Process of preparing low dielectric constant thin film layer used in integrated circuit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10153154-B2
Application number	US-201415303380-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 23, 2014
Priority date	Apr 8, 2014
Publication date	Dec 11, 2018
Grant date	Dec 11, 2018

Abstract

Preparing a low dielectric constant thin film layer used in an integrated circuit includes: extracting gas out of a furnace; when the vacuum level within the furnace is less than 10 −3 Pa, starting a 13.36 MHz radio frequency power supply and a matcher; sending the exhaust nitrogen gas, used to remove remaining gas out of the furnace by a third gas inlet pipe, into the furnace through a second pressure gas mixing tank and a second nozzle sequentially; uniformly mixing octamethyl cyclotetrasiloxane and cyclohexane, and introducing same into a pressure stainless steel tank, and, respectively by first and second gas inlet tubes, introducing bubbled nitrogen gas and inert gas into the furnace sequentially through a first pressure gas mixing tank, the pressure stainless steel tank and a first nozzle; after deposition, transferring the deposited thin film layer to the furnace's heating zone for annealing, obtaining a low dielectric constant thin film layer.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process of preparing a low dielectric constant thin film layer for use in an integrated circuit, the process of preparing utilizing a deposition device comprising
a furnace installed with an end cap at each end of the furnace, a front half section of the furnace being wrapped with an induction coil and the induction coil is sequentially connected to a 13.36 MHz radio frequency power supply and a matcher,
a liquid source injection mechanism comprising a pressure tank, a first pressure gas mixing tank and a second pressure gas mixing tank wherein the first pressure gas mixing tank is connected with a first gas inlet tube and a second gas inlet tube each installed with a first mass flowmeter, and the first pressure gas mixing tank is further connected with the pressure tank through a pipe installed with a thimble valve, the pressure tank being further connected to a first nozzle through a pipe installed with a thimble valve and a further first mass flowmeter, wherein the second pressure gas mixing tank is connected with a third gas inlet tube having a second mass flowmeter and the second pressure gas mixing tank being further connected to a second nozzle, and wherein the first nozzle and the second nozzle are hermetically inserted into one of the end caps of the furnace at one end of furnace, and
a vacuum pump, wherein the vacuum pump is connected to a pipe that is hermetically inserted into an other one of the end caps at an end of the furnace opposite to the one end of the furnace, and wherein a manual flapper valve and a vacuometer are installed in the pipe between the end cap and the vacuum pump;
wherein the process of preparing includes the following steps:
Step 1: after closing the thimble valve and the first mass flowmeter and the second mass flowmeter, opening the manual flapper valve and the vacuum pump to extract gas out of the furnace;
Step 2: when the vacuum level within the furnace is less than 10 −3 Pa, starting the 13.36 MHz radio frequency power supply and the matcher;
Step 3: after opening the second mass flowmeter, sending exhaust nitrogen gas, used to remove remaining gas out of the furnace by a third gas inlet pipe, into the furnace through the second pressure gas mixing tank and the second nozzle sequentially;
Step 4: uniformly mixing octamethyl cyclotetrasiloxane and cyclohexane, and introducing same into the pressure tank, and, respectively by the first gas inlet tube and the second gas inlet tube, introducing bubbled gas and inert gas into the furnace through the first pressure gas mixing tank, the pressure tank and the first nozzle so that the octamethyl cyclotetrasiloxane, cyclohexane and the bubbled gas form a thin film layer on a base surface under a plasma condition;
Step 5: after the deposition, closing the 13.36 MHz radio frequency power supply, matcher, thimble valve, first mass flowmeter and second mass flowmeter before closing the manual flapper valve and removing the gas out of the furnace, and after the pressure inside the furnace returns to atmospheric pressure, opening the end cap at one side of the vacuum pump and transferring the deposited thin film layer to a heating zone of the furnace and closing the end cap, then opening the manual flapper valve for vacuum pumping, when the vacuum level within the furnace is less than 10 −3 Pa, heating the transferred thin film layer to a temperature of from 300° C. to 800° C. for annealing under vacuum to obtain the low dielectric constant thin film layer.

2. The process of preparing the low dielectric constant thin film layer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a tail gas purifier is installed between the end cap and the vacuum pump.

3. The process of preparing the low dielectric constant thin film layer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a flow rate of the bubbled gas in Step 4 is from 0.1 sccm to 1000 sccm.

4. The process of preparing the low dielectric constant thin film layer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the bubbled gas in Step 4 is bubbled nitrogen gas and the inert gas is, one or more of argon gas, helium gas and neon.

5. The process of preparing the low dielectric constant thin film layer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a power of the 13.36 MHz radio frequency power supply and the matcher in Step 5 is from 25 W to 300 W and a deposition time is from 30 seconds to 1 hour.

6. The process of preparing the low dielectric constant thin film layer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a flow rate of the exhaust nitrogen gas in Step 3 is from 2 to 5 sccm and a gassing time is 10 minutes.

7. The process of preparing the low dielectric constant thin film layer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the pressure tank is a pressure stainless steel tank.

Assignees

• Univ Soochow

Inventors

• Sun Xuhui
• Xia Yujian

Classifications

• H10P14/6922

  the material containing Si, O and at least one of H, N, C, F or other non-metal elements, e.g. SiOC, SiOC:H or SiONC · CPC title

• H10P14/6686

  the compound being a molecule comprising at least one silicon-oxygen bond and the compound having hydrogen or an organic group attached to the silicon or oxygen, e.g. a siloxane · CPC title

• H10W20/074

  of dielectric parts comprising thin functional dielectric layers, e.g. dielectric etch-stop, barrier, capping or liner layers · CPC title

• H10W20/01

  Manufacture or treatment · CPC title

• H10W20/071

  of dielectric parts thereof · CPC title