Oxide, doped oxide and nitride CFD films
for advanced semiconductor manufacturing
Novellus Systems has announced the VECTOR CFD family of
films for the company's VECTOR Express, VECTOR Extreme and
VECTOR Excel plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)
systems. The Conformal Film Deposition (CFD) suite of dielectric
films consists of oxide, doped oxide and nitride films that
are deposited at temperatures ranging from 50 degrees to
450 degrees Celsius. These films provide solutions for emerging
sub-2X nm logic and memory applications, including front-end-of-line
(FEOL) liners and spacers used in tri-gate transistors and
FinFETs, bitline spacers, etch stop layers, resistor protect
layers, double patterning spacers using amorphous carbon
or photoresist cores, and through silicon via (TSV) dielectric
liners.
Novellus says its CFD films are deposited using an innovative
version of VECTOR's patented multi-station sequential processing
(MSSP) architecture and the system has been optimized to
meet the demanding technical requirements for conformality
while also minimizing chemical consumption, adds Novellus.
In comparison to single wafer deposition systems, MSSP results
in superior film uniformity and repeatability with significantly
higher productivity, claims Novellus.
Figure 1 shows CFD oxide and nitride films with 100 percent
step coverage that have been deposited at temperatures less
than 450 degrees Celsius. Temperatures in this range are
compatible with FEOL implant processes and ensure consistent
shallow junction depths and doping profiles.
The other features are:
These CFD films show no pattern dependency across a die,
resulting in consistent sidewall profiles in the transistor,
memory and peripheral areas of devices.
VECTOR CFD films can also be deposited at temperatures below
80 degrees Celsius, making them the perfect candidate for
deposition directly onto photoresists.
This integration sequence can be used to enable a simplified,
spacer-based double patterning scheme, where photoresist
is used as the patterning core. Adoption of this approach
yields significant cost benefits for the customer by eliminating
one etch and one lithography step as compared to conventional
double patterning schemes, according to Novellus.
Figure 2 shows a conformal oxide film being used as a TSV
liner where 100 percent step coverage can be maintained
on vias with aspect ratios in excess of 20:1. This exceptional
step coverage allows customers to reduce the overall field
thickness of the dielectric, which in turn translates into
reduced oxide CMP costs.
"Novellus is excited to introduce this new class of
conformal films for a wide variety of applications,"
said Sesha Varadarajan, senior vice president of Novellus'
PECVD Business Unit. "In an era of shrinking dimensions
and with the advent of 3D transistors, the industry demand
for these films is expected to significantly expand. Novellus'
innovative CFD technology allows us to achieve exceptional
step coverage, excellent electrical characteristics, and
the extendibility to address the emerging needs of next
generation devices. Depositing CFD films on the production-proven
VECTOR platform ensure superior within-wafer and wafer-to-wafer
repeatability with significantly higher throughput and lower
chemical costs."
For more information about conformal films deposition (CFD)
technology, visit www.novellustechnews.com.
About Novellus' PECVD Technology:
The multi-station sequential processing (MSSP) architecture
of Novellus' VECTOR platform allows for independent temperature
and flow control to its deposition stations, critical in
meeting the integration needs of sub-3x nm technology nodes.
More than 1,000 VECTOR systems have been installed in logic,
memory, and foundry fabs around the world.