Multi-scale Simulations for Plasma Processing of Thin Films

Abstract

An inherent challenge to achieving improvements in thin film deposition processes is that requirements at the feature scale have to be somehow "tuned in" by modifying reactor scale geometry and process parameters. The simulation approach described allows for the solution of species fluxes and energies at the wafer surface as a function of process parameters. The reactor scale model addresses coupled flow, chemistry and plasma physics such as power deposition, volumetric reactions, species transport and deposition on chamber walls. The feature scale model computes growth of the film inside a trench. The objective of this work is to develop a comprehensive model for the high-density plasma chemical vapor deposition of silicon dioxide films in an inductively coupled plasma reactor. Using gas phase and surface reaction mechanisms from literature, trends in deposition characteristics with process variables such as inductive power are compared to experimental data in a commercial reactor.