Novellus Systems Incorporated

Anil Mane

Raashina Humayun

Anand Chandrashekar

Kaihan Abidi Ashtiani

Feng Chen

Lana Hiului Chan

Mirko Glass

Michal Danek

Michael Danek

Methods of forming low resistivity tungsten films with good uniformity and good adhesion to the underlying layer are provided. The methods involve forming a tungsten nucleation layer using a pulsed nucleation layer process at low temperature and then treating the deposited nucleation layer prior to depositing the bulk tungsten fill. The treatment operation lowers resistivity of the deposited tungsten film. In certain embodiments, the depositing the nucleation layer involves a boron-based chemistry in the absence of hydrogen. Also in certain embodiments, the treatment operations involve exposing the nucleation layer to alternating cycles of a reducing agent and a tungsten-containing precursor. The methods are useful for depositing films in high aspect ratio and/or narrow features. The films exhibit low resistivity at narrow line widths and excellent step coverage.

Method for depositing thin tungsten film with low resistivity and robust micro-adhesion characteristics

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Anil Mane