Plasma and vacuum ultraviolet induced charging of SiO2 and HfO2 patterned structures

Lauer, J. L.; Upadhyaya, G. S.; Sinha, H.; Krüger, J.; Nishi, Yoshio; Shohet, J. L.

doi:10.1116/1.3654012

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…VUV radiation has been found to introduce photoconductive effects 12,13 which govern the density and location of trapped charges within the dielectric. [14][15][16][17] In addition, trapped charges generated by VUV irradiation of low-k dielectrics have been shown to adversely affect the capacitance, 18 breakdown voltage, 19 and leakage currents 20,21 without any chemical or structural change in SiCOH. This review demonstrates how VUV irradiation causes generation of trapped charges in SiCOH and how it can be reduced.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of vacuum ultraviolet radiation on low-k dielectric films

Sinha

Nichols

et al. 2012

Journal of Applied Physics

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Plasmas, known to emit high levels of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation, are used in the semiconductor industry for processing of low-k organosilicate glass (SiCOH) dielectric device structures. VUV irradiation induces photoconduction, photoemission, and photoinjection. These effects generate trapped charges within the dielectric film, which can degrade electrical properties of the dielectric. The amount of charge accumulation in low-k dielectrics depends on factors that affect photoconduction, photoemission, and photoinjection. Changes in the photo and intrinsic conductivities of SiCOH are also ascribed to the changes in the numbers of charged traps generated during VUV irradiation. The dielectric-substrate interface controls charge trapping by affecting photoinjection of charged carriers into the dielectric from the substrate. The number of trapped charges increases with increasing porosity of SiCOH because of charge trapping sites in the nanopores. Modifications to these three parameters, i.e., (1) VUV induced charge generation, (2) dielectric-substrate interface, and (3) porosity of dielectrics, can be used to reduce trappedcharge accumulation during processing of low-j SiCOH dielectrics. Photons from the plasma are responsible for trapped-charge accumulation within the dielectric, while ions stick primarily to the surface of the dielectrics. In addition, as the dielectric constant was decreased by adding porosity, the defect concentrations increased. V

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of vacuum ultraviolet radiation on low-k dielectric films

Sinha

Nichols

et al. 2012

Journal of Applied Physics

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“…The radiation, especially VUVs, can inject electrons and/or electron‐hole pairs in the semiconductor and dielectric layers. They are able to move throughout the layer and become trapped, recombine, or leave the layers . The trapped charges within the dielectric layer can contribute to the decreased photocurrent signal after the plasma treatment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other influences of the plasma treatment should be carefully considered: an intensive plasma treatment for a long duration to obtain hydrophilic surfaces adversely influences the electrical properties and the sensing behavior of sensors . During the plasma treatment, a plasma‐induced damage occurs because of the ion bombardment, radical flux, or radiation emitted by the plasma.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the plasma treatment, a plasma‐induced damage occurs because of the ion bombardment, radical flux, or radiation emitted by the plasma. In particular, the radiation, e.g., vacuum ultraviolet photons (VUVs), can deeply penetrate the sensor and ionizes atoms of the semiconductor lattice and dielectric layer, resulting in imparities and hence a change of the electrical behavior of the sensor . Because of all of these, characterization and optimization of plasma treatment play an important role in this field.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Plasma Treatment on the Sensor Properties of a Light‐Addressable Potentiometric Sensor (LAPS)

Özsoylu

Kızıldağ

Schöning

et al. 2019

Physica Status Solidi (a)

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A light‐addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) is a field‐effect‐based (bio‐) chemical sensor, in which a desired sensing area on the sensor surface can be defined by illumination. Light addressability can be used to visualize the concentration and spatial distribution of the target molecules, e.g., H+ ions. This unique feature has great potential for the label‐free imaging of the metabolic activity of living organisms. The cultivation of those organisms needs specially tailored surface properties of the sensor. O2 plasma treatment is an attractive and promising tool for rapid surface engineering. However, the potential impacts of the technique are carefully investigated for the sensors that suffer from plasma‐induced damage. Herein, a LAPS with a Ta2O5 pH‐sensitive surface is successfully patterned by plasma treatment, and its effects are investigated by contact angle and scanning LAPS measurements. The plasma duration of 30 s (30 W) is found to be the threshold value, where excessive wettability begins. Furthermore, this treatment approach causes moderate plasma‐induced damage, which can be reduced by thermal annealing (10 min at 300 °C). These findings provide a useful guideline to support future studies, where the LAPS surface is desired to be more hydrophilic by O2 plasma treatment.

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“…crystalline SiO 2 and organosilicate glass) with an absorption edge above 8 eV, which leads not only to low-k material bond cleavage but also to charge trapping at defect sites [5]. As a result, undesirable damage, such as poor mechanical property, RC delay, low breakdown voltage and leakage currents, is induced on the low-k inter-metal dielectrics [4][5][6][7]. Therefore, quantifying the plasma VUV/UV photon radiation is crucial to understand and predict the VUV/UV-induced effects during semiconductor manufacturing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real-time VUV radiation monitoring in low-pressure hydrogen plasma based on fluorescence of sodium salicylate

Han¹,

Park²,

Mauchauffé³

et al. 2022

Meas. Sci. Technol.

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Recently, vacuum ultra-violet (VUV) radiations emitted from plasmas have been of particular interest for semiconductor device fabrication because of the effects of their high energy photons such as induced damage or curing on low-k materials. Due to the difficulty to implement conventional spectroscopic methods to monitor VUV radiation with high accuracy and time resolution in current plasma processing equipment, novel monitoring methods must be investigated. Therefore, in this work, we developed a compact VUV radiation monitoring system based on a scintillator, i.e. sodium salicylate (NaSal), for real-time VUV measurements. Compared to conventional VUV spectrometer, the system shows considerable implementation potential thanks to its compact size, higher detection accuracy and time resolution below 200 ns. VUV radiations emitted by continuous and pulsed hydrogen plasmas generated at low pressure were investigated using the developed system. Using various filters, we were able to compare the VUV photons intensity in different wavelength ranges. It was found that VUV photons intensity between 115 and 250 nm was about 2.5 times higher than in the region below 115 nm due to intense Lyman-α and molecular radiations such as Lyman and Werner bands observed in low-pressure hydrogen plasmas.

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Plasma and vacuum ultraviolet induced charging of SiO2 and HfO2 patterned structures

Cited by 5 publications

References 24 publications

The effects of vacuum ultraviolet radiation on low-k dielectric films

The effects of vacuum ultraviolet radiation on low-k dielectric films

Effect of Plasma Treatment on the Sensor Properties of a Light‐Addressable Potentiometric Sensor (LAPS)

Real-time VUV radiation monitoring in low-pressure hydrogen plasma based on fluorescence of sodium salicylate

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