Superimposition of rapid periodic and extensive post multiple substrate uv-ozone clean sequences for high throughput and stable substrate to substrate performance

Abstract

A method for cleaning a substrate processing chamber, including processing a batch of substrates within a processing chamber defining one or more processing regions. Processing the batch of substrates may be executed in a sub-routine having various sub-steps including processing a substrate from the batch within the processing chamber, removing the substrate from the processing chamber, introducing ozone into the processing chamber, and exposing the chamber to ultraviolet light for less than one minute. The substrate batch processing sub-steps may be repeated until the last substrate in the batch is processed. After processing the last substrate in the batch, the method includes removing the last substrate from the processing chamber, introducing ozone into the processing chamber; and exposing the processing chamber to ultraviolet light for three to fifteen minutes.

Description

technical field [0001] Embodiments of the invention generally relate to a method of cleaning a substrate processing chamber. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to methods of cleaning surfaces in a UV chamber for performing a hardening process of a dielectric film on a substrate. Background technique [0002] Materials with a low dielectric constant (low-k), such as silicon oxide (SiO x ), silicon carbide (SiC x ), and carbon-doped silicon oxide (SiOC x ), are very widely used in the manufacture of semiconductor components. The use of low-k materials as intermetallic and / or interlayer dielectric layers between conductive interconnects can reduce signal transmission delays due to capacitive effects. The lower the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer, the lower the capacitance of the dielectric and the lower the RC (resistance-capacitance) delay of the integrated circuit (IC). [0003] Low-k dielectric materials are generally defined as m...

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Problems solved by technology

[0007] However, after the UV curing process used to remove porogens, the UV treatment chamber may be coated with intact porogens, broken fragments of porogens, and other porogen residues, including coatings that allow UV Window that can reach the substrate

Over time, the porogen residue can reduce the effectiveness of subsequent UV porogen removal processes by reducing the effective UV intensity available to the substrate and accumulating on cooler parts of the chamber

In addition, the accumulation of porogen residues on the window is uneven, resulting in uneven hardening of the film on the substrate

Furthermore, accumulation of excess residue in the chamber can be a source of particulate defects on the substrate, which is unsuitable for semiconductor processing

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