Patent ID: 6100163
Filing Date: 2000-08-08
Classification: H01L

Abstract:
A method for filling a trench within a silicon substrate comprising:providing a silicon substrate, the silicon substrate having a trench formed therein;oxidizing thermally the silicon substrate to form within the trench a thermal silicon oxide trench liner layer;treating the thermal silicon oxide trench liner layer with a plasma formed from a plasma gas phase composition which upon plasma activation simultaneously supplies active nitrogen containing species and active oxygen containing species to form a plasma treated thermal silicon oxide trench liner layer, wherein the plasma gas composition is nitrous oxide and the plasma is employed at:a reactor chamber pressure of from about 1 to about 2 torr;a radio frequency power of about 50 to about 150 watts at a radio frequency of 13.56 MHz;a nitrous oxide gas flow of from about 400 to about 600 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm);forming upon the thermal silicon oxide trench liner layer a conformal silicon oxide intermediate layer formed through a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method employing silane as a silicon source material; andforming upon the conformal silicon oxide intermediate layer a gap filling silicon oxide trench fill layer formed employing a sub-atmospheric pressure thermal chemical vapor deposition (SACVD) method employing ozone as an oxidant and tetra-ethyl-ortho-silicate (TEOS) as a silicon source material.