CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

The following five commonly-owned co-pending applications, including this one, are being filed concurrently and the other four are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes:

1. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/201,946, Wei Liu, et al., entitled, “Enhanced Plasma Mode and System For Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation,”

2. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/203,025, Wei Liu, et al., entitled, “Enhanced Plasma Mode and Method For Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation,”

3. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/201,933, Wei Liu, et al., entitled, “Enhanced Plasma Mode and Computer System For Layer Transfer Processes,”

4. U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/110,378; now Ser. No. 09/450,845, Wei Liu, et al., entitled, “Enhanced Plasma Mode, Method, and System For Domed Chamber Designs,”; and

5. U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 608110,526; now Ser. No. 09/451,204, Wei Liu, et al., entitled, “Enhanced Plasma Mode, Method, and System For Chamber Designs,”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the manufacture of objects. More particularly, the present invention provides a technique for providing a combination of a plasma discharge and an applied magnetic field for creating a high density plasma source. The present invention can be applied to implanting particles for the manufacture of integrated circuits, for example. But it will be recognized that the invention has a wider range of applicability; it can also be applied to implanting particles for other substrates such as multi-layered integrated circuit devices, three-dimensional packaging of integrated semiconductor devices, photonic devices, piezoelectronic devices, microelectromechanical systems (“MEMS”), sensors, actuators, solar cells, flat panel displays (e.g., LCD, AMLCD), doping semiconductor devices, biological and biomedical devices, and the like.

Integrated circuits are fabricated on chips of semiconductor material. These integrated circuits often contain thousands, or even millions, of transistors and other devices. In particular, it is desirable to put as many transistors as possible within a given area of semiconductor because more transistors typically provide greater functionality, and a smaller chip means more chips per wafer and lower costs. Some integrated circuits are fabricated on a slice or wafer, of single-crystal (monocrystalline) silicon, commonly termed a “bulk” silicon wafer. Devices on such “bulk” silicon wafer typically are made by processing techniques such as ion implantation or the like to introduce impurities or ions into the substrate. These impurities or ions are introduced into the substrate to selectively change the electrical characteristics of the substrate, and therefore devices being formed on the substrate. Ion implantation provides accurate placement of impurities or ions into the substrate. Ion implantation, however, is expensive and generally cannot be used effectively for introducing impurities into a larger substrate such as glass or a semiconductor substrate, which is used for the manufacture of flat panel displays or the like.

Accordingly, plasma treatment of large area substrates such as glass or semiconductor substrates has been proposed or used in the fabrication of flat panel displays or 300 millimeter silicon wafers. Plasma treatment is commonly called plasma immersion ion implantation (“PIII”) or plasma source ion implantation (“PSI”). Plasma treatment generally uses a chamber, which has an inductively coupled plasma source, for generating and maintaining a plasma therein. A large voltage differential between the plasma and the substrate to be implanted accelerates impurities or ions from the plasma into the surface or depth of the substrate. A variety of limitations exist with the convention plasma processing techniques.

A major limitation with conventional plasma processing techniques is the maintenance of the uniformity of the plasma density and chemistry over such a large area is often difficult. As merely an example, inductively or transformer coupled plasma sources (“ICP” and “TCP,” respectively) are affected both by difficulties of maintaining plasma uniformity using inductive coil antenna designs. Additionally, these sources are often costly and generally difficult to maintain, in part, because such sources which require large and thick quartz windows for coupling the antenna radiation into the processing chamber. The thick quartz windows often cause an increase in radio frequency (“rf”) power (or reduction in efficiency) due to heat dissipation within the window.

Other techniques such as Electron Cyclotron Resonance (“ECR”) and Helicon type sources are limited by the difficulty in scaling the resonant magnetic field to large areas when a single antenna or wave guide is used. Furthermore, most ECR sources utilize microwave power. Microwave power is often more expensive and difficult to tune electrically. Hot cathode plasma sources have been used or proposed. The hot cathode plasma sources often produce contamination of the plasma environment due to the evaporation of cathode material. Alternatively, cold cathode sources have also be used or proposed. These cold cathode sources often produce contamination due to exposure of the cold cathode to the plasma generated.

A pioneering technique has been developed to improve or, perhaps, even replace these conventional sources for implantation of impurities. This technique has been developed by Dr. Chung Chan of Waban Technology in Massachusetts, now Silicon Genesis Corporation, and has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,811 (“Chan”), which is hereby incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. Chan generally describes techniques for treating a substrate with a plasma with an improved plasma processing system. The improved plasma processing system, includes, among other elements, at least two rf sources, which are operative to generate a plasma in a vacuum chamber. By way of the multiple sources, the improved plasma system provides a more uniform plasma distribution during implantation, for example. It is still desirable, however, to provide even a more uniform plasma for the manufacture of substrates.

From the above, it is seen that an improved technique for introducing impurities into a substrate is highly desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, a technique including a system with computer codes for providing a high density plasma source is provided. In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention provides a method that uses a combination of a high frequency source and a magnetic source to form a high density plasma. The high density plasma can provide a plasma that is substantially a single isotope of hydrogen, for example.

In a specific embodiment, the present invention provides a plasma treatment system having a memory for processing substrates. The memory has a computer program in the form of software, which can be in the form of computer codes or the like. The program has a code directed to forming an rf plasma discharge in a vacuum chamber. The plasma discharge includes an inductive coupling structure, which has a first cusp region at a first end of the structure and a second cusp region at a second end of the structure. In some embodiments, a third cusp region, which is between the first and second cusp regions, can also be included. The first cusp region is provided by a first electromagnetic source and the second cusp region is provided by a second-electro magnetic source. The first electromagnetic source and the second electromagnetic source confines a substantial portion of the rf plasma discharge to a region away from a wall of the vacuum chamber. Accordingly, a plasma discharge is substantially a single ionic species can be formed. The program also has a code directed to biasing a substrate via voltage supply relative to the plasma discharge to introduced particles from the plasma into the substrate. By way of the plasma discharge, which can be substantially a single ionic species (e.g., H

1

+), a uniform distribution of implanted particles at a selected depth in the substrate is achieved. Other codes perform a variety of functions described herein as well as outside the present specification to manufacture substrates in the present clustertool apparatus.

Numerous benefits are achieved by way of the present invention. In one aspect, the present invention provides a high density plasma source that is rich with hydrogen bearing particles in the H

1

+state. This high density source is highly active which allows the hydrogen bearing particles to be implanted in a uniform manner through a surface of a substrate such as a silicon wafer. In another aspect, the present invention achieves a high density plasma source in a simple and elegant source design, which uses a lower energy level than conventional multi-coil sources. The present invention also provides a method for igniting the plasma source in a “proton” state, which is highly efficient. Depending upon the embodiment, one or more of these benefits is present. These and other advantages or benefits are described throughout the present specification and are described more particularly below.

These and other embodiments of the present invention, as well as its advantages and features are described in more detail in conjunction with the text below and attached FIGS.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A-1B

is a simplified block diagram of a conventional plasma treatment system;

FIGS. 2-7

are simplified diagrams of plasma treatment systems according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2A

is a more detailed block diagram of the controller of

FIG. 2

according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 8-8A

are simplified diagrams of methods according to embodiments of the present invention; and

FIGS. 9-10

are simplified diagrams of experimental information according to embodiments of the present invention

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

According to the present invention, a technique including a system and computer codes for providing a high density plasma source is provided. In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention provides computer codes that are directed to providing a combination of a high frequency source and a magnetic source to form a high density plasma. The high density plasma can provide a plasma that is substantially a single isotope of hydrogen, for example.

1. Conventional Plasma Processing System

In brief overview and referring to

FIGS. 1A-1B

, conventional plasma processing system

10

includes a vacuum chamber

14

having a vacuum port

18

connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). The system

10

includes a series of dielectric windows

26

vacuum sealed by o-rings

30

and attached by removable clamps

34

to the upper surface

22

of the vacuum chamber

14

. Removably attached to some of these dielectric windows

26

are rf plasma sources

40

, in a system having a helical or pancake antennae

46

located within an outer shield/ground

44

. Cooling oi each antenna is accomplished by passing a cooling fluid through the antenna. Cooling is typically required only at higher power. The windows

26

without attached rf plasma sources

40

are usable as viewing ports into the chamber

14

. The removability of each plasma source

40

permits the associated dielectric window

26

to be cleaned or the plasma source

40

replaced without the vacuum within the system

10

being removed. Although glass windows are used, other dielectric material such as quartz or polyethylene may be used for the window material.

Each antenna

46

is connected to an rf generator

66

through a matching network

50

, through a coupling capacitor

54

. Each antenna

46

also includes a tuning capacitor

58

connected in parallel with its respective antenna

46

. Each of the tuning capacitors

58

is controlled by a signal D, D′, D″ from a controller

62

. By individually adjusting the tuning capacitors

85

, the output power from each rf antenna

46

can be adjusted to maintain the uniformity of the plasma generated. Other tuning means such as zero reflective power tuning may also be used to adjust the power to the antennae. The rf generator

66

is controlled by a signal E from the controller

62

. The controller

62

controls the power to the antennae

46

by a signal F to the matching network

50

.

The controller

62

adjusts the tuning capacitors

58

and the rf generator

66

in response to signals A, B, and C. Here, signal A is from a sensor

70

monitoring the power delivered to the antennae

46

. Signal B is from a fast scanning Langmuir probe

74

directly measuring the plasma density. Signal C is from a plurality of Faraday cups

78

attached to a substrate wafer holder

82

. The Langmuir probe

74

is scanned by moving the probe (double arrow I) into and out of the plasma. With these sensors, the settings for the rf generator

66

and the tuning capacitors

58

may be determined by the controller prior to the actual use of the system

10

to plasma treat a substrate. Once the settings are determined, the probes are removed and the wafer to be treated is introduced. The probes are left in place during processing to permit real time control of the system. Care must be taken to not contaminate the plasma with particles evaporating from the probe and to not shadow the substrate being processed.

This conventional system has numerous limitations. For example, the conventional system

10

includes wafer holder

82

that is surrounded by a quartz liner

101

. The quartz liner is intended to reduce unintentional contaminants sputtered from the sample stage to impinge or come in contact with the substrate

103

, which should be kept substantially free from contaminates. Additionally, the quartz liner is intended to reduce current load on the high voltage modulator and power supply. The quartz liner, however, often attracts impurities or ions

104

that attach themselves to the quartz liner by way of charging, as shown by FIG.

1

A. By way of this attachment, the quartz liner becomes chargcd, which changes the path of ions

105

from a normal trajectory

107

. The change in path can cause non-uniformities during a plasma immersion implantation process.

FIG. 1B

shows a simplified top-view diagram of substrate

103

that has high concentration regions

111

and

109

, which indicate non-uniformity. In some conventional systems, the liner can also be made of a material such as aluminum. Aluminum is problematic in conventional processing since aluminum particles can sputter off of the liner and attach themselves to the substrate. Aluminum particles on the substrate can cause a variety of functional and reliability problems in devices that are manufactured on the substrate. A wafer stage made of stainless steel can introduce particulate contamination such as iron, chromium, nickel, and others to the substrate. A paper authored by Zhineng Fan, Paul K. Chu, Chung Chan, and Nathan W. Cheung, entitled “Dose and Energy Non-Uniformity Caused By Focusing Effects During Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation,” published in “Applied Physics Letters” describes some of the limitations mentioned herein.

Additionally, the conventional system introduces ions

108

toward the substrate surface in a non-uniform manner. As shown, ions accelerate toward the substrate surface at varying angles and fluxes. These varying angles and fluxes tend to create a non-uniform ion distribution in the substrate material. The non-uniform distribution of ions in the substrate can create numerous problems. For example, a non-uniform distribution of ions in a substrate used for a film transfer process such as Smart Cut™ or a controlled cleaving process can ultimately create a non-uniform detached film, which is highly undesirable in the manufacture of integrated circuits. Accordingly, it is generally desirable to form a unifonn distribution of ions at a selected depth in the substrate material for film transfer processes.

2. Present Plasma Immersion Systems

FIG. 2

is a simplified overview of a plasma treatment system

200

for implanting particles according to an embodiment of the present invention. This diagram is merely an illustration and should not limit the scope of the claims herein. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations, modifications, and alternatives. For easy reading, some of the reference numerals used in

FIG. 1

are used in FIG.

2

and others. In a specific embodiment, system

200

includes a vacuum chamber

14

having a vacuum port

18

connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). The system

200

includes a dielectric window

26

vacuum sealed by o-rings

30

and attached by removable clamps

34

to the upper surface

22

of the vacuum chamber

14

. Removably attached to the dielectric window

26

is an rf plasma source

40

, in one embodiment having a helical or pancake antennae

46

located within an outer shield/ground

44

. Other embodiments of the antennae using capacitive or inductive coupling may be used. The rf plasma source can be operated at 13.56 MHz, and other frequencies. Cooling of each antenna is accomplished by passing a cooling fluid through the antenna. Cooling is typically required only at higher power. The window

26

without attached rf plasma sources

40

is usable as a viewing port into the chamber

14

. The removability of each plasma source

40

permits the associated dielectric window

26

to be cleaned or the plasma source

40

replaced without the vacuum within the system

10

being removed.

Although a glass window is used in this embodiment, other dielectric materials such as quartz or polyethylene may be used for the window material. Antenna

46

is connected to an rf generator

66

through a matching network

50

, through a coupling capacitor

54

. Antenna

46

also includes a tuning capacitor

58

connected in parallel with its respective antenna

46

. The tuning capacitor

58

is controlled by a signal D from a controller

62

. By adjusting the tuning capacitor

85

, the output power from the rf antenna

46

can be adjusted to maintain the uniformity of the plasma generated. Other tuning means such as zero reflective power tuning may also be used to adjust the power to the antennae. In one embodiment, the rf generator

66

is controlled by a signal E from the controller

62

. In one embodiment, the controller

62

controls the power to the antennae

46

by a signal F to the matching network

50

.

The controller

62

adjusts the tuning capacitor

58

and the rf generator

66

in response to signals A, B, and C. Signal A is from a sensor

70

(such as a Real Power Monitor by Comdel, Inc., Beverly, Mass.) monitoring the power delivered to the antennae

46

. Signal B is from a fast scanning Langmuir probe

74

directly measuring the plasma density. Signal C is from a plurality of Faraday cups

78

attached to a substrate wafer holder

82

. The Langmuir probe

74

is scanned by moving the probe (double arrow I) into and out of the plasma. With these sensors, the settings for the rf generator

66

and the tuning capacitors

58

may be determined by the controller prior to the actual use of the system

200

to plasma treat a substrate. Once the settings are determined, the probes are removed and the wafer to be treated is introduced. In another embodiment of the system, the probes are left in place during processing to permit real time control of the system. In such an embodiment using a Langmuir probe, care must be taken to not contaminate the plasma with particles evaporating from the probe and to not shadow the substrate being processed. In yet another embodiment of the system, the characteristics of the system are determined at manufacture and the system does not include a plasma probe.

In a preferred embodiment, a magnetic field is applied to the plasma in the vacuum chamber

14

. In a specific embodiment, an electromagnetic source

207

is applied to an upper vessel portion and an electromagnetic source

209

is applied to a lower vessel portion. These sources and others shape the plasma to form magnetic field lines

211

and

213

, which push or shape the plasma away from walls of the vessel. In a specific embodiment, the electromagnetic source can be a conductor such as a plurality of wires or cables, which conduct current. Alternatively, the magnetic source can be a single conductive member that carries electric current, which forms a magnetic field. In a specific embodiment, the conductor is a plurality of wires, which are wrapped around the periphery of the vessel. The wires are suitably constructed such that they carry enough electric current to influence the plasma in the vessel. In one embodiment, the wires are a plurality of insulated wires that are wrapped around a periphery of the vessel. The insulated wires each include a conductive core.

A power source(s) supplies direct current to the magnetic sources. Magnetic source

207

couples to a power source

215

, which supplies direct current in one direction to the wires. Magnetic source

209

couples to power source

215

, which supplies direct current in another direction (which is opposite of magnetic source

207

). The power source can be any suitable power source such as a DC power supply product (max 50 V or max 50 delta made by a company called Hewlett Packard, but is not limited. The power source is capable of supplying direct current to about 50 amps up to about 50 volts. A power rating of about 2,500 watts or greater is also desirable, but is not limiting.

In a specific embodiment, a combination of the rf plasma source

40

and electromagnetic sources

207

,

109

create “cusp” regions

217

,

218

, and

219

. Here, the combination of the sources are operated in a manner which maintains a substantial portion of the plasma to be confined within a spatial area away from the walls. By way of this confinement, recombination of the plasma species near the walls is reduced. The combination of the sources also provide for a higher plasma density. The high density plasma uses inductive coupling from the rf plasma source and uses the magnetic sources

207

and

209

to shape the plasma. The shaped plasma also has a much higher energy and density than the plasma created by only the rf plasma source. The high density plasma can be used for a number of applications including, plasma immersion ion implantation and others. In some embodiments, a cooling source (not shown) can be applied near an outer wall of the chamber near cusp region

218

, which is often concentrated with electrons. The electrons create additional heat near the chamber wall that should be removed by way of the cooling source.

Controller

62

is used to control power to the magnetic sources

207

and

209

. Controller

62

includes output G, which selectively adjusts the amount of direct current provided to magnetic source

207

. Output G can also selectively adjusts the amount of direct current provided to magnetic source

209

. The output can be determined by way of signal B from a fast scanning Langmuir probe

74

directly measuring the plasma density. Alternatively, the output can be determined by signal C, which is from a plurality of Faraday cups

78

attached to a substrate wafer holder

82

. The Langmuir probe

74

is scanned by moving the probe (double arrow I) into and out of the plasma. With these sensors, the settings for power supply

215

and for the rf generator

66

and the tuning capacitors

58

may be determined by the controller prior to the actual use of the system

200

to plasma treat a substrate. Once the settings are determined, the probes are removed and the wafer to be treated is introduced. In another embodiment of the system, the probes are left in place during processing to permit real time control of the system. In such an embodiment using a Langmuir probe, care must be taken to not contaminate the plasma with particles evaporating from the probe and to not shadow the substrate being processed. In yet another embodiment of the system, the characteristics of the system are determined at manufacture and the system does not include a plasma probe.

FIG. 2A

is a more detailed block diagram of the controller

61

according to an embodiment of the present invention. This diagram is merely an illustration and should not limit the scope of the claims herein. The controller includes, among other elements, a monitor

210

, a computing system

220

, a user input device

230

, a network interface

240

, and a keyboard

250

. Controller also couples to plasma treatment system

200

. Computing system

220

preferably includes familiar components such as a processor

260

, and memory storage devices, such as a random access memory (“RAM”)

270

, a fixed disk drive

280

, and a system bus

290

interconnecting the above components. User input device

230

may include a mouse, a trackball, a keyboard, a keypad, a joystick, a digitizing tablet, a wireless controller, a microphone, or other input devices.

The computer memory RAM

270

and fixed disk drive

280

are merely examples of tangible media for storage of computer programs, e-mail messages, audio and/or video data, and code implementing embodiments of the present invention. Other types of tangible media include SRAM, floppy disks, optical storage media such as CD-ROMs and bar codes, semiconductor memories such as flash memories, read-only- memories (ROMs), ASICs, battery-backed volatile memories, and the like.

Network interface

240

may be any type of interface to a computer network. For example network interface

240

may be a modem, an Ethernet or fast Ethernet interface, a LocalTalk connection, or the like. The network interface can also be based upon TCP/IP and other formats. The computer network may be any type of network such as the Internet, an Intranet, an IPX network, private tunnel, local area network (LAN), WAN, and the like in the fabrication facility.

In a preferred embodiment, computing system

220

includes a '586 class microprocessor running Windows98TM operating system from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington. Many other systems, such as MacOSTM from Apple Corporation, running upon G

3

based microprocessors, or SolarisTM from Sun Microsystems or UNIX running upon a SPARCstation, and the like can also be used. The present controller has computer codes that oversee the operations and perform the operations described herein as well as others.

Referring to

FIG. 3

, the configuration of plasma sources

40

may be such that a plurality of physically smaller plasma sources

40

produce a uniform plasma over an area greater than that of sum of the areas of the individual sources. In the embodiment of the configuration shown, four-inch diameter plasma sources

40

spaced at the corners of a square at six-inch centers produce a plasma substantially equivalent to that generated by a single twelve inch diameter source. Therefore, by providing a vacuum chamber

14

with a plurality of windows

26

, the various configurations of plasma sources

40

may be formed to produce a uniform plasma of the shape and uniformity desired. Antennae such as those depicted do not result in rf interference between sources when properly shielded as shown.

The Faraday cups

78

used to measure the uniformity of the field and the plasma dose, in one embodiment, are positioned near one edge in the surface of the wafer holder

82

, which is shown in FIG.

4

. The flat edge

86

of wafer

90

is positioned on the wafer holder

82

such that Faraday cups

78

of the wafer holder

82

are exposed to the plasma. In this way the plasma dose experienced by the wafer

90

can be directly measured. Alternatively, a special wafer

90

′, as shown in

FIG. 4A

, is fabricated with a plurality of Faraday cups

78

embedded in the wafer

90

′. This special wafer

90

′ is used to set the rf generator

66

and the tuning capacitors

58

to achieve the desired plasma density and uniformity. Once the operating parameters have been determined, the special wafer

90

′ is removed and the wafers

90

to be processed are placed on the wafer holder

82

.

Referring to

FIG. 5

, in another embodiment, a quartz window

100

is not directly attached to the vacuum chamber

14

, but instead encloses one end of the shield

44

of the plasma source

40

′. In this embodiment, a tube

104

attached to an opening

108

in the quartz window

100

provides a gas feed to form a plasma of a specific gas. In this case, the plasma source

40

′ is not attached to a window

26

in the wall of the vacuum chamber

14

, but is instead attached to the vacuum chamber

14

itself. Such plasma sources

40

′ can produce plasmas from specific gases as are generally required by many processes.

Several such plasma sources

40

′ can be aligned to sequentially treat a wafer

90

with different plasmas as in the embodiment of the in line system shown in FIG.

6

. In this embodiment, wafers

90

are moved by a conveyor

112

through sequential zones, in this embodiment zones I and II, of a continuous processing line

114

. Each zone is separated from the adjacent zones by a baffle

116

. In one embodiment, the gas in zone I is for a cleaning processing, while the gas in zone II is hydrogen used in implanting. In another embodiment, a cluster tool having load-locks to isolate each processing chamber from the other chambers, and equipped with a robot includes the rf plasma sources

40

of the invention for plasma CVD, plasma etching, plasma immersion ion implantation, ion shower, or any non-mass separated ion implantation technique.

A magnetic field is applied to plasma in the vacuum chamber

114

. In a specific embodiment, an electromagnetic source

607

is applied to an upper vessel portion and an electromagnetic source

609

is applied to a lower vessel portion. These sources shape the plasma to form magnetic field lines

611

and

613

, which push and shape the plasma away from walls of the vessel. In a specific embodiment, the electro-magnetic source can be a single or multiple conductors such as a plurality of wires or cables, which conduct current. In a specific embodiment, the conductor is a plurality of wires, which are wrapped around the periphery of the vessel. The wires are suitably constructed such that they carry enough electric current to influence the plasma in the vessel. In one embodiment, the wires are a plurality of insulated wires that are wrapped around a periphery of the vessel. The insulated wires each include a conductive core. Magnetic source

607

couples to a power source

615

, which supplies direct current in one direction to the wires. Magnetic source

609

couples to power source

615

, which supplies direct current in another direction (which is opposite of magnetic source

607

). The power source can be any suitable power source such as a DC power supply product made by a company called Hewlett Packard, but is not limited.

In a specific embodiment, a combination of the rf plasma source

40

′ and electromagnetic sources

607

,

609

create “cusp” regions

617

and

619

. Here, the combination of the sources are operated in a manner which maintains a substantial portion of the plasma confined to a spatial area away from the walls, which prevents recombination of plasma species near the walls. The combination of the sources also provide for a higher plasma density. The high density plasma uses inductive coupling from the rf plasma source and uses the magnetic sources

607

and

609

to shape the plasma. The shaped plasma also has a much higher energy and density than the plasma created by only the rf plasma source. The high density plasma can be used for a number of applications including, plasma immersion ion implantation and others.

FIG. 7

depicts an embodiment of the system of the invention using two plasma sources. In this embodiment each source is an inductive pancake antenna 3-4 inches in diameter. Each antenna

46

is constructed of a ¼ inch copper tube and contains 5-6 turns. Each antenna

46

is connected to a matching network

50

through a respective 160 pf capacitor. The matching network

50

includes a 0.03 &mgr;H inductor

125

and two variable capacitors

130

,

135

. One variable capacitor

130

is adjustable over the range of 10-250 pf and the second capacitor

135

is adjustable over the range of 5-120 pf. The matching network

50

is tuned by adjusting the variable capacitor

130

,

135

. The matching network

50

is in turn connected to an rf source

66

operating at 13.56 MHz or other suitable frequencies. Electro magnetic sources

140

,

145

are positioned around the circumference of the chamber. These sources include a conductive wire(s)

140

, which is wrapped around a lower portion of the chamber. The wires

140

provide current in one direction. Conductive wire(s)

145

is wrapped around an upper portion of the chamber. The wires

145

provide current in another direction, which is opposite of the direction of wires

140

. The combination of these wires and the rf source provides a high density plasma discharge.

While the above description is generally described in a variety of specific embodiments, it will be recognized that the invention can be applied in numerous other ways. For example, the improved plasma source design can be combined with the embodiments of the other FIGS. Additionally, the embodiments of the other FIGS. can be combined with one or more of the other embodiments. The various embodiments can be further combined or even separated depending upon the application.

Accordingly, the present invention has a much wider range of applicability than the specific embodiments described herein.

In a specific embodiment, the present invention provides a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method can be briefly outlined as follows:

1. Provide a work piece (e.g., silicon wafer);

2. Introduce the work piece into a vacuum chamber;

3. Evacuate the vacuum chamber to a first pressure;

4 Introduce a gas (e.g., hydrogen) into the vacuum chamber;

5 Ignite the gas to form a plasma using an rf power source;

6. Maintain the plasma using the rf power source;

7. Pump down the chamber to a second pressure;

8. Apply magnetic field onto plasma;

9. Form cusp(s) with plasma;

10. Form enhanced plasma mode;

11. Apply bias between plasma and work piece;

12. Accelerate particles from plasma toward work piece;

13. Form a concentration of particles at a selected depth in the work piece;

14. Purge chamber;

15. Remove implanted work piece; and

16. Perform remaining fabrication steps, as desired.

The above sequence of steps is used to provide a method according to the present invention. The present method includes steps of providing a work piece, forming a high density plasma, and accelerating particles from the plasma into a work piece. By way of substantially pure plasma species, the present invention provides a substantially uniform implant for a variety of processes such as layer transfer techniques. Further details of the present method are shown by way of reference to the FIGS. below.

FIG. 8

is a simplified flow diagram of a method

800

for implanting particles according to an embodiment of the present invention. The diagram is merely an example and should not limit the scope of the claims herein. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations, modifications, and alternatives. As shown, the method begins at start, which is step

801

. A work piece (e.g., silicon wafer) is placed into the chamber. In some embodiments, a robot or transfer arm performs the placement step. The chamber is pumped down (step

805

), which evacuates the chamber. Once the chamber is evacuated, a high density plasma is formed (step

807

). The high density plasma is formed using any one of the techniques described herein, as well as others. In a preferred embodiment, the high density plasma is substantially pure hydrogen H

1

+, which is described herein. The substantially pure hydrogen has a positive ionic charge.

To implant these particles into the work piece, a negative bias is applied to the work piece. In one embodiment, the negative bias is pulsed. Alternatively, the negative bias is a straight D.C. current or a quasi D.C. current, which is made of a plurality of pulses. The bias pulls the particles form the plasma into the work piece. That is, the voltage bias accelerates the particles through a surface of the work piece to a selected depth within the work piece. Once the particles are introduced into the work piece, additional processing can be performed. These processes include, among others, a layer transfer process such as a controlled cleavage process, which is described in U.S. Ser. Nos. 09/026,115, 09/026,027, 09/026,034, commonly assigned, and which are all incorporated by reference herein. Additional layer transfer processes such as the Smart Cut™ process of Soitec of France.

FIG. 8A

is a simplified flow diagram of a method

814

for igniting a high density plasma according to an embodiment of the present invention. The diagram is merely an example and should not limit the scope of the claims herein. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations, modifications, and alternatives. The present method begins with a start step (step

815

). The present method includes, among other steps, pumping down or evacuating (step

817

) the vacuum chamber to a first pressure. The rf power source is applied which ignites (step

819

) and maintains an inductively coupled plasma. The chamber is then pumped down or evacuated to a second pressure, which is lower than the first pressure, where the magnetic field is applied (step

823

). The magnetic field is applied in the manner described herein as well as others. In some embodiments, the magnetic field is applied before step

817

or any other time, when it is convenient. The combination of the applied magnetic field and the rf power provides an enhanced plasma, which is substantially a single isotope, e.g., H

1

+. The substantially pure plasma can be used for a variety of processes such as the ones described herein, as well as others.

Although the above has been generally described in terms of specific methods, the present invention can also be applied to a variety of other plasma processes. For example, the present invention can be applied to a plasma source ion implantation system using a plasma immersion ion implantation system or any non-mass separated system such as ion shower or the like. Accordingly, the above description is merely an example and should not limit the scope of the claims herein. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations, alternatives, and modifications.

Experiments:

To prove the principles and operation of the present invention, experiments were performed. In these experiments, a chamber having a diameter of about thirty inches and a height of about thirty six inches was used. The chamber was made of stainless steel. Waban Technology, Inc. of Massachusetts (now Silicon Genesis Corporation) provided the chamber. A single inductive coil was placed on an upper region of the chamber. The inductive coil was placed on a substantially planar window, which was concentrically aligned overlying a susceptor region of the chamber. The inductive coil used a ¼-inch diameter copper coil, which was wrapped about FIVE times about a center region. The inner region of the inductive coil was grounded while the outer region of the coil was subjected to rf power of 13.56 MHz. The overall diameter of the inductive coil was about twelve inches. The power supplied to the coil was maintained at about 4.5 kilo-watts during operation. The inductive coil was made of a copper material and had cooling fluid running in the coil to prevent the coil from heating up excessively. A silver plate was coupled to the coil to enhance cooling.

Magnetic sources were constructed by way of insulated wires. A plurality of insulated wires were wrapped surrounding the circumference of the chamber. A first group of wires were wrapped in an upper circumference region of the chamber. About 15 to 20 wraps were made using these wires. In a center region of the chamber, which is above the susceptor, a second group of wires were wrapped about the circumference region of the chamber. About 15 to 20 wraps were made using these wires. A power source was applied to each of the groups of wires. A direct current (“D.C.”) power source of about 5 volts and about 40 Amps. was applied to the top group of wires. A D.C. power source of about 5 volts and about 40 Amps. was applied to the bottom group of wires. Details of applying the proper voltage and current are described in more detail below.

A hydrogen gas source was applied to provide hydrogen gas into the chamber. The hydrogen gas source was semiconductor grade (99.9995%) purity hydrogen gas. The gas entered the chamber at a flow rate of 20 sccm, which was at a temperature of room (or ambient) and pressure of a few milli-torr. A mass flow controller was used to selectively introduce the hydrogen gas into the chamber. The mass flow controller was made by a company called MKS, but is not limited. The mass flow controller selectively allowed hydrogen gas to enter into the chamber.

In operation, a work piece such as a blank 8-inch silicon wafer is placed into the chamber. A vacuum pump evacuates the chamber. The vacuum is generally maintained such that the chamber has a pressure of about 0.5 milli-torr and less during processing. Of course the particular pressure used depends highly upon the application. The vacuum pump can be any suitable unit such as a Turbo Molecular pump made by a company called Varian, but is not limited to such a pump. Hydrogen gas is allowed to enter the chamber. Next, rf power is applied to the ignite the plasma. The rf power is at about 4 kW. A glow discharge can be seen through a glass viewing window on the side of the vacuum chamber. The mixture of the hydrogen bearing particles are measured.

A mass spectrometer system was used to measure the relative concentrations of hydrogen bearing particles. In the present example, a mass spectrometer made by a company called Iliden of England was used. Here, a probe was placed into the chamber, as shown. The probe was used at two locations in the chamber to sense the type of hydrogen in the plasma. The probe was inserted into the chamber at a first position, which is against the wall region of the chamber. A measurement was taken at the first position. Next, the probe was moved to a second location in the chamber, as shown. A measurement was taken at the second position. Table 1 lists the mixture of hydrogen bearing particles for two trials. The first trial measures hydrogen for a source where only an rf source is applied. The second trial measures hydrogen for a source that includes the rf source and the magnetic field source.

TABLE 1

List of Concentrations of Hydrogen

Power Source(s)

Hydrogen (1)

Hydrogen (2)

Hydrogen (3)

Rf source

  <1%

60%

40%

Rf source + field

99.96%

<1%

<1%

As seen in Table 1, the concentration of hydrogen bearing particles include hydrogen (1) (e.g., H

1

+), hydrogen (2) (e.g., H

2

+ and H

2

) and hydrogen (3) (e. g., H

3

+). By way of inductive coupling from the rf power source, the hydrogen bearing particles include H(1), H(2), and (3). The presence of all three forms of hydrogen are believed to be based upon recombination of certain species of hydrogen at, for example, a wall region. The plasma density using inductive coupling is about 5×10

9

ions/cubic centimeter.

When the pressure is about 1 milli-torr, the magnetic field is applied to the chamber by way of the D.C. power source(s). The plasma discharge transforms into a state that is dominated by H(1). An inspection of the illumination of the hydrogen discharge through the glass window reveals a higher intensity of light illuminating from the plasma. The illumination is much brighter (i.e., the color turned from blue to magenta) than the plasma discharge made by way of only the rf source. The relative concentrations of hydrogen bearing particles have also changed. Table 1 lists the relative change, where hydrogen (1) is now greater than 99%, hydrogen (2) is less than 0.05%, and hydrogen (3) is less than 0.001%. Accordingly, the plasma discharge becomes substantially hydrogen (1), which we call the “protonic mode” of hydrogen.

FIG. 9

illustrates a relative measurement of the hydrogen bearing particles. The hydrogen bearing particles include at least H(1), H(2), and H(3). As shown, the left axis illustrates intensity of hydrogen bearing particles in units of counts/second (“SEM”). The lower axis illustrates mass of the hydrogen bearing particles in atomic mass unit (herein “AMU”). The peak near the AMU of value 1 reveals H(1). The smaller peaks near the AMU values of 2 and 3 refer, respectively, to H(2) and H(3). A simple calculation made using the FIG. shows an H(1) concentration relative to H2 and H3 of 99.96% purity, which is believed to be significant. It is believed that present conventional techniques cannot achieve such high purity by way of conventional plasma processing tools and the like.

To implant the hydrogen bearing particles, a voltage bias (i.e., quasi DC pulse) is applied between the plasma and the work piece. The work piece is maintained at a voltage potential of about less than 50 kV. The plasma source has an applied voltage potential of about a few tens of volts. By way of the differential in voltage between the work piece and the plasma discharge, the hydrogen bearing particles are accelerated into the surface of the work piece. The hydrogen bearing particles accelerate through the surface of the work piece and rest at a selected depth underneath the surface of the work piece. It is believed that since the hydrogen bearing particles are substantially a single species, a substantial portion of the plasma implants into the substrate in a similar manner. By way of this manner, a substantially uniform implant is achieved.

By way of the present plasma source, a high degree of uniformity in the implant is achieved.

FIG. 10

is a simplified profile

900

of an implant according to the present experiment. As shown, the particles counts were measured by way of a Langmuir probe. The probe measured a substantial uniform distribution of implanted particles that were measured using the probe. As shown, the concentration centered around 2.9×10

16

ions/m

3

. The concentration does not substantially vary about the region, which is occupied by a substrate. The substrate region is defined outside of the 28 centimeter position, where the 40 centimeter position defines a center portion of the substrate.

In a specific embodiment, the present invention achieves other ion concentrations, which enhance plasma immersion ion implantation. As merely an example, the hydrogen ion concentration is greater than about 1×10

10

ions/cm

3

, or greater than about 5×10

10

ions/cm

3

, or greater than about 5×10

10

ions/cm

3

, or greater than about 1×10

12

ions/cm

3

. Conventional ICP sources yielded no greater than about 1×10

9

hydrogen ions/cm

3

using similar plasma tools. Accordingly, the present plasma source yields about 100 times or 200 times higher plasma densities than conventional tools.

Although the above has been generally described in terms of a PIII system, the present invention can also be applied to a variety of other plasma systems. For example, the present invention can be applied to a plasma source ion implantation system. Accordingly, the above description is merely an example and should not limit the scope of the claims herein. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize other variations, alternatives, and modifications.

While the above is a full description of the specific embodiments, various modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents may be used. Therefore, the above description and illustrations should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention which is defined by the appended claims.