Multiple-layer method and system for forming material within a gap

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12463094-B2
Application number	US-202217953585-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 27, 2022
Priority date	Sep 30, 2021
Publication date	Nov 4, 2025
Grant date	Nov 4, 2025

Abstract

A multiple-layer method for forming material within a gap on a surface of a substrate is disclosed. An exemplary method includes forming a layer of first material overlying the substrate and forming a layer of second (e.g., initially flowable) material within a region of the first material to thereby at least partially fill the gap with material in a seamless and/or void less manner.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A method of forming a structure, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a substrate within a reaction chamber, the substrate comprising a gap on a surface of the substrate; forming a layer of first material within the gap, the first material having a region formed therein; and forming an initially flowable material within the region, wherein the first material is conductive.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a cross-sectional area of the region is less than 10, 5, 2, or 1 percent of a cross-sectional area of the gap.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a volume of the region is less than 10, 5, 2, or 1 percent of a volume of the gap.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of converting the initially flowable material to a converted material.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the step of converting comprises providing one or more converting reactants and/or excited species formed from one or more converting reactants to the reaction chamber.

6 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising exposing one or more of the initially flowable material and the converted material to energy, wherein the step of exposing one or more of the initially flowable material and the converted material to energy comprises one or more of heating the substrate, exposing the initially flowable material and/or the converted material to species generated from a direct plasma, an indirect plasma, a remote plasma or an ion beam, or radiation.

7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the step of converting comprises forming activated species.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of forming the layer of first material comprises conformally depositing the first material.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of forming the layer of first material comprises a cyclical deposition process.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first material comprises silicon and one or more of O, N, and C.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of forming the initially flowable material comprises providing a halogen-containing reactant or species derived from the halogen-containing reactant to the reaction chamber.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of forming the initially flowable material comprises providing a metal precursor.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of forming the initially flowable material comprises depositing halogen-containing material, wherein the step of forming the halogenated material comprises providing a precursor comprising a metal and a halogen to the reaction chamber.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of forming the initially flowable material comprises using one or more of a precursor and a reactant used to form the layer of first material.

15 . A method of forming a structure, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a substrate within a reaction chamber, the substrate comprising a gap on a surface of the substrate; forming a layer of first material within the gap, the first material having a region formed therein; forming a layer of second material within the region; and heating the substrate to form a mixture of the first material and the second material within the region, wherein the first material and the second material comprise a metal.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the mixture is conductive.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the metal nitride comprises vanadium nitride, and wherein the metal oxide comprises vanadium oxide.

18 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising a step of heat treating.

19 . A method of forming a structure, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a substrate within a reaction chamber, the substrate comprising a gap on a surface of the substrate; forming a layer of first material within the gap, the first material having a region formed therein; forming a layer of second material within the region; and applying extra energy to the substrate to coalesce the first material and the second material to form a seamless mixture of the first material and the second material to fill the region, wherein at least one of the first material or the second material comprises a metal.

20 . The method according to claim 19 , further comprising a step of exposing the substrate to a treatment, the method comprising a plurality of super cycles, a super cycle comprising a step of forming a layer of first material, forming a layer of second material, and the step of exposing the substrate to the treatment.

Assignees

• Asm Ip Holding Bv

Inventors

• Huotari Hannu
• Pore Viljami
• Blanquart Timothee
• Vervuurt René Henricus Jozef
• Dezelah Charles
• Alessio Verni Giuseppe
• Chang Ren-Jie
• Givens Michael
• Shero Eric James

Classifications

• H10P72/0434

  mainly by convection · CPC title

• 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

• H10P14/6339

  deposition by cyclic CVD, e.g. ALD, ALE or pulsed CVD · CPC title

• H10W20/075

  of multilayered thin functional dielectric layers · CPC title

• H10W20/059 Primary

  by reflowing or applying pressure · CPC title