Specific Process Knowledge/Thin film deposition/Deposition of Silicon Nitride

Deposition of Silicon Nitride can be done with either LPCVD (Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition) or PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition).

Deposition of Silicon Nitride using LPCVD

LPCVD silicon nitride can be made in a LPCVD nitride furnace. Danchip has two LPCVD nitride furnaces: A new furnace for deposition of stoichiometric nitride on 4 inch or on 6 inch wafers and an older furnace for deposition of stoichiometric nitride or low stress nitride on 4 inch wafers.

The LPCVD nitride deposition is a batch process, meaning that you can run a batch of 25-35 wafers at a time. The deposition takes place at temperatures of 780-850 degrees Celsius. The LPCVD silicon nitride has a good step coverage, and the film thickness is very uniform over the wafers. On the furnaces we have standard processes for deposition of stoichiometric nitride (Si₃N₄) and for deposition of low stress nitride (SNR).

• Deposition of silicon nitride using a LPCVD nitride furnace

Deposition of Silicon Nitride using PECVD

PECVD nitride and oxynitride can be deposited in one of the PECVD systems. You can run 1-3 wafers at a time depending on which one of the PECVD's you use. The deposition takes place at 300 degrees Celcius. This can be of importance for some applications, but it gives a less dense film, and the stoichiometry is on the following form: Si_xN_yO_zH_v. The step coverage and thickness uniformity of the film is not as good as for the LPCVD nitride. In one of our PECVD systems (PECVD3) we allow small amounts of metal on the wafers entering the system; this is not allowed in the LPCVD furnace and in the clean PECVD (PECVD1). We also have a PECVD for deposition ion III-V materials (PECVD2).

• Deposition of silicon nitride using PECVD - or oxynitride

Comparison of LPCVD and PECVD for silicon nitride deposition

	LPCVD	PECVD
Stoichiometry	Si3N4 SRN (old nitride furnace, only 4" wafers) Si3N4: Stoichiometric nitride SRN: Silicon rich nitride (low stress nitride)	SixNyHz SixOyNzHv Can be doped with boron, phosphorus or germanium
Film thickness	Si3N4: ~50 Å - ~3000 Å SRN: ~50 Å - ~10000 Å Thick nitride layers can be deposited over more runs	~40 nm - 10 µm
Process Temperature	780 oC - 835 oC	300 oC
Step coverage	Good	Less good
Film quality	Dense film Few defects	Less dense film Incorporation of hydrogen in the film
Batch size	1-35 4" wafers per run (old nitride furnace) 1-25 4" or 6" wafers per run (new nitride furnace) Deposition on both sides of the substrate	1-3 4" wafers or one 6" wafer or many smaller chips per run Deposition on one side of the substrate
Substrate materials allowed	New or RCA cleaned silicon wafers with layers of silicon oxide or silicon (oxy)nitride Quartz wafers	Silicon wafers with layers of silicon oxide or silicon (oxy)nitride Quartz Small amount of metal < 5% of the wafer coverage (ONLY in PECVD3!)
Etch rate in 80 oC KOH	Expected <1 Å/min	Dependent on recipe: ~1-10 Å/min
Etch rate in BHF	Very low	Very high compared to the etch rate of LPCVD nitride