Patent Publication Number: US-2022230887-A1

Title: Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate

Description:
FIELD 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a methods and apparatus for processing a substrate, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus configured to remove boron-containing films. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Micro-electronic circuits and other micro-scale devices are generally manufactured from a substrate (or wafer), such as a silicon or other semiconductor material wafer. Multiple metal layers are applied onto the substrate to form micro-electronic or other micro-scale components or to provide electrical interconnects. For example, metal layers, e.g., copper, are plated onto the substrate, and form the components and interconnects in a sequence of photolithographic, plating, etching, polishing or other steps. For example, high etch selectivity boron-containing films, e.g., hardmask, are sometimes needed to pattern high aspect ratio capacitor structure. However, the boron-containing films can sometimes be difficult to remove using conventional etch chemistry processes, e.g., using H 2 O. Additionally, when using conventional etch chemistry processes, a removal rate of the boron-containing film can be significantly reduced as a boron concentration in the boron-containing film increases. 
     SUMMARY 
     Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method for processing a substrate includes heating a substrate disposed in an interior volume of a process chamber and having a boron-containing film deposited thereon to a predetermined temperature and supplying water vapor in a non-plasma state to the interior volume at a predetermined pressure for a predetermined time, while maintaining the substrate at the predetermined temperature to anneal the substrate for the predetermined time and remove the boron-containing film. 
     In accordance with at least some embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium has instructions stored thereon which when executed by a processer perform a method for processing a substrate. The method includes heating a substrate disposed in an interior volume of a process chamber and having a boron-containing film deposited thereon to a predetermined temperature and supplying water vapor in a non-plasma state to the interior volume at a predetermined pressure for a predetermined time, while maintaining the substrate at the predetermined temperature to anneal the substrate for the predetermined time and remove the boron-containing film. 
     Other and further embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the present disclosure, briefly summarized above and discussed in greater detail below, can be understood by reference to the illustrative embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the appended drawings. However, the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of scope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments. 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram of an integrated tool for processing a substrate in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram of a high-pressure system in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic side view of a high-pressure processing system in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a method for processing a substrate in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and may be simplified for clarity. Elements and features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments without further recitation. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of a method and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided herein. For example, methods for removing boron-containing films are described herein. In at least some embodiments, a method can include heating a substrate (e.g., having a boron-containing film deposited thereon) disposed in an interior volume of a process chamber to a predetermined temperature. Water vapor (e.g., steam) in a non-plasma state can be supplied to the interior volume at a predetermined pressure (e.g., a high pressure environment) for a predetermined time, while maintaining the substrate support at the predetermined temperature to anneal the substrate for the predetermined time and remove/strip the boron-containing film. In at least some embodiments, the steam can be mixed with an oxidizer, such as at least one of oxygen O 2 , O 3 , N 2 O, CO 2 , or CO, in the high pressure environment to facilitate stripping (e.g., accelerating removal of) the boron-containing film. Unlike conventional boron etching processes, the methods described herein are capable of removing boron-containing films having high concentrations of boron at rates up to 10× faster than conventional boron etching process, e.g., the methods described herein have removal rates equal to &gt;3000 A/min vs. conventional methods which have removal rates equal to &lt;400 A/min. 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram of an integrated tool  100  (e.g., a multi-chamber substrate processing system) for processing a substrate in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The integrated tool  100  is suitable for performing physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and/or an annealing process described herein. The integrated tool  100  includes at least one high-pressure processing chamber, e.g., able to operate at pressures above 10 atmospheres, to perform a high-pressure process such as deposition or annealing, and at least one low-pressure processing chamber, e.g., able to operate a pressures below about 100 mTorr, to perform a low-pressure process such as etching, deposition, or thermal treatment. In some implementations the integrated tool  100  is a cluster tool having a central transfer chamber that is at low-pressure and from which multiple processing chambers can be accessed. 
     Some embodiments of the processes and systems described herein relate to forming layers of material, e.g., metal and metal silicide barriers, for feature definitions. For example, a first metal layer can be deposited on a silicon substrate and annealed to form a metal silicide layer. A second metal layer can then deposited on the metal silicide layer to fill the feature. The annealing process to form the metal silicide layer may be performed in multiple annealing steps. 
     Continuing with reference to  FIG. 1 , the integrated tool  100  comprises two transfer chambers  102 ,  104 , transfer robots  106 ,  108  positioned in the transfer chambers  102 ,  104 , respectfully, and processing chambers  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  116 ,  118 , disposed on the two transfer chambers  102 ,  104 . The transfer chambers  102 ,  104  are central vacuum chambers that interface with processing chambers  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  116 ,  118 . The transfer chamber  102  and the transfer chamber  104  are separated by pass-through chambers  120 , which may comprise cooldown or pre-heating chambers. The pass-through chambers  120  also may be pumped down or ventilated during substrate handling when the transfer chamber  102  and the transfer chamber  104  operate at different pressures. For example, the transfer chamber  102  may operate between about 100 mTorr and about 5 Torr, such as about 40 mTorr, and the transfer chamber  104  may operate between about 1×10 −5  Torr and about 1×10 −8  Torr, such as about 1×10 −7  Torr. 
     The integrated tool  100  is automated by programming a controller  122  (processor). The controller  122  can operate individual operations for each of the chambers of the integrated tool  100  to process a substrate. The controller  122  is configured to control the operation of the integrated tool  100  during processing. The controller  122  comprises a central processing unit  117  (CPU), a memory  119  (e.g., non-transitory computer readable storage medium), and support circuits  123  for the central processing unit  117  and facilitates control of the components of the integrated tool  100 . The controller  122  may be one of any form of general-purpose computer processor that can be used in an industrial setting for controlling various chambers and sub-processors. The memory  119  stores software (instructions, source, or object code) that may be executed or invoked to control the operation of the integrated tool  100  in the manner described herein. 
     The transfer chamber  102  can be coupled with two degas chambers  124 , two load lock chambers  128 , a pre-clean chamber (e.g., reactive pre-clean chamber), at least one of the processing chambers  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  130 , which can be a physical vapor deposition chamber, such as a long throw physical vapor deposition (PVD) chamber, and the pass-through chambers  120 . A pre-clean chamber may be a preclean chamber, commercially available from Applied Materials, of Santa Clara, Calif. Substrates (not shown) are loaded into the integrated tool  100  through load lock chambers  128 . For example, a factory interface module  132 , if present, would be responsible for receiving one or more substrates, e.g., wafers, cassettes of wafers, or enclosed pods of wafers, from either a human operator or an automated substrate handling system. The factory interface module  132  can open the cassettes or pods of substrates, if applicable, and move the substrates to and from the load lock chambers  128 . The processing chambers  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  116 ,  118  receive the substrates from the transfer chambers  102 ,  104 , process the substrates, and allow the substrates to be transferred back into the transfer chambers  102 ,  104 . After being loaded into the integrated tool  100 , the substrates are sequentially degassed and cleaned in degas chambers  124  and the pre-clean chamber, respectively. 
     Each of the processing chambers are isolated from the transfer chambers  102 ,  104  by an isolation valve which allows the processing chambers to operate at a different level of vacuum than the transfer chamber  102  and the transfer chamber  104  and prevents any gasses being used in the processing chambers from being introduced into the transfer chamber. The load lock chambers  128  are also isolated from the transfer chamber  102 ,  104  with isolation valves (not shown). Each load lock chamber  128  has a door which opens to the outside environment, e.g., opens to the factory interface module  132 . In normal operation, a cassette loaded with substrates is placed into the load lock chamber  128  through the door from the factory interface module  132  and the door is closed. The load lock chamber  128  is then evacuated to the same pressure as the transfer chamber  102  and the isolation valve between the load lock chamber  128  and the transfer chamber  102  is opened. The robot in the transfer chamber  102  is moved into position and one substrate is removed from the load lock chamber  128 . The load lock chamber  128  is preferably equipped with an elevator mechanism so as one substrate is removed from the cassette, the elevator moves the stack of wafers in the cassette to position another wafer in the transfer plane so that it can be positioned on the robot blade. 
     The transfer robot  106  in the transfer chamber  102  then rotates with the substrate so that the substrate is aligned with a processing chamber position. The processing chamber is flushed of any toxic gasses, brought to the same pressure level as the transfer chamber, and the isolation valve is opened. The transfer robot  106  then moves the wafer into the processing chamber where it is lifted off the robot. The transfer robot  106  is then retracted from the processing chamber and the isolation valve is closed. The processing chamber then goes through a series of operations to execute a specified process on the wafer. When complete, the processing chamber is brought back to the same environment as the transfer chamber  102  and the isolation valve is opened. The transfer robot  106  removes the wafer from the processing chamber and then either moves it to another processing chamber for another operation or replaces it in the load lock chamber  128  to be removed from the integrated tool  100  when the entire cassette of wafers has been processed. 
     The transfer robot  106  and the transfer robot  108  include robot arms  107 ,  109 , respectively, that support and move the substrate between different processing chambers. The transfer robot  106  moves the substrate between the degas chambers  124  and at least one of the processing chambers  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  116 ,  118 ,  130 , such as pre-clean chamber. The substrate may then be transferred to at least one of the processing chambers  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  130 , such as the long throw PVD chamber for deposition of a material thereon. 
     The transfer chamber  104  is coupled to a cluster of processing chambers  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  130 . The processing chambers  110 ,  112  may be chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chambers for depositing materials, such as tungsten, as desired by the operator. An example of suitable CVD chambers are commercially available from Applied Materials, Inc., located in Santa Clara, Calif. The CVD chambers are preferably adapted to deposit materials by atomic layer deposition (ALD) techniques as well as by conventional chemical vapor deposition techniques. The processing chambers  114  and  130  may be rapid thermal annealing (RTA) chambers, or rapid thermal process (RTP) chambers, that can anneal substrates at vacuum or near vacuum pressures. An example of an RTA chamber is commercially available from Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif. Alternatively, the processing chambers  114  and  130  may deposition chambers capable of performing high temperature CVD deposition, annealing processes, or in situ deposition and annealing processes. The PVD processed substrates are moved from the transfer chamber  102  into the transfer chamber  104  via the pass-through chambers  120 . Thereafter, the transfer robot  108  moves the substrates between one or more of the processing chambers  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  130  for material deposition and annealing as required for processing. 
     RTA chambers (not shown) may also be disposed on the transfer chamber  102  of the integrated tool  100  to provide post deposition annealing processes prior to substrate removal from the integrated tool  100  or transfer to the transfer chamber  104 . 
     While not shown, a plurality of vacuum pumps is disposed in fluid communication with each transfer chamber and each of the processing chambers to independently regulate pressures in the respective chambers. The pumps may establish a vacuum gradient of increasing pressure across the apparatus from the load lock chamber to the processing chambers. 
     Alternatively or in addition, a plasma etch chamber, such as a plasma etch chamber manufactured by Applied Materials, Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., may be coupled to the integrated tool  100  or in a separate processing system for etching the substrate surface to remove unreacted metal after PVD metal deposition and/or annealing of the deposited metal. For example, in forming cobalt silicide from cobalt and silicon material by an annealing process, the etch chamber may be used to remove unreacted cobalt material from the substrate surface. 
     Other etch processes and apparatus, such as a wet etch chamber, can be used in conjunction with the process and apparatus described herein. 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram of a high-pressure system  200  in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The high-pressure system  200  is configured to create a high-pressure environment for processing a substrate and a low-pressure environment for the substrate when the substrate is being transferred between processing chambers. The controlled high-pressure system  200  includes a first chamber  202  (e.g., high-pressure chamber) and a second chamber  204  (e.g., vacuum chamber). The first chamber  202  can correspond to one of the processing chambers  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  116 ,  118 ,  130  of the integrated tool  100 , and the second chamber  204  can correspond to one of the transfer chambers  102 ,  104  of the integrated tool  100 . Alternatively, one of the processing chambers  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  116 ,  118 ,  130  includes both the first chamber  202  and the second chamber  204 . The first chamber  202  corresponds to an inner chamber, and the second chamber  204  corresponds to an outer chamber surrounding the inner chamber. 
     The pressure within the first chamber  202  can be controlled independently of the pressure in the second chamber  204 . If the first chamber  202  and second chamber  204  are distinct from the transfer chambers, the first chamber  202  and second chamber  204  can have pressures that are controlled independently of the pressures within the transfer chambers. The controlled high-pressure system  200  further includes a gas delivery system  206 , a vacuum processing system  208 , and a controller  210 . In some examples, the controller  122  of the integrated tool  100  can include the controller  210 . 
     The second chamber  204  is a low-pressure chamber adjacent to the first chamber  202 . In some implementations, the second chamber  204  also surrounds the first chamber  202 . The second chamber  204  can correspond to a transfer chamber, e.g., the transfer chamber  102  or the transfer chamber  104 , that receives the substrate between different processing chambers. The low-pressure environment of the second chamber  204  can inhibit contamination and/or oxidation of the substrate or the material formed on the substrate. 
     The gas delivery system  206  is operated to pressurize and depressurize the first chamber  202 . The first chamber  202  is a high-pressure processing chamber that receives a processing gas from the gas delivery system  206  and establishes a high pressure, e.g., at a pressure of at least 10 atmospheres. The processing gas can interact with the layer being processed so as to anneal the layer, e.g., by modifying the layer or reacting with the material to form a new layer. For example, the processing gas can include, for example, CO, CO 2 , O 2 , O 3 , or N 2 O. In at least some embodiments, the processing gas can be O 2 , as described in greater detail below. Alternatively or additionally, the processing gas can be a precursor gas that serves as a source for the material to be formed on the substrate, e.g., for a deposition process. To pressurize the first chamber  202 , the gas delivery system  206  introduces the processing gas into the first chamber  202 . In some cases, the gas delivery system  206  can also introduce water vapor, e.g., steam, into the first chamber  202  to increase the pressure within the first chamber  202 , e.g., to remove boron-containing film from a substrate. 
     The gas delivery system  206  can include an exhaust system  211  to exhaust the processing gas from the first chamber  202 , thereby depressurizing the first chamber  202 . The vacuum processing system  208  is operated to control the pressure of the second chamber  204  to be at a vacuum or near-vacuum pressure, e.g., less than 1 mTorr. For example, the vacuum processing system  208  lowers a pressure within the second chamber  204  to near vacuum, thus creating the appropriate low-pressure environment for transfer of the substrate. 
     A valve assembly  212  between the first chamber  202  and the second chamber  204  isolates the pressure within the first chamber  202  from the pressure within the second chamber  204 . The high-pressure environment within the first chamber  202  can thus be separated and sealed from the low-pressure environment within the second chamber  204 . The valve assembly  212  is openable to enable the substrate to be transferred from the first chamber  202  directly into the second chamber  204  or to enable the substrate to be transferred from the second chamber  204  directly into the first chamber  202 . 
     The high-pressure system  200  includes a foreline  214  connected to a transfer chamber, e.g., either the transfer chamber  102  or the transfer chamber  104 , and connected to an outside environment. An isolation valve  216  is arranged along the foreline  214  to isolate the pressure within the second chamber  204  from the pressure of the outside environment. The isolation valve  216  can be operated to adjust the pressure within the second chamber  204  and to release gases within the second chamber  204 . The isolation valve  216  can be operated in conjunction with the vacuum processing system  208  to regulate the pressure within the second chamber  204 . 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic side view of a high-pressure processing system  300  in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The pressure of chambers of high-pressure processing systems can be controlled using systems similar to the high-pressure system  200  described with respect to  FIG. 2 . 
     The high-pressure processing system  300  includes a first chamber  302  (e.g., first high-pressure chamber), a pedestal  304  (e.g., substrate support), a second chamber  306  (e.g., low-pressure chamber), and a controller (e.g., the controller  122 ). The high-pressure processing system  300  further includes a vacuum processing system (not shown) similar to the vacuum processing system  208  and a gas delivery system  307  similar to the gas delivery system  206  described with respect to  FIG. 2 . For example, the gas delivery system  307  includes an input line  307   a  and an exhaust line  307   b . The processing gas is introduced into the first chamber  302  through the input line  307   a , and the processing gas is exhausted from the first chamber  302  through the exhaust line  307   b.    
     The pedestal  304  supports a substrate  314  on which a layer of material is to be processed, e.g., removed, annealed or deposited. The pedestal  304  is positioned or positionable within the first chamber  302 . In some implementations, the substrate  314  sits directly on a flat top surface of the pedestal. In some implementations, the substrate  314  sits on pins  330  that project from the pedestal. 
     The high-pressure processing system  300  includes an inner wall  320 , a base  322 , and an outer wall  324 . The first chamber  302  is provided by a volume within the inner wall  320 , e.g., between the inner wall  320  and the base  322 . The second chamber  306  is provided by a volume outside the inner wall  320 , e.g., between the inner wall  320  and the outer wall  324 . 
     The high-pressure processing system  300  further includes a valve assembly  316  between the first chamber  302  and the second chamber  306  that provides the functionality of the valve assembly  212  of  FIG. 2 , e.g., operated to isolate the first chamber  302  from the second chamber  306 . For example, the valve assembly  316  includes the inner wall  320 , the base  322 , and an actuator  323  to move the base  322  relative to the inner wall  320 . The actuator  323  can be controlled to drive the base  322  to move vertically, e.g., away from or toward the inner wall  320  defining the first chamber  302 . A bellows  328  can be used to seal the second chamber  306  from the external atmosphere while permitting the base  322  to move vertically. The bellows  328  can extend from a bottom of the base  322  to a floor of the second chamber  306  formed by the outer wall  324 . 
     When the valve assembly  316  is in a closed position, the base  322  contacts the inner wall  320  such that a seal is formed between the base  322  and the inner wall  320 , thus separating the second chamber  306  from the first chamber  302 . The second chamber  306  may be referred to as an outer chamber and the first chamber  302  may be referred to as an inner chamber. The actuator  323  is operated to drive the base  322  toward the inner walls  320  with sufficient force to form the seal. The seal inhibits air from the first chamber  302  from being exhausted into the second chamber  306 . 
     When the valve assembly  316  is in an open position, the base  322  is spaced apart from the inner wall  320 , thereby allowing air to be conducted between the first chamber  302  and second chamber  306  and also allowing the substrate  314  to be accessed and transferred to another chamber. 
     Because the pedestal  304  is supported on the base  322 , the pedestal  304  is thus also movable relative to the inner walls  320 . The pedestal  304  can be moved to enable the substrate  314  to be more easily accessible by the transfer robot. For example, an arm of a transfer robot  106  or  108  (see  FIG. 1 ) can extend through an aperture (or slit)  326  in the outer wall  324 . When the valve assembly  316  is in the open position, the robot arm can pass through the gap between the inner wall  320  and the base  322  to access the substrate  314 . 
     The high-pressure processing system  300  includes one or more heating elements  318  configured to apply heat to the substrate  314 . The heat from the heating elements  318  can be sufficient to anneal the substrate  314  (or remove boron-containing films therefrom) when the substrate  314  is supported on the pedestal  304  and the processing gas (if used) has been introduced into the first chamber  302 . The heating elements  318  may be resistive heating elements. The one or more heating elements  318  may be positioned in, e.g., embedded in, the inner walls  320  defining the first chamber  302 , e.g., in a ceiling of the first chamber  302  provided by the inner walls  320 . This heats the inner wall  320 , causing radiative heat to reach the substrate  314 . The substrate  314  can be held by the pedestal  304  in close proximity, e.g., 2-10 mm, to the ceiling to improve transmission of heat from the inner wall  320  to the substrate  314 . 
     However, the one or more heating elements  318  may be arranged in other locations within the high-pressure processing system  300 , e.g., within the side walls rather than the ceiling. An example of a heating element  318  includes a discrete heating coil. Instead of or in addition to a heater embedded in the inner wall, a radiative heater, e.g., an infrared lamp, can be positioned outside the first chamber  302  and direct infrared radiation through a window in the inner wall  320 . Electrical wires connect an electrical source (not shown), such as a voltage source, to the heating element, and can connect the one or more heating elements  318  to the controller. 
     The controller is operably connected to the vacuum processing system, the gas delivery system  307 , and the valve assembly  316  for controlling operations to process, e.g., to removing/strip, anneal or deposit, the layer of material on the substrate  314 . In some implementations, the controller may also be operably connected to other systems. For example, the controller can also be operably connected to one or more of the transfer robots  106 ,  108 , the one or more heating elements  318 , and/or the actuator  323 . In some cases, the controller  122  shown in  FIG. 1  includes the controller of the high-pressure processing system  300 . 
     In processing a layer of material on the substrate  314 , the controller can operate the vacuum processing system to depressurize the second chamber  306  to a low-pressure state, e.g., to a state in which the second chamber  306  has a pressure less than 1 atmosphere, to prepare for transfer of the substrate  314  through the second chamber  306 . The low-pressure state can be a near-vacuum state, e.g., a pressure less than 1 mTorr. The substrate  314  is moved through the second chamber  306  by a transfer robot, e.g., one of the transfer robots  106 ,  108 , while the second chamber  306  is at the low-pressure so that contamination and oxidation of the substrate  314  can be inhibited. The double walls can help ensure safer processing, e.g., annealing. 
     The substrate  314  is transferred into the first chamber  302  for processing. To transfer the substrate  314  into the first chamber  302 , the controller can operate the valve assembly  316 , e.g., open the valve assembly  316  to provide an opening through which the substrate  314  can be transferred into the first chamber  302 . The controller can operate the transfer robot to carry the substrate  314  into the first chamber  302  and to place the substrate  314  on the pedestal  304   
     After the substrate  314  is transferred into the first chamber  302 , the controller can operate the valve assembly  316  to close the opening, e.g., close the valve assembly  316 , thereby isolating the first chamber  302  and second chamber  306  from one another. With the valve assembly  316  closed, pressures in the first chamber  302  and the second chamber  306  can be set to different values. The controller can operate the gas delivery system  307  to introduce the processing gas into the first chamber  302  to pressurize the first chamber  302  and to form the layer of material onto the substrate  314 . The introduction of the processing gas can increase the pressure within the first chamber  302  to, for example, 10 atmospheres or more. 
     The processing gas interacts with water vapor to remove material from a substrate, and the proper temperature and pressure conditions in the first chamber  302  can cause the removal of the material to occur. and the proper temperature and pressure conditions in the first chamber  302  can cause the deposition of the material to occur. Alternatively or additionally, the processing gas interacts with the material on the substrate as to anneal the material, e.g., by modifying the layer or reacting with the material to form a new layer. Alternatively or additionally, the processing gas can include the material to be deposited onto the substrate  314 , and the proper temperature and pressure conditions in the first chamber  302  can cause the deposition of the material to occur. During the processing of the substrate, the controller can operate the one or more heating elements  318  to add heat to the substrate  314  to facilitate removal, anneal, and/or deposition of the layer of material on the substrate  314 . 
     When modification or formation of the layer of material on the substrate  314  is complete, the substrate  314  can be removed from the first chamber  302  using the transfer robot and, if necessary, transferred to a subsequent process chamber. Alternatively, the substrate  314  is transferred into a load lock chamber, e.g., one of the load lock chambers  128 . To prepare for transfer of the substrate  314  out of the first chamber  302 , the controller can operate the exhaust system of the gas delivery system  307  to depressurize the first chamber  302  before the valve assembly  316  is opened. In particular, before the substrate  314  is transferred out of the first chamber  202 , the processing gas is exhausted from the first chamber  302  to reduce the pressure within the first chamber  202 . The pressure can be reduced to a near-vacuum pressure such that the pressure differential between the first chamber  302  and the second chamber  306  can be minimized. 
     To enable the substrate  314  to be transferred out of the first chamber  302 , the controller can open the valve assembly  316 . The opened valve assembly  316  provides an opening through which the substrate  314  is moved to be transferred into the second chamber  306 . In particular, the opened valve assembly  316  enables the substrate  314  to be transferred directly into the second chamber  306 , e.g., into the low-pressure environment of the second chamber  306 . The controller can then operate the transfer robot to transfer the substrate  314  to another portion of a processing platform, e.g., the integrated tool  100 . For example, the substrate  314  is first transferred directly into the second chamber  306  and then is transferred to the appropriate processing chamber for further processing or to the load lock chamber to remove the substrate from the processing platform. 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a method  400  for processing a substrate. The method  400  can be performed in a single substrate (wafer) chamber, such as a plasma chamber (e.g., a plasma reaction, either in-situ or remote plasma), a UV cure chamber, a batch furnace, etc. 
     At  402 , the method  400  includes heating a substrate disposed in an interior volume of a process chamber and having a boron-containing film (e.g., hardmask) deposited thereon to a predetermined temperature. For example, the substrate  314  can be disposed in an interior volume of the first chamber  302 , which can be under vacuum (e.g., pumped down to less than 100 mTorr and isolated), and placed on a substrate support (e.g., the pedestal  304 ) at set temperature. In at least some embodiments, the boron-containing film comprises at least one of carbon, hydrogen, and/or oxygen. For example, the boron-containing film (e.g., having a boron concentration of about 65% to about 85%) can comprise boron oxide, amorphous boron, or a mixture of boron and carbon. Additionally, at  402 , the substrate can be heated to a predetermined temperature of about 400° C. to about 500° C. For example, in at least some embodiments, the predetermined temperature is about 500° C. In at least some embodiments, the interior volume of the first chamber  302  can be preheated to the predetermined temperature prior to loading the substrate  314  therein. Alternatively, the substrate  314  can be loaded into the first chamber  302  and then heated to the predetermined temperature. 
     Next, at  404 , the method  400  includes supplying water vapor in a non-plasma state to the interior volume at a predetermined pressure for a predetermined time, while maintaining the substrate support at the predetermined temperature to anneal the substrate for the predetermined time and remove the boron containing film. For example, under control of a controller (e.g., the controller  122 ), the gas delivery system  206  is configured to introduce water vapor, e.g., high-pressure steam, into the first chamber  302 , e.g., to remove a boron-containing film from the substrate  314 . For example, the high-pressure water vapor can be provided at about 20 bars to about 60 bars. In at least some embodiments, the high-pressure water vapor can be provided at about 30 bars. 
     Additionally, the inventors have found that by mixing the high-pressure water vapor with one or more process gases (e.g., an oxidizer) a removal/strip rate of the boron-containing film can be increased, e.g., accelerating removal of the boron-containing film by more than three times of that without adding a process gas. Accordingly, at  404 , one or more process gases can be supplied into the first chamber  302  while the high-pressure water vapor is being supplied to the interior volume of the first chamber  302  to facilitate removing the boron-containing film. For example, the one or more process gases can be at least one of O 2 , O 3 , N 2 O, CO 2 , or CO while the water vapor is being supplied to the interior volume. In at least some embodiments, the process gas can be 02, which can be provided at a pressure of about 10 bars to about 50 bars. In at least some embodiments, the  02  can be being supplied to the interior volume at a pressure of about 45 bars. 
     At  404 , the high-pressure water vapor can be applied to the heated substrate  314  while the substrate  314  is being annealed at a predetermined time of about 2 minutes to about 30 minutes. For example, in at least some embodiments, such as when the high-pressure water vapor is being applied in conjunction with the one or more process gases, the predetermined time can be about 5 minutes. Likewise, in at least some embodiments, such as when the high-pressure water vapor applied without the one or more process gases, the predetermined time can be slightly higher, such as about 5 minutes. As can be appreciated, one or more parameters (e.g., water pressure, substrate temperature, etc.) may be adjusted to increase/decrease the predetermined time at which the substrate is annealed 
     Furthermore, prior to supplying the water vapor at  404 , the method  400  can include heating a chamber wall of the process chamber to a temperature of about 250° C. to about 300° C. For example, the inner wall  320  of the first chamber  302  can be heated to a temperature of about 250° C. to about 300° C. prevent steam from condensing on the inner wall  320 . 
     After the method  400  is completed, the substrate  314  can be transferred to the loadlock to cool down before unloading. 
     While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof.