Abstract
Helicon plasma, a new compact high density plasma source, was investigated for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of dielectric oxide. High quality films having low compressive stress of 1-2×109 dyne/cm2, lower SiOH content with water-blocking capability and a wet HF etch rate comparable to that of thermal oxide were obtained. Sub-half-micron gaps with high aspect ratio were successfully filled by applying a substrate bias. A combination of biased helicon plasma CVD and atmospheric pressure (AP) tetraethyl orthosilicate [TEOS]-O3 nondoped silicate glass (NSG) which has self-planarizing characteristics is proposed for planarization without chemical-mechanical polish (CMP).