Patent ID: 8138103

Claim:
A method for forming a silicon nitride film having a high stress by using a plasma CVD method, comprising: loading a substrate to be processed in a processing chamber; introducing a nitrogen gas and a silicon-containing gas into the processing chamber; introducing microwaves into the processing chamber through a planar antenna having slots to generate a plasma of the nitrogen gas and the silicon-containing gas; and forming a silicon nitride film having a high compressive stress on the substrate by using the plasma CVD method, wherein the silicon nitride film is formed to have a compressive stress larger than 800 MPa at a process pressure of 1.3 Pa to 5.3 Pa and a process temperature of 300° C. to 800° C. in the processing chamber, wherein the strength of the compressive stress is controlled by changing the process pressure, wherein active nitrogen species in the plasma are originated only from the nitrogen gas, and wherein the high compressive stress of the silicon nitride film is maintained without a substantial change even when the silicon nitride film is annealed.