Patent ID: 8399366

Claim:
A method for forming a semiconductor device, comprising: providing a substrate on a substrate holder in a process chamber, wherein the substrate contains a raised feature having a top surface and a sidewall surface; flowing a process gas into the process chamber, wherein the process gas contains a hydrocarbon gas and an oxygen-containing gas, and wherein flowing the process gas includes a continuous flow of the oxygen-containing gas and a flow of the hydrocarbon gas comprising sequential pulses of the hydrocarbon gas; maintaining a process gas pressure of at least 1 Torr in the process chamber; forming a plasma from the process gas using a microwave plasma source; and exposing the substrate to the plasma to deposit a conformal amorphous carbon film over surfaces of the raised feature, wherein a ratio of the thickness of the conformal amorphous carbon film on the top surface to the thickness of the conformal amorphous carbon film on the sidewall surface is less than 2.