Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T01:43:55.156Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Thermal stress relaxation of plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition silicon nitride

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

P. Morin ,
E. Martinez ,
F. Wacquant  and
J. L. Regolini
P. Morin
Affiliation:
ST Microelectronics, 850 rue Jean Monnet, F-38926 Crolles [email protected]
E. Martinez
Affiliation:
ST Microelectronics, 850 rue Jean Monnet, F-38926 Crolles [email protected]
F. Wacquant
Affiliation:
ST Microelectronics, 850 rue Jean Monnet, F-38926 Crolles [email protected]
J. L. Regolini
Affiliation:
ST Microelectronics, 850 rue Jean Monnet, F-38926 Crolles [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Mechanical and thermal properties of silicon nitride films deposited by different plasma process type have been studied. The initial mechanical stress, thickness and hydrogen content have been evaluated respectively by wafer curvature measurements, ellipsometry and Fourier Transform Infra Red spectrometry. These nitrides presented as-deposited stress values ranging from compressive to tensile. High temperature Rapid Thermal Anneal (RTA) at 1100°C or longer thermal treatments at medium temperature, from 700°C to 850°C were carried out on these materials. The evolution of their properties along the different anneals have been measured and compared to the behaviour of high temperature thermal nitride. One can observe that these stoechiometric plasma nitrides have shifted to an equilibrium tensile stress around 1100-1200 Mpa when submitted to the RTA, independently of their initial stress values. Results are interpreted in terms of H desorption and Si-N bond formation. Chemical reaction Si2-N-H + 2 N-H → 2 Si-N + NH3 appears to be the best candidate to figure out the phenomena.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 875: Symposium O – Thin Films - Stresses and Mechanical Properties XI , 2005 , O14.6
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Ootsuka, F & al., “A Highly Dense, High-Performance 130nm node CMOS Technology for Large Scale System-on-a-Chip Application” IEDM (2000).Google Scholar
2. Hughey, M. P., Cook, R.F. “Stress stability of PECVD silicon nitride films during device fabrication” Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Vol. 766 (2003).Google Scholar
3. Saito, Y., Kagiyama, T., Nakajima, S. “Thermal expansion and atomic structure of amorphous silicon nitride thin films” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Vol 42, 1175 (2003).Google Scholar
4. Hughey, M. P., Cook, R.F. “Massive stress changes in plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited silicon nitride films on thermal cycling” thin solid films 460, 7 (2004).Google Scholar
5. Chen, S.-S., Zhang, X. & Lin, S.-T. “Intrinsic stress generation and relaxation of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited oxide during deposition and subsequent thermal cycling” Thin Solid Films 434, 190 (2003).Google Scholar
6. Landford, W. A. and Rand, M. J., J. Appl. Phys. 49, 2473 (1978).Google Scholar
7. Hughey, M. P. and Cook, R.F. “Irreversible tensile stress development in PECVD silicon nitride films” Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Vol. 795 (2004).Google Scholar
8. Hasegawaa, Y. Amano, Inokuma, T. and Kurata, Y. “Effects of active hydrogen on the stress relaxation of amorphous SiNx:H films” J. Appl. Phys. 75, 1493 (1994).Google Scholar
9. Boehme, C. and Lucovsky, G. “Dissociation reactions of hydrogen in remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor-deposition silicon nitride” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 19(5), 2622 (2001).Google Scholar
10. Benoit, D., Morin, P. and Regolini, J. “Study of hydrogen desorption from PECVD silicon nitride and induced defect passivation” 207th Electron Chemical Society proceedings (2005).Google Scholar