Reduction of semiconductor process emissions by reactive gas optimization

Tailoring the chemical environment in plasmas by addition of reactive gases to affect byproduct formation has been demonstrated to reduce perfluorocompound (PFC) emissions. Perfluorocompound emissions from dielectric etch processes are reduced by oxygen addition, which reduces polymerization and inc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on semiconductor manufacturing 2004-11, Vol.17 (4), p.483-490
Main Authors: Vartanian, V., Goolsby, B., Chatterjee, R., Kachmarik, R., Babbitt, D., Reif, R., Tonnis, E.J., Graves, D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Carbon
Carbon dioxide
Chemical vapor deposition
CVD
Devices
Dielectrics
Electronics
Emissions
Emissions control
environmental testing
Etching
Exact sciences and technology
Fourier spectroscopy
Gases
Global warming
Microelectronic fabrication (materials and surfaces technology)
Molecular weight
Plasma applications
Plasma chemistry
Plasma devices
plasma materials-processing applications
Plasmas
Polymers
Precursors
semiconductor device manufacture
Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices
Semiconductors
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Summary:Tailoring the chemical environment in plasmas by addition of reactive gases to affect byproduct formation has been demonstrated to reduce perfluorocompound (PFC) emissions. Perfluorocompound emissions from dielectric etch processes are reduced by oxygen addition, which reduces polymerization and increases etch rates, primarily by affecting the fluorine or carbon in the plasma, and secondarily, by affecting resist erosion. Oxygen or water vapor introduced upstream of plasma abatement devices reduces PFC reformation by preferentially combining with carbon and fluorine-containing radicals to form thermodynamically favorable byproducts that are non- or low-global warming. Introducing oxygen to low-k chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber clean processes also reduces PFC emissions, primarily by reducing CF/sub 4/ by forming thermodynamically stable CO and CO/sub 2/. Analogously, adjusting the fuel or the oxidizer flow in fuel-fired abatement devices provides a higher flame temperature where thermal cracking of higher molecular weight low-k CVD organosilicon precursors can more readily occur, allowing the carbon-rich precursors to more completely oxidize.
ISSN:0894-6507
1558-2345
DOI:10.1109/TSM.2004.837004