A promising solution to reduce plasma induced damage (PID) of high density plasma (HDP) oxide without sacrificing the gap-fill and throughput performance — Chin-Tsan Yeh

Plasma induced damage (PID) during high density plasma (HDP) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) deposition is a challenge for fabricating metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs). In this paper, reducing the plasma-induced damage to the thin gate oxides during inter-metal dielectric (IMD) gap-fill process is investigated. Applying in-situ silicon-rich oxide (SRO) or silicon oxy-nitride (SiON) before HDP oxide deposition is found capable of improving plasma damage. Blocking of ultraviolet (UV) light during HDP by SRO or SiON is believed the main reason for damage improvement. However, we report that only in-situ SRO can provide necessary gap-fill performance and good process throughput.