Apparatus and method for selective deposition

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate are described herein. Methods for passivating dielectric materials include forming alkyl silyl moieties on exposed surfaces of the dielectric materials. Suitable precursors for forming the alkyl silyl moieties include (trimethylsilyl)pyrrolidine, aminosilanes, and dichlorodimethylsilane, among others. A capping layer may be selectively deposited on source/drain materials after passivation of the dielectric materials. Apparatus for performing the methods described herein include a platform comprising a transfer chamber, a pre-clean chamber, an epitaxial deposition chamber, a passivation chamber, and an atomic layer deposition chamber.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 (a) epitaxially depositing source/drain materials on silicon-containing device features on a substrate, the substrate comprising dielectric materials;   (b) depositing one or more alkyl silyl materials on the dielectric materials to selectively passivate exposed surfaces of the dielectric materials; and   (c) subsequent to (b), depositing a capping layer comprising a metal oxide material on the source/drain materials, wherein (a), (b), and (c) are each performed under vacuum and without breaking the vacuum.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dielectric materials comprise silicon dioxide or silicon nitride. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more alkyl silyl materials are derived from precursors selected from the group consisting of 1-(trimethylsilyl)pyrrolidine, dichlorodimethylsilane and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the depositing one or more alkyl silyl materials on the dielectric materials is performed at a temperature of less than about 400° C. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 (d) prior to (a), exposing the substrate to a pre-cleaning process to remove native oxide materials from surfaces of the silicon-containing device features;   (e) annealing the substrate after the depositing one or more alkyl silyl materials on the dielectric materials; and   (f) removing a passivation layer formed on the dielectric materials after the depositing the capping layer comprising the metal oxide.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the capping layer is deposited by an atomic layer deposition process to a thickness of between about 1 nm and about 10 nm. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metal oxide material is selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, manganese oxide, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising maintaining a pressure from about 3 Torr to about 30 Torr during the depositing one or more alkyl silyl materials on the dielectric materials. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein (a) is performed in a first process chamber, (b) is performed in a second process chamber, and (c) is performed in a third process chamber. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first process chamber, the second process chamber, and the third process chamber are each mounted to a transfer chamber, the transfer chamber being under vacuum during (a), (b), and (c). 
     
     
         11 . A method, comprising:
 selectively passivating a substrate in a first process chamber by depositing one or more alkyl silyl materials on dielectric materials on the substrate, the substrate comprising silicon-containing device features thereon, the first process chamber being under vacuum pressure; and   depositing, in a second process chamber under vacuum pressure, a capping layer comprising a metal oxide material on the substrate.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the dielectric materials comprise silicon dioxide or silicon nitride. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more alkyl silyl materials are derived from precursors selected from the group consisting of 1-(trimethylsilyl)pyrrolidine, dichlorodimethylsilane, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 epitaxially depositing source/drain materials on the silicon-containing device features of the passivated substrate, the passivated substrate being positioned in a third process chamber under vacuum pressure, wherein the depositing of the capping layer, the selectively passivating, and the epitaxial depositing of the source/drain materials are performed without breaking vacuum pressure.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 prior to epitaxially depositing the source/drain materials, exposing the substrate to a pre-cleaning process to remove native oxide materials from surfaces of the silicon-containing device features;   subsequent to the selectively passivating, annealing the passivated substrate; and   subsequent to depositing the capping layer, removing a passivation layer formed on the dielectric materials after depositing the capping layer.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the pre-cleaning process comprises exposing the substrate to plasma comprising H, NF 3 , and NH 3 . 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the capping layer has a thickness of between about 1 nm and about 10 nm. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the capping layer is selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, manganese oxide, and silicon nitride. 
     
     
         19 . A method, comprising:
 (a) exposing a substrate comprising silicon-containing device features and dielectric materials to a pre-cleaning process to remove native oxide materials from surfaces of the silicon-containing device features;   (b) subsequent to (a), epitaxially depositing source/drain materials on the silicon-containing device features;   (c) selectively passivating exposed surfaces of the dielectric materials by depositing one or more alkyl silyl materials on the dielectric materials; and   (d) depositing a capping layer comprising a metal oxide material on the source/drain materials, wherein (a), (b), (c), and (d) are each performed under vacuum without breaking the vacuum.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more alkyl silyl materials are derived from precursors selected from the group consisting of 1-(trimethylsilyl)pyrrolidine, dichlorodimethylsilane, and combinations thereof.