Flowable gapfill using solvents

{
  "publication_number": "US10017856B1",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B1",
  "title": "Flowable gapfill using solvents",
  "abstract": "Systems and methods for forming films on the surface of a substrate are described. The systems possess aerosol generators which form droplets from a liquid solution made from a solvent and a deposition precursor. A carrier gas may be flowed through the liquid solution and push the droplets toward a substrate placed in a substrate processing region. The droplets pass into the substrate processing region and chemically react with the substrate to form films. The temperature of the substrate may be maintained below the boiling temperature of the solvent during film formation. The solvent imparts a flowability to the forming film and enable the depositing film to flow along the surface of a patterned substrate during formation prior to solidifying. The flowable film results in bottom-up gapfill inside narrow high-aspect ratio gaps in the patterned substrate.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A method of forming a dielectric on a patterned substrate, the method comprising: placing the patterned substrate into a substrate processing region of a substrate processing chamber, wherein the patterned substrate comprises a high aspect ratio gap; dissolving a precursor into a solvent to form a precursor solution within an aerosol generator; flowing a carrier gas into the aerosol generator to produce aerosol droplets, wherein the aerosol droplets comprise the solvent and the precursor; flowing the aerosol droplets into the substrate processing region; adsorbing the aerosol droplets onto the patterned substrate to form adsorbed droplets outside the high aspect ratio gap; flowing the adsorbed droplets into the high aspect ratio gap; evaporating the solvent; and filling the high aspect ratio gap with the dielectric, wherein the dielectric is formed from the precursor by a chemical reaction.",
    "2. The method of claim 1 wherein a temperature of the patterned substrate is below a boiling point of the solvent during flowing the adsorbed droplets into the high aspect ratio gap.",
    "3. The method of claim 1 wherein the dielectric is one of silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon nitride, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, tantalum oxide, titanium oxide or titanium-doped silicon oxide.",
    "4. The method of claim 1 wherein an aspect ratio of the high aspect ratio gap is greater than 10:1 height:width measured near a center between a bottom of the high aspect ratio gap and a top of the high aspect ratio gap.",
    "5. The method of claim 1 wherein a width of the high aspect ratio gap is less than 10 nm.",
    "6. The method of claim 1 wherein the dielectric fills the high aspect ratio gap without voids.",
    "7. A method of forming a dielectric layer on a patterned substrate, the method comprising: placing the patterned substrate into a substrate processing region of a substrate processing chamber, wherein the patterned substrate comprises a high aspect ratio trench; forming a liquid solution by combining a deposition precursor and a solvent; placing the liquid solution into an aerosol generator; applying ultrasonic or higher frequencies to a piezoelectric transducer submerged in the liquid solution; forming aerosol droplets in the aerosol generator from the liquid solution; flowing the aerosol droplets into the substrate processing region; forming an adsorbed liquid on the patterned substrate by depositing the aerosol droplets on the patterned substrate, wherein the adsorbed liquid comprises the deposition precursor and the solvent; flowing the adsorbed liquid along a surface of the patterned substrate into the high aspect ratio trench; filling the high aspect ratio trench with the adsorbed liquid beginning at a bottom of the high aspect ratio trench and finishing at an opening of the high aspect ratio trench; evaporating the solvent; and forming the dielectric layer on the patterned substrate from the deposition precursor, wherein the dielectric layer fills the high aspect ratio trench.",
    "8. The method of claim 7 wherein an aspect ratio of the high aspect ratio trench is greater than 10:1 height:width measured near a center between the bottom of the high aspect ratio trench and the opening of the high aspect ratio trench.",
    "9. The method of claim 7 wherein a width of the high aspect ratio trench is less than 10 nm.",
    "10. The method of claim 7 wherein the dielectric layer fills the high aspect ratio trench without voids."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The embodiments described herein relate to filling gaps with flowable films.\n\nThe miniaturization of semiconductor circuit elements has reached a point where feature sizes of about 10 nm are fabricated on a commercial scale. As the dimensions continue to get smaller, new challenges arise for process steps like filling a gap between circuit elements with a dielectric material that avoids electrical cross-talk. As the width between the elements continues to shrink, the gap between them often gets taller and narrower, making the gap difficult to fill without the dielectric material getting stuck to create voids or weak seams. Conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques often experience an overgrowth of material at the top of the gap before it has been completely filled. This can create a void or seam in the gap where the depositing dielectric material has been prematurely cut off by the overgrowth; a problem sometimes referred to as breadloafing.\n\nOne solution to the breadloafing problem has been to use liquid precursors for the dielectric starting materials that more easily flow into the gaps. A technique currently in commercial use for doing this is called spin-on-glass (SOG). More recently, techniques have been developed that impart flowable characteristics to dielectric materials deposited by CVD. These techniques can deposit flowable precursors to fill a tall, narrow gap with porous material while reducing an incidence of creating voids or weak seams.",
  "cpc": [
    "C23C 16/4486",
    "C23C 16/045",
    "C23C 16/345",
    "C23C 16/401",
    "C23C 16/403",
    "C23C 16/405",
    "H01L 21/02153",
    "H01L 21/02164",
    "H01L 21/0217",
    "H01L 21/02178",
    "H01L 21/02181",
    "H01L 21/02183",
    "H01L 21/02186",
    "H01L 21/02189",
    "H01L 21/02271",
    "H10P 14/6334",
    "H10P 14/69215",
    "H10P 14/6932",
    "H10P 14/69391",
    "H10P 14/69392",
    "H10P 14/69393",
    "H10P 14/69394",
    "H10P 14/69395",
    "H10P 14/69433"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "C23C 16/34",
    "C23C 16/40",
    "C23C 16/448",
    "H01L 21/02"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Applied Materials Inc"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Ranga Rao Arnepalli",
    "Darshan Thakare",
    "Abhijit Basu Mallick",
    "Pramit MANNA",
    "Robert Jan Visser",
    "Prerna Sonthalia Goradia",
    "Nilesh Chimanrao Bagul"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2017-04-17",
  "publication_date": "2018-07-10",
  "grant_date": "2018-07-10",
  "priority_date": "2017-04-17",
  "application_number": "US-201715489242-A",
  "family_id": "62749505",
  "cited_by_count": 343,
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}