The present inventive concept is a substrate processing method in which processing steps are carried out on a substrate supported on a support unit in a processing space that is divided into a first processing area and a second processing area, the substrate processing method comprising: a step in which a first gas and a first purge gas are sprayed in the first processing area; and a step in which a second purge gas and a second gas are sequentially sprayed in the second processing area.

A reaction chamber includes a chamber body and a base. The base is arranged in the chamber body. The base includes a carrier member, a first block ring, and a second block ring. The carrier member is configured to carry a substrate and an edge member arranged around the carrier member. A height of an upper surface of the carrier member is greater than a height of an upper surface of the edge member. The first block ring is arranged on the upper surface of the edge member and around the carrier member. The upper surface of the carrier member is higher than an upper surface of the first block ring. The second block ring is on the upper surface of the first block ring. The second block ring includes a body member and a shield member.

Methods and apparatuses are provided herein for oxidizing an annular edge region of a substrate. A method may include providing the substrate to a substrate holder in a semiconductor processing chamber, the semiconductor processing chamber having a showerbead positioned above the substrate holder, and simultaneously flowing, while the substrate is supported by the substrate holder, (a) an oxidizing gas around a periphery of the substrate and (b) an inert gas that does not include oxygen through the showerhead and onto the substrate, thereby creating an annular gas region over an annular edge region of the substrate and an interior gas region over on an interior region of the substrate; the simultaneous flowing is not during a deposition of a material onto the substrate, and the annular gas region has an oxidization rate higher than the interior gas region.

Gas boxes for providing semiconductor processing gases are provided that incorporate a cross-flow ventilation system that may effectively remove potentially leaking gases from within the gas box at significantly lower volumetric flow rates than are possible with conventional gas box ventilation systems.

Described herein is a technique capable of suppressing generation of particles by removing by-products in a groove of a high aspect ratio. According to one aspect of the technique, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a process chamber in which a substrate is processed; and a substrate support provided in the process chamber and including a plurality of supports where the substrate is placed, wherein the process chamber includes a process region where a process gas is supplied to the substrate and a purge region where the process gas above the substrate is purged, and the purge region includes a first pressure purge region to be purged at a first pressure and a second pressure purge region to be purged at a second pressure higher than the first pressure.

Methods for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of silicon carbonitride films are described. A flowable silicon carbonitride film is formed on a substrate surface by exposing the substrate surface to a precursor and a reactant, the precursor having a structure of general formula (I) or general formula (II) ##STR00001##
wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6, R.sup.7, R.sup.8, R.sup.9, R.sup.10, R.sup.11, and R.sup.12 are independently selected from hydrogen (H), substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted alkoxy, substituted or unsubstituted vinyl, silane, substituted or unsubstituted amine, or halide; purging the processing chamber of the silicon precursor, and then exposing the substrate to an ammonia plasma.

Process chambers are cleaned from tin oxide deposits by a method that includes a step of forming a volatile tin-containing compound by exposing the tin oxide to a mixture of hydrogen (H.sub.2) and a hydrocarbon in a plasma, followed by a step that removes a carbon-containing polymer that formed as a result of the hydrocarbon exposure. The carbon-containing polymer can be removed by exposing the carbon-containing polymer to an oxygen-containing reactant (e.g., to O.sub.2 in a plasma), or to H.sub.2 in an absence of a hydrocarbon. These steps are repeated as many times as necessary to clean the process chamber. The method can be used to clean ALD, CVD, and PVD process chambers and is particularly useful for cleaning at a relatively low temperature of less than about 120° C.

Methods for depositing silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) thin films on a substrate in a reaction space are provided. The methods can include at least one plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) cycle including alternately and sequentially contacting the substrate with a silicon precursor that does not comprise nitrogen and a second reactant that does not include oxygen. In some embodiments the methods allow for the deposition of SiOC films having improved acid-based wet etch resistance.

An apparatus for atomic scale processing is provided. The apparatus may include a reactor and an inductively coupled plasma source. The reactor may have inner and outer surfaces such that a portion of the inner surfaces define an internal volume of the reactor. The internal volume of the reactor may contain a fixture assembly to support a substrate wherein the partial pressure of each background impurity within the internal volume may be below 10.sup.−6 Torr to reduce the role of said impurities in surface reactions during atomic scale processing.

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for reducing the formation of hardware residue and minimizing secondary plasma formation during substrate processing in a process chamber. The process chamber may include a gas distribution member configured to flow a first gas into a process volume and generate a plasma therefrom. A second gas is supplied into a lower region of the process volume. Further, an exhaust port is disposed in the lower region to remove excess gases or by-products from the process volume during or after processing.