Effect of Hydrogen Plasma Treatment on Atomic Layer Deposited Silicon Nitride Film

Changes in the thin film properties of SiN x deposited via atomic layer deposition using remote N 2 plasma were investigated based on the frequency of adding a hydrogen (H 2 ) plasma treatment step during the process. The deposition rate decreased from 0.36 to 0.32 A cycle −1 when compared to SiN x deposited through the conventional deposition process for a thin film that was subjected to H 2 treatment processes every 10th cycle, every 5th cycle, and every single cycle of SiN x deposition compared to the deposition process without H 2 plasma at a temperature of 400 °C. As the hydrogen treatment process increased beyond a 5:1 ratio, the hydrogen content in the thin film increased based on secondary ion mass spectroscopy analysis, and a change in binding energy state was shown via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The thin film deposited using the hydrogen plasma treatment process at a ratio of 10:1 showed similar characteristics to the SiN x thin film deposited through the conventional atomic layer deposition process and showed excellent etch resistance without an increase in the etch rate. The step coverage characteristics were increased by 16% compared to the deposition process without a H 2 plasma treatment process.