In this study, we explored the key properties and functionalities of plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) SiN_x films, synthesized using different deposition temperatures (500–550 °C) and plasma conditions (lower and higher), both on 300 mm blanket Si and on several integrated 3D topology substrates, at the thicknesses relevant for diverse nanoscale applications. Our study shows that with an increase of temperature (500–550 °C), a small reduction in HF wet etch rate (1.1–0.69 nm/min), and H content (9.6% vs 7.4%) was observed. When using higher plasmas, significant improvements in blanket properties were observed. The films were denser (2.95 g/cm³), exhibited lower H content (2.4%), showed better etch rates (0.39 and 0.44 nm/s for HF and CF₄ based), and SiN_x grew without any nucleation delay on alternative Si_1−xGe_x channel surfaces. The vertical and lateral conformality was found to be similar and appears not to be impacted with the plasma conditions. Extensive steam oxidation barrier studies performed at the sidewalls of different aspect ratio lines showed the PEALD SiN_x liner scaling potentiality down to 1 nm when deposited using higher plasma. In addition, the outer gate and inner spacer properties were found to be superior (with lower loses) for higher plasma films when subjected to several dry etch, strips, and H₃PO₄ chemistries. The outstanding conformality (90%–95% on aspect ratios ≤10:1) combined with excellent high end material properties in the ultrathin regimes (1–10 nm) corroborate the virtue of PEALD SiN_x toward integration in scaled down and advanced nanoelectronics device manufacturing.

中文翻译：

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PEALD 为缩小和先进的 CMOS 节点设计高质量和保形超薄 SiNxfilms

在这项研究中，我们探索了等离子体增强原子层沉积 (PEALD) SiN _x薄膜的关键特性和功能，这些薄膜使用不同的沉积温度（500-550 °C）和等离子体条件（较低和较高）合成，均在 300 mm 毯上Si 和几个集成的 3D 拓扑基板上，厚度与各种纳米级应用相关。我们的研究表明，随着温度的升高（500–550 °C），观察到 HF 湿蚀刻速率（1.1–0.69 nm/min）和 H 含量（9.6% 对 7.4%）略有下降。当使用更高的等离子体时，观察到毯子特性的显着改善。薄膜更致密 (2.95 g/cm ³ )，显示出更低的 H 含量 (2.4%)，显示出更好的蚀刻速率（HF 和 CF ₄为 0.39 和 0.44 nm/s基于），并且SiN _x在替代的Si _1-x Ge _x沟道表面上生长而没有任何成核延迟。发现垂直和横向保形相似，似乎不受等离子体条件的影响。在不同纵横比线的侧壁上进行的广泛蒸汽氧化屏障研究表明，当使用更高的等离子体沉积时，PEALD SiN _x衬里的缩放潜力可降低至 1 nm。此外，当经受多次干法蚀刻、剥离和 H ₃ PO ₄时，发现外栅极和内间隔物的特性对于更高的等离子体膜而言更优（损耗更低）化学。出色的保形性（纵横比 ≤ 10:1 为 90%–95%）与超薄区域（1–10 nm）中出色的高端材料特性相结合，证实了 PEALD SiN _x在集成到按比例缩小和先进的纳米电子设备方面的优势制造业。