Method of processing substrate, method of manufacturing semiconductor device, recording medium, and substrate processing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12431336-B2
Application number	US-202217957290-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 30, 2022
Priority date	Mar 29, 2022
Publication date	Sep 30, 2025
Grant date	Sep 30, 2025

Abstract

There is provided a technique that includes: a) supplying a first gas to the substrate on which a film is formed and forming a modified layer on a surface of the film; b) after a), supplying a second gas to the modified layer and removing the modified layer; c) after b), supplying an inert gas having a first temperature higher than a processing temperature of b) to the film; and d) removing a portion of the film by performing a), b), and c) sequentially a predetermined number of times.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of processing a substrate, comprising:
a) supplying a first gas to the substrate on which a film is formed and forming a modified layer on a surface of the film;
b) after a), supplying a second gas to the modified layer and removing the modified layer;
c) after b), supplying an inert gas having a first temperature higher than a processing temperature of b) to the film;
d) after c), supplying an inert gas having a second temperature that is lower than the first temperature to the film; and
e) removing a portion of the film by performing a), b), c) and (d) sequentially a predetermined number of times.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: f) before c), heating the inert gas to the first temperature.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein in d), a temperature of the substrate is brought close to the processing temperature when performing a) for the first time in d).

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a pressure of a space in which the substrate exists is lower when b) is performed than when a) and c) are performed, and
wherein the pressure of the space in which the substrate exists is higher when c) is performed than when a) and b) are performed.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein in c), a temperature of the surface of the film is set to be higher than a temperature of the surface of the film in b).

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: g) before c), exhausting a space in which the substrate exists.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: h) after c), exhausting a space in which the substrate exists.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein b) includes activating the second gas.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein in b), an excited rare gas as the second gas is supplied to the substrate.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein in c), the substrate is irradiated with a lamp.

11. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the method of claim 1 .

12. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program that causes, by a computer, a substrate processing apparatus to perform a process comprising:
a) supplying a first gas to a substrate on which a film is formed and forming a modified layer on a surface of the film;
b) after a), supplying a second gas to the modified layer and removing the modified layer;
c) after b), supplying an inert gas having a first temperature higher than a processing temperature of b) to the film;
d) after c), supplying an inert gas having a second temperature that is lower than the first temperature to the film; and
e) removing a portion of the film by performing a), b), c) and d) sequentially a predetermined number of times.

13. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a process container configured to accommodate the substrate;
a first gas supplier configured to supply the first gas into the process container;
a second gas supplier configured to supply the second gas into the process container;
a first inert gas supplier configured to supply the inert gas having the first temperature into the process container;
a second inert gas supplier configured to supply the inert gas having the second temperature into the process container; and
a controller configured to control the first gas supplier, the second gas supplier, the first inert gas supplier, and the second inert gas supplier so as to perform the method of claim 1 .

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein after e) is performed, e) is performed again.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein in c), the inert gas is heated to the first temperature by a gas heater installed in a gas supplier.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein in d), the inert gas having the second temperature is supplied to a space in which the substrate exists, through a pipe, on which the gas heater is not installed.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein in c), a control temperature of the gas heater is set to be higher than a processing temperature of b).

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the film is formed in a concave portion on a surface of the substrate, and
wherein in d), the inert gas having the second temperature is supplied to the film.

Assignees

• Kokusai Electric Corp

Inventors

• Kadoshima Masaru
• Sano Atsushi

Classifications

• H10P50/283 Primary

  by chemical means · CPC title

• H10P50/266

  by vapour etching only · CPC title

• H10P50/242

  of Group IV materials · CPC title

• G05D21/00

  Control of chemical or physico-chemical variables, e.g. pH value · CPC title

• H01J37/32834

  Exhausting · CPC title