公开(公告)号：US12127486B2

公开(公告)日：2024-10-22

申请号：US17424792

申请日：2020-01-13

Applicant: LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION

Inventor： Hyungsuk Yoon ,  Thorsten Lill ,  Yang Pan

IPC: H10N79/00 ,  H10B63/00 ,  H10N70/00

CPC classification number: H10N70/066 ,  H10B63/80 ,  H10N70/023 ,  H10N70/063 ,  H10N70/068 ,  H10N70/8833

Abstract: A method for fabricating a plurality of resistive random access memory (RRAM) cells includes providing a substrate including a memory medium arranged on an underlying layer; creating channel holes in the memory medium having a first critical dimension in a range from 1 nm to 20 nm; depositing switching material defining a filament of the RRAM cells in the channel holes; depositing a top electrode of the RRAM cells on the memory medium and the switching material; and separating adjacent ones of the RRAM cells by etching the top electrode and the memory medium between adjacent ones of the channel holes.

公开(公告)号：US20230298904A1

公开(公告)日：2023-09-21

申请号：US18187342

申请日：2023-03-21

Applicant: Lam Research Corporation

Inventor： Ivan L. Berry, III ,  Thorsten Lill ,  Andreas Fischer

IPC: H01L21/3213 ,  H01L21/3065 ,  H01L21/311 ,  H01L21/67

CPC classification number: H01L21/32138 ,  H01L21/3065 ,  H01L21/31116 ,  H01L21/32136 ,  H01L21/67069

Abstract: Disclosed are apparatuses and methods for performing atomic layer etching. A method may include modifying one or more surface layers of material on the substrate and exposing the one or more modified surface layers on the substrate to an electron source thereby removing, without using a plasma, the one or more modified surface layers on the substrate. An apparatus may include a processing chamber, a process gas unit, an electron source, and a controller with instructions configured to cause the process gas unit to flow a first process gas to a substrate in a chamber interior, the first process gas is configured to modify one or more layers of material on the substrate, and to cause the electron source to generate electrons and expose the one or more modified surface layers on the substrate to the electrons, the one or more modified surface layers being removed, without using a plasma.

公开(公告)号：US20210280433A1

公开(公告)日：2021-09-09

申请号：US17250326

申请日：2019-07-03

Applicant: Lam Research Corporation

Inventor： Ivan L. Berry, III ,  Thorsten Lill ,  Andreas Fischer

IPC: H01L21/3213 ,  H01L21/311 ,  H01L21/67 ,  H01L21/3065

Abstract: Disclosed are apparatuses and methods for performing atomic layer etching. A method may include modifying one or more surface layers of material on the substrate and exposing the one or more modified surface layers on the substrate to an electron source thereby removing, without using a plasma, the one or more modified surface layers on the substrate. An apparatus may include a processing chamber, a process gas unit, an electron source, and a controller with instructions configured to cause the process gas unit to flow a first process gas to a substrate in a chamber interior, the first process gas is configured to modify one or more layers of material on the substrate, and to cause the electron source to generate electrons and expose the one or more modified surface layers on the substrate to the electrons, the one or more modified surface layers being removed, without using a plasma.

公开(公告)号：US10403476B2

公开(公告)日：2019-09-03

申请号：US15346920

申请日：2016-11-09

Applicant: Lam Research Corporation

Inventor： Mariusch Gregor ,  Thorsten Lill ,  David Trussell

IPC: C23C16/40 ,  H01J37/32 ,  C23C16/505 ,  C23C16/52 ,  G01J3/50 ,  H01L21/67 ,  C23C16/44 ,  C23C16/455 ,  C23C16/509

Abstract: An active showerhead used for a plasma reactor is described. The active showerhead includes a plurality of substrate layers. The substrate layers include at least one actuator and transfer component. The actuator and transfer component is coupled to a gas line via a gas channel. The active showerhead further includes an electrode layer located below the substrate layers. The electrode layer and the actuator and transfer component both share an opening. The actuator and transfer component allows passage of one or more process gases received from the gas line and the gas channel into the opening without the need for a conventional gas box.

公开(公告)号：US20190198345A1

公开(公告)日：2019-06-27

申请号：US16289428

申请日：2019-02-28

Applicant: Lam Research Corporation

Inventor： Andreas Fischer ,  Thorsten Lill ,  Richard Janek ,  John Boniface

IPC: H01L21/311 ,  H01J37/32 ,  C23F4/00 ,  C23F1/12 ,  C23F1/00 ,  C23C16/02 ,  H01L21/3065 ,  H01L21/3213

CPC classification number: H01L21/31122 ,  B81C2201/0135 ,  B81C2201/0142 ,  C23C16/0245 ,  C23F1/00 ,  C23F1/12 ,  C23F4/00 ,  H01J37/32009 ,  H01J37/32082 ,  H01J2237/334 ,  H01L21/30655 ,  H01L21/32136

Abstract: A method for performing atomic layer etching (ALE) on a substrate, including the following method operations: performing a surface modification operation on a surface of the substrate, the surface modification operation configured to convert at least one monolayer of the substrate surface to a modified layer; performing a removal operation on the substrate surface, to remove the modified layer from the substrate surface, wherein removing the modified layer includes exposing the substrate surface to a metal complex, such that a ligand exchange reaction occurs between the metal complex and converted species of the modified layer; performing, following the removal operation, a plasma treatment on the substrate surface, the plasma treatment configured to remove residues formed from the exposure of the substrate surface to the metal complex, wherein the residues are volatilized by the plasma treatment; repeating the foregoing operations until a predefined thickness has been etched from the substrate surface.

公开(公告)号：US20190157105A1

公开(公告)日：2019-05-23

申请号：US16255606

申请日：2019-01-23

Applicant: Lam Research Corporation

Inventor： Andreas Fischer ,  Thorsten Lill ,  Richard Janek

IPC: H01L21/3213 ,  H01L21/326 ,  H01L21/311 ,  H01L21/225 ,  H01L21/02 ,  H01L21/67

Abstract: A method for performing atomic layer etching (ALE) on a substrate is provided, including the following operations: performing a surface modification operation on a substrate surface, the surface modification operation configured to convert at least one monolayer of the substrate surface to a modified layer, wherein a bias voltage is applied during the surface modification operation, the bias voltage configured to control a depth of the substrate surface that is converted by the surface modification operation; performing a removal operation on the substrate surface, the removal operation configured to remove at least a portion of the modified layer from the substrate surface, wherein removing the portion of the modified layer includes applying thermal energy to effect desorption of the portion of the modified layer. A plasma treatment can be performed to remove residues from the substrate surface following the removal operation.

公开(公告)号：US20180366343A9

公开(公告)日：2018-12-20

申请号：US15615691

申请日：2017-06-06

Applicant: Lam Research Corporation

Inventor： Andreas Fischer ,  Thorsten Lill ,  Richard Janek

IPC: H01L21/3213 ,  H01L21/225 ,  H01L21/326 ,  H01L21/02 ,  H01L21/311

CPC classification number: H01L21/32136 ,  H01L21/0206 ,  H01L21/02068 ,  H01L21/225 ,  H01L21/31122 ,  H01L21/32138 ,  H01L21/326 ,  H01L21/67

Abstract: A method for performing atomic layer etching (ALE) on a substrate is provided, including the following operations: performing a surface modification operation on a substrate surface, the surface modification operation configured to convert at least one monolayer of the substrate surface to a modified layer, wherein a bias voltage is applied during the surface modification operation, the bias voltage configured to control a depth of the substrate surface that is converted by the surface modification operation; performing a removal operation on the substrate surface, the removal operation configured to remove at least a portion of the modified layer from the substrate surface, wherein removing the portion of the modified layer is effected via a ligand exchange reaction that is configured to volatilize the portion of the modified layer. A plasma treatment can be performed to remove residues from the substrate surface following the removal operation.

公开(公告)号：US20180102236A1

公开(公告)日：2018-04-12

申请号：US15824987

申请日：2017-11-28

Applicant: Lam Research Corporation

Inventor： Jialing Yang ,  Baosuo Zhou ,  Meihua Shen ,  Thorsten Lill ,  John Hoang

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/3213

Abstract: Methods of etching cobalt on substrates are provided. Some methods involve exposing the substrate to a boron-containing halide gas and an additive, and exposing the substrate to an activation gas and a plasma. Additives improve selectively depositing a thicker layer of a boron-containing halide material on a surface of a mask than on a surface of a metal. Additives include H2, CH4, CF4, NF3, and Cl2. Boron-containing halide gases include BCl3, BBr3, BF3, and Bl3. Exposures may be performed in two or more cycles, with variations in durations and/or bias power for each exposure in the two or more cycles.

公开(公告)号：US20180047548A1

公开(公告)日：2018-02-15

申请号：US15793506

申请日：2017-10-25

Applicant: Lam Research Corporation

Inventor： Ivan L. Berry, III ,  Thorsten Lill ,  Kenneth Reese Reynolds

IPC: H01J37/36 ,  C23F4/00 ,  H01J37/32

Abstract: One process used to remove material from a surface is ion etching. In certain cases, ion etching involves delivery of both ions and a reactive gas to a substrate. The disclosed embodiments permit local high pressure delivery of reactive gas to a substrate while maintaining a much lower pressure on portions of the substrate that are outside of the local high pressure delivery area. In many cases, the low pressure is achieved by providing an injection head that confines the high pressure reactant delivery to a small area and vacuums away excess reactants and byproducts as they leave this small area and before they enter the larger substrate processing region. The disclosed injection head may be used to increase throughput while minimizing deleterious collisions between ions and other species present in the substrate processing region. The disclosed injection head may also be used in other types of semiconductor wafer processing.

公开(公告)号：US09818633B2

公开(公告)日：2017-11-14

申请号：US14517623

申请日：2014-10-17

Applicant: Lam Research Corporation

Inventor： Thorsten Lill ,  Vahid Vahedi ,  Candi Kristoffersen ,  Andrew D. Bailey, III ,  Meihua Shen ,  Rangesh Raghavan ,  Gary Bultman

IPC: H01L21/677

CPC classification number: H01L21/67745 ,  H01L21/67766

Abstract: An EFEM useful for transferring wafers to and from wafer processing modules comprises an enclosure having a controlled environment therein bounded by a front wall, a back wall, first and second side walls, a top wall, and a bottom wall. The first side wall and the second side wall include two or more wafer load ports wherein each wafer load port is adapted to receive a FOUP. The front wall includes wafer ports configured to attach to respective load locks operable to allow a wafer to be transferred to a front wall cluster processing tool. The back wall includes a wafer port adapted to be in operational relationship with a back wall cluster processing tool. A robot in the EFEM enclosure is operable to transfer wafers through the wafer load ports, the first front wall wafer port, the second front wall wafer port, and the back wall wafer port.