. Plasma effluents within the remote plasma are flowed into a substrate processing region where the plasma effluents combine with water vapor or an alcohol. The combination react with the patterned heterogeneous structures to remove an exposed silicon oxide portion faster than an exposed silicon nitride portion. The inclusion of the oxygen-containing precursor may suppress the silicon nitride etch rate and result in unprecedented silicon oxide etch selectivity.

Abstract: A method of etching exposed silicon oxide on patterned heterogeneous structures is described and includes a gas phase etch using plasma effluents formed in a remote plasma. The remote plasma excites a fluorine-containing precursor in combination with an oxygen-containing precursor. Plasma effluents within the remote plasma are flowed into a substrate processing region where the plasma effluents combine with water vapor or an alcohol. The combination react with the patterned heterogeneous structures to remove an exposed silicon oxide portion faster than a second exposed portion. The inclusion of the oxygen-containing precursor may suppress the second exposed portion etch rate and result in unprecedented silicon oxide etch selectivity.

Abstract: Methods of evenly etching tungsten liners from high aspect ratio trenches are described. The methods include a remote plasma etch using plasma effluents formed from a fluorine-containing precursor and a high flow of helium. Plasma effluents from the remote plasma are flowed into a substrate processing region where the plasma effluents react with tungsten coating a patterned substrate having high aspect ratio trenches. The plasmas effluents react with exposed surfaces and evenly remove tungsten from outside the trenches and on the sidewalls of the trenches. The plasma effluents pass through an ion suppression element positioned between the remote plasma and the substrate processing region. Optionally, the methods may include concurrent ion bombardment of the patterned substrate to help remove potentially thicker horizontal tungsten regions, e.g., at the bottom of the trenches or between trenches.

Abstract: Methods of selectively etching aluminum oxide from the surface of a patterned substrate are described. The etch selectively removes aluminum oxide relative to other metal oxides and silicon-containing films such as silicon, polysilicon, silicon oxide, silicon germanium and/or silicon nitride. The methods include exposing aluminum oxide to plasma effluents formed in a remote plasma from a chlorine-containing precursor and a hydrocarbon. A remote plasma is used to excite the precursors and a local plasma is used to further excite the plasma effluents and accelerate ions toward the patterned substrate.

Abstract: A method of removing titanium nitride hardmask is described. The hardmask resides above a low-k dielectric layer prior to removal and the low-k dielectric layer retains a relatively low net dielectric constant after the removal process. The low-k dielectric layer may be part of a dual damascene structure having copper at the bottom of the vias. A non-porous carbon layer is deposited prior to the titanium nitride hardmask removal to protect the low-k dielectric layer and the copper. The titanium nitride hardmask is removed with a gas-phase etch using plasma effluents formed in a remote plasma from a chlorine-containing precursor. Plasma effluents within the remote plasma are flowed into a substrate processing region where the plasma effluents react with the titanium nitride.

Abstract: A method of removing titanium nitride hardmask is described. The hardmask resides above a low-k dielectric layer prior to removal and the low-k dielectric layer retains a relatively low net dielectric constant after the removal process. The low-k dielectric layer may be part of a dual damascene structure having copper at the bottom of the vias. A non-porous carbon layer is deposited prior to the titanium nitride hardmask removal to protect the low-k dielectric layer and the copper. The titanium nitride hardmask is removed with a gas-phase etch using plasma effluents formed in a remote plasma from a fluorine-containing precursor. Plasma effluents within the remote plasma are flowed into a substrate processing region where the plasma effluents react with the titanium nitride.

Abstract: A tunable plasma etch process includes generating a plasma in a controlled flow of a source gas including NH3 and NF3 to form a stream of plasma products, controlling a flow of un-activated NH3 that is added to the stream of plasma products to form an etch gas stream; and controlling pressure of the etch gas stream by adjusting at least one of the controlled flow of the source gas and the flow of un-activated NH3 until the pressure is within a tolerance of a desired pressure. An etch rate of at least one of polysilicon and silicon dioxide by the etch gas stream is adjustable by varying a ratio of the controlled flow of the source gas to the flow of un-activated NH3.

Abstract: Methods of producing V-shaped trenches in crystalline substrates are described. The methods involve processing a patterned substrate with etch masking materials defining each side of exposed silicon (100). The exposed silicon (100) is exposed to remotely-excited halogen-containing precursor including chlorine or bromine. The plasma effluents formed from the halogen-containing precursor preferentially remove silicon from all exposed facets other than silicon (111). Etching the crystalline substrates with the plasma effluents produce at least two silicon (111) facets between two adjacent masking elements. Forming the silicon (111) facets may be accelerated by pretreating the crystalline substrates using a halogen-containing precursor locally excited in a biased plasma to initiate the generation of the trench.

Abstract: Methods of selectively etching titanium oxide relative to silicon oxide, silicon nitride and/or other dielectrics are described. The methods include a remote plasma etch using plasma effluents formed from a fluorine-containing precursor and/or a chlorine-containing precursor. Plasma effluents from the remote plasma are flowed into a substrate processing region where the plasma effluents react with the titanium oxide. The plasmas effluents react with exposed surfaces and selectively remove titanium oxide while very slowly removing other exposed materials. A direction sputtering pretreatment is performed prior to the remote plasma etch and enables an increased selectivity as well as a directional selectivity. In some embodiments, the titanium oxide etch selectivity results partly from the presence of an ion suppression element positioned between the remote plasma and the substrate processing region.

Abstract: Methods of preventing microcontamination from developing on substrates when the substrates are removed from a substrate processing system are described. During processing in the substrate processing mainframe, fluorine adatoms are present (perhaps left by a prior process in the mainframe) on the surface of the substrate. The fluorine adatoms develop into microcontamination upon exposure to typical atmospheric conditions. A hydrogen-containing precursor is flowed into a remote plasma region to form plasma effluents. The plasma effluents are flowed into a substrate processing region to remove or react with the fluorine adatoms in a treatment operation. Following the treatment operation, the concentration of fluorine on or near the surface is reduced and the development of microcontamination after breaking vacuum is curtailed.

Abstract: Systems, chambers, and processes are provided for controlling process defects caused by moisture contamination. The systems may provide configurations for chambers to perform multiple operations in a vacuum or controlled environment. The chambers may include configurations to provide additional processing capabilities in combination chamber designs. The methods may provide for the limiting, prevention, and correction of aging defects that may be caused as a result of etching processes performed by system tools.

Abstract: A method of removing titanium nitride is described. The silicon nitride resides on a patterned substrate. The titanium nitride is removed with a gas-phase etch using plasma effluents formed in a remote plasma from a fluorine-containing precursor, a nitrogen-and-hydrogen-containing precursor and an oxygen-containing precursor. Plasma effluents within the remote plasma are flowed into a substrate processing region where the plasma effluents react with the titanium nitride.

Abstract: Methods of selectively etching tungsten from the surface of a patterned substrate are described. The etch electrically separates vertically arranged tungsten slabs from one another as needed, for example, in the manufacture of vertical flash memory devices. The tungsten etch may selectively remove tungsten relative to films such as silicon, polysilicon, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, titanium nitride and silicon nitride. The methods include exposing electrically-shorted tungsten slabs to remotely-excited fluorine formed in a capacitively-excited chamber plasma region. The methods then include exposing the tungsten slabs to remotely-excited fluorine formed in an inductively-excited remote plasma system. A low electron temperature is maintained in the substrate processing region during each operation to achieve high etch selectivity.

Abstract: Methods of etching two doped silicon portions at two different etch rates are described. An n-type silicon portion may be etched faster than a p-type silicon portion when both are exposed and present on the same substrate. The n-type silicon portion may be doped with phosphorus and the p-type silicon portion may be doped with boron. In one example, the n-type silicon portion is single crystal silicon and the p-type silicon portion is polycrystalline silicon (a.k.a. polysilicon). The p-type silicon portion may be a polysilicon floating gate in a flash memory cell and may be located above a gate silicon oxide which, in turn, is above an n-type active area single crystal silicon portion. The additional trimming of the n-type active area silicon portion may reduce the accumulation of trapped charges during use and increase the lifespan of flash memory devices.

Abstract: Systems, chambers, and processes are provided for controlling process defects caused by moisture contamination. The systems may provide configurations for chambers to perform multiple operations in a vacuum or controlled environment. The chambers may include configurations to provide additional processing capabilities in combination chamber designs. The methods may provide for the limiting, prevention, and correction of aging defects that may be caused as a result of etching processes performed by system tools.