Nitrogen treatment of polished halogen-doped silicon glass
US6413871B1 · kind B1 · utility
25Cited by
5References
18Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 22, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jul 2, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 22, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/02274
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A film of fluorine-doped silicon glass (“FSG”) is exposed to a nitrogen-containing plasma to nitride a portion of the FSG film. In one embodiment, the FSG film is chemically-mechanically polished prior to nitriding. The nitriding process is believed to scavenge moisture and free fluorine from the FSG film. The plasma can heat the FSG film to about 400° C. for about one minute to incorporate about 0.4 atomic percent nitrogen to a depth of nearly a micron. Thus, the nitriding process can passivate the FSG film deeper than a via depth.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.