KR-20260066765-A - Selective substrate processing based on electrode regions

Abstract

Apparatuses and methods for selective substrate processing based on electrode regions are provided. In some embodiments, selectively processing a semiconductor substrate comprises: a step of applying a first power amount to at least a first region of an electrode, wherein the application of the first power amount causes at least a first corresponding region of the semiconductor substrate to undergo a first deposition process based on at least one process; and a step of applying a second power amount different from the first power amount to at least a second region of an electrode, wherein the application of the second power amount causes at least a second corresponding region of the semiconductor substrate to undergo a second deposition process based on at least one process; and based on the application of the first power amount to the first region and the application of the second power amount to the second region, the material has spatially variable properties on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate.

Inventors

• 막, 조슈아 나다니엘 에릭
• 사키야마, 유키노리
• 보트라이트, 대니엘
• 스미스, 숀 타일러
• 장, 웨

Assignees

• 램 리써치 코포레이션

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240530

Priority Date

20230908

Claims (20)

1. In a device configured to selectively process a semiconductor substrate, A showerhead configured to deliver at least one process gas to the back surface of a semiconductor substrate; An electrode having at least an associated first region and a second region; A support structure configured to accommodate the semiconductor substrate and disposed between the showerhead and the electrode (dispose); and As a controller coupled to the above showerhead and the above electrode, An operation of applying a first amount of power to at least the first region of the electrode, wherein the application of the first amount of power causes at least the first region of the semiconductor substrate to undergo a first process based on at least one process gas; and The controller comprises an operation of applying a second power amount different from the first power amount to at least the second region of the electrode, wherein the application of the second power amount causes at least the second region of the semiconductor substrate to undergo a second process based on at least one process gas, and is configured to apply the second power amount to the second region; A device comprising, based on the application of the first power amount to the first region and the second power amount to the second region, a material on the semiconductor substrate having a spatially varying property on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate.
2. In Article 1, The above material comprises at least one membrane; and The above first process and the above second process collectively comprise the deposition of the at least one film on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the back surface faces away from the showerhead and the electrode, and faces toward the support structure.
3. In Article 1, The first process comprises the step of depositing a first film having a first internal stress on the first region of the semiconductor substrate; The second process comprises the step of depositing a second film having a second internal stress on the second region of the semiconductor substrate; The spatially variable property includes the first internal stress and the second internal stress; and The above first region and the above second region are on the rear surface of the semiconductor substrate, a device.
4. In Article 1, The spatially variable attribute mentioned above is, Tensile stress or compressive stress of the material that varies between the first region of the semiconductor substrate and the second region of the semiconductor substrate; A first thickness of the material in the first region of the semiconductor substrate and a second thickness of the material in the second region of the semiconductor substrate; or A device comprising a combination of these.
5. In Article 1, A device wherein the first region and the second region comprise substantially parallel regions on the electrode.
6. In Article 1, A device wherein the first region and the second region comprise substantially concentric regions on the electrode.
7. In Article 1, A device wherein the first region and the second region comprise a first sector and a second sector or parts of sectors on the electrode.
8. In Article 1, The application of the first power amount to at least the first region of the electrode occurs at a first time, and the application of the second power amount to at least the second region of the electrode occurs at a second time different from the first time; and The above material comprises at least one film having a first portion having a thickness different from the thickness of a second portion of the at least one film.
9. In Article 1, A device in which the application of the first power amount to at least the first region of the electrode and the application of the second power amount to at least the second region of the electrode occur at least partially simultaneously such that the duration of the application of the first power amount and the duration of the application of the second power amount overlap at least partially.
10. In Article 1, The above process gas comprises at least silane, nitrous oxide, or ammonia, in a device.
11. In Article 1, The above support structure comprises one or more portions of a carrier ring, forming a device.
12. In a method for selectively processing a semiconductor substrate, A step of applying a first amount of power to at least a first region of an electrode, wherein the application of the first amount of power causes at least a first corresponding region of a semiconductor substrate to undergo a first deposition process based on at least one process gas; and A step of applying a second power amount different from the first power amount to at least a second region of the electrode, wherein the application of the second power amount causes at least a second corresponding region of the semiconductor substrate to undergo a second deposition process based on at least one process gas; A method in which, based on the application of the first power amount to the first region and the second power amount to the second region, the material on the semiconductor substrate comprises a spatially variable property on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate.
13. In Article 12, The above material comprises at least one membrane; and A method wherein the first deposition process and the second deposition process collectively comprise the deposition of at least one film on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the back surface faces away from the electrode and faces toward a structure configured to support the semiconductor substrate.
14. In Article 12, The spatially variable attribute mentioned above is, Tensile stress or compressive stress of the material that varies between the first corresponding region of the semiconductor substrate and the second corresponding region of the semiconductor substrate; A first thickness of the material in the first corresponding region of the semiconductor substrate and a second thickness of the material in the second corresponding region of the semiconductor substrate; or A method including a combination of these.
15. In Article 12, A method wherein the first region and the second region comprise substantially parallel regions on the electrode, substantially concentric regions on the electrode, or a first sector and a second sector or a portion of sectors on the electrode.
16. In Article 12, The application of the first power amount to at least the first region of the electrode occurs at a first time, and the application of the second power amount to at least the second region of the electrode occurs at a second time different from the first time; and The above material comprises at least one film having a first portion having a thickness different from the thickness of a second portion of the at least one film.
17. In Article 12, A method in which the application of the first power amount to at least the first region of the electrode and the application of the second power amount to at least the second region of the electrode occur at least partially simultaneously such that the duration of the application of the first power amount and the duration of the application of the second power amount overlap at least partially.
18. In a method for selectively processing a semiconductor substrate, A step of simultaneously applying a first power amount to at least a first region of an electrode and a second power amount to at least a second region of the electrode, wherein the simultaneous application includes causing at least a first region of the semiconductor substrate corresponding to the first region of the electrode to undergo a first deposition process based on at least one process gas, and causing at least a second region of the semiconductor substrate corresponding to the second region of the electrode to undergo a second deposition process based on at least one process gas; A method in which, based on the application of the first power amount to the first region and the second power amount to the second region, the material on the semiconductor substrate comprises a spatially variable property on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate.
19. In Article 18, A method in which the application of the first power amount to at least the first region of the electrode and the application of the second power amount to at least the second region of the electrode occur at least partially simultaneously such that the duration of the application of the first power amount and the duration of the application of the second power amount overlap at least partially.
20. In Article 18, The above material includes a membrane; The first deposition process and the second deposition process collectively comprise the deposition of the film on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the back surface faces away from the electrode and faces toward a structure configured to support the semiconductor substrate; and A method wherein the spatially variable property comprises a first internal stress of a first film deposited on a first region of the semiconductor substrate, a first thickness of the first film, a second internal stress of a second film deposited on a second region of the semiconductor substrate, a second thickness of the second film, or a combination thereof.

Description

Selective substrate processing based on electrode regions In semiconductor processing, the goal may be to keep the wafer substantially flat. However, during normal operations, the wafer may experience wafer bow. Wafer bow can cause issues such as improper clamping by the electrostatic chuck, inability to hold by the wafer handler, and pattern transfer issues during photolithography. Processes have been developed to manage wafer bow by keeping the wafer flat within process tolerances. One process involves depositing a film on the back surface of the wafer to counteract any stress that may cause the wafer to bow. The description of the background art provided in this specification is intended to provide a general context for the disclosure. The achievements of the inventors named in this specification to the extent described in this background art section, as well as aspects of the technology that may not otherwise be recognized as prior art at the time of filing, are not explicitly or implicitly recognized as prior art for the disclosure. Citation as a reference The PCT application form has been filed concurrently with this specification as part of this application. Each application claiming priority or interest, as identified in the PCT application form filed concurrently with this application, is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. In one aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus is disclosed. In some embodiments, the apparatus may be configured to selectively process a semiconductor substrate, and the apparatus comprises: a showerhead configured to deliver at least one process gas to the back surface of the semiconductor substrate; an electrode having at least a first region and a second region associated therewith; a support structure configured to receive the semiconductor substrate and disposed between the showerhead and the electrode; and a controller coupled to the showerhead and the electrode, wherein the operation of applying a first amount of power to at least a first region of the electrode, the operation of applying a first amount of power to a first region of the semiconductor substrate such that the first region of the semiconductor substrate undergoes a first process based on at least one process gas. The operation of applying a second amount of power different from a first amount of power to at least a second region of an electrode includes a controller configured to apply a second amount of power to a second region, wherein the application of the second amount of power causes at least a second region of a semiconductor substrate to undergo a second process based on at least one process gas. In some embodiments, based on the application of a first amount of power to a first region and a second amount of power to a second region, the material on the semiconductor substrate has a spatially varying property on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate. In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for selectively processing a semiconductor substrate is disclosed. In some embodiments, the method may include: a step of applying a first amount of power to at least a first region of an electrode, wherein the application of the first amount of power causes at least a first corresponding region of the semiconductor substrate to undergo a first deposition process based on at least one process; and a step of applying a second amount of power different from the first amount of power to at least a second region of an electrode, wherein the application of the second amount of power causes at least a second corresponding region of the semiconductor substrate to undergo a second deposition process based on at least one process. In some variations, based on the application of a first amount of power to a first region and a second amount of power to a second region, the material on the semiconductor substrate may have a spatially varying property on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate. In some embodiments, the method comprises the step of simultaneously applying a first power amount to at least a first region of an electrode and a second power amount to at least a second region of an electrode, wherein the simultaneous application includes the step of causing at least a first region of a semiconductor substrate corresponding to the first region of the electrode to undergo a first deposition process based on at least one process gas and causing at least a second region of a semiconductor substrate corresponding to the second region of the electrode to undergo a second deposition process based on at least one process gas. In some variations, based on the application of a first amount of power to a first region and a second amount of power to a second region, the material on the semiconductor substrate may have spatially variable properties on the back surface of the semiconductor substrate. These features and other features of the disclosed embodiments will