Intel Corporation

Alexander F Kaplan

Charles Henry Wallace

Mohit K Haran

Paul Anton Nyhus

Ruth Amy Brain

Robert M Bigwood

Marvin Young Paik

Deepak S Rao

Hyunsoo Park

Methods and architectures for IC interconnect trenches, and trench plugs that define separations between two adjacent trench ends. Plugs and trenches may be defined through a multiple patterning process. An upper grating pattern may be summed with a plug keep pattern into a pattern accumulation layer. The pattern accumulation layer may be employed to define plug masks. A lower grating pattern may then be summed with the plug masks to define a pattern in a trench ILD material, which can then be backfilled with interconnect metallization. As such, a complex damascene interconnect structure can be fabricated at the scaled-down geometries achievable with pitch-splitting techniques. In some embodiments, the trenches are located at spaces between first spacer masks defined in a patterning process associated with the first grating pattern while the plug masks are located based on a tone-inversion of second spacer masks associated with the second grating pattern.

Plug and trench architectures for integrated circuits and methods of manufacture

Methods and architectures for IC interconnect trenches, and trench plugs that define separations between two adjacent trench ends. Plugs and trenches may be defined through a multiple patterning process. An upper grating pattern may be summed with a plug keep pattern into a pattern accumulation layer. The pattern accumulation layer may be employed to define plug masks. A lower grating pattern may then be summed with the plug masks to define a pattern in trench ILD material, which can then be backfilled with interconnect metallization. As such, a complex damascene interconnect structure can be fabricated at the scaled-down geometries achievable with pitch-splitting techniques. In some embodiments, the trenches are located at spaces between first spacer masks defined in a patterning process associated with the first grating pattern while the plug masks are located based on a tone-inversion of second spacer masks associated with the second grating pattern.

Via CD control for BEOL interconnects is described. For example, a method of fabricating an interconnect structure includes forming a lower metallization layer comprising alternating metal lines and dielectric lines above a substrate. The method also includes forming an inter-layer dielectric layer above the metallization layer. The method also includes forming a first grating pattern above the inter-layer dielectric layer, orthogonal to the alternating metal lines and dielectric lines of the lower metallization layer. The method also includes forming a second grating pattern above the first grating pattern. The method also includes patterning the inter-layer dielectric layer using the first grating pattern and the second grating pattern to form via locations and line regions in the inter-layer dielectric layer. The method also includes forming metal vias and metal lines in the via locations and line regions, respectively, of the inter-layer dielectric layer.

Metal via processing schemes with via critical dimension (CD) control for back end of line (BEOL) interconnects and the resulting structures

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Portland, OR, United States of America

Alexander F Kaplan