Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Mediatek Corporation

Chi-Feng Lin

Chih-Chien Chi

Shu-Cheng Chin

Hung-Wen Su

Ching-Hua Hsieh

Yao-Min Liu

Ming-Yuan Gao

Hsin-Ying Peng

Wei-Jen Chen

Pei-Hsuan Lee

Chih-Hsiang Chang

Yen-Chun Lin

Yu-Bang Nian

Chen-Yi Niu

Po-Hsiang Huang

Chii-Ping Chen

Cheng-I Huang

Hsiu-Wen Hsueh

Yu-Wei Chou

Kuan-Chia Chen

Chih-Yi Chang

Cai-Ling Wu

Wen-Cheng Huang

Kung-Yen Hsu

Wei Hsiang Chan

A blocking material is selectively deposited on a bottom surface of a back end of line (BEOL) conductive structure such that a barrier layer is selectively deposited on sidewalls of the BEOL conductive structure but not the bottom surface. The blocking material is etched such that copper from a conductive structure underneath is exposed, and a ruthenium layer is deposited on the barrier layer but less ruthenium is deposited on the exposed copper. Accordingly, the barrier layer prevents diffusion of metal ions from the BEOL conductive structure and is substantially absent from the bottom surface as compared to the sidewalls in order to reduce contact resistance. Additionally, the ruthenium layer reduces surface roughness within the BEOL conductive structure and is thinner at the bottom surface as compared to the sidewalls in order to reduce contact resistance.

Conductive structures with bottom-less barriers and liners

A method for forming a semiconductor device structure is provided. The method includes removing a portion of a dielectric layer to form a trench in the dielectric layer. The method includes forming a barrier layer in the trench. The method includes forming a seed layer in the trench and over the barrier layer. The seed layer is doped with manganese. The method includes annealing the seed layer in a first process gas including a first hydrogen gas. A volume ratio of the first hydrogen gas to the first process gas ranges from about 50% to about 100%, and the manganese diffuses from the seed layer to the barrier layer during the annealing of the seed layer in the first process gas.

Method for forming a semiconductor structure by diffusing manganese from a seed layer to a barrier layer

A method includes forming a first conductive feature, depositing a graphite layer over the first conductive feature, patterning the graphite layer to form a graphite conductive feature, depositing a dielectric spacer layer on the graphite layer, depositing a first dielectric layer over the dielectric spacer layer, planarizing the first dielectric layer, forming a second dielectric layer over the first dielectric layer, and forming a second conductive feature in the second dielectric layer. The second conductive feature is over and electrically connected to the graphite conductive feature.

Interconnect structure including graphite and method forming same

A barrier layer is selectively formed on a bottom surface of a recess (e.g., in which a back end of line (BEOL) conductive structure will be formed) using a combination of flash physical vapor deposition with atomic layer deposition. Additionally, a ruthenium liner is selectively deposited on sidewalls of the BEOL conductive structure using a blocking material. Accordingly, the barrier layer prevents diffusion of metal ions from the BEOL conductive structure and is thinner at the bottom surface as compared to the sidewalls in order to reduce contact resistance. Additionally, the ruthenium liner improves copper flow into the BEOL conductive structure and is thinner at the bottom surface in order to further reduce contact resistance.

Conductive structures with barriers and liners of varying thicknesses

A semiconductor device includes an insulating layer, wherein the insulating layer has a via opening and a conductive line opening. The semiconductor device further includes a via in the via opening. The semiconductor device further includes a conductive line in the conductive line opening. The conductive line includes a first liner layer, wherein a first thickness of the first liner layer over the via is less than a second thickness of the first liner layer over the insulating layer, and a conductive fill, wherein the first liner layer surrounds the conductive fill.

Semiconductor device having a contact structure

A method of manufacturing an interconnect structure includes forming an opening through a dielectric layer. The opening exposes a top surface of a first conductive feature. The method further includes forming a barrier layer on sidewalls of the opening, passivating the exposed top surface of the first conductive feature with a treatment process, forming a liner layer over the barrier layer, and filling the opening with a conductive material. The liner layer may include ruthenium.

Method of forming interconnect structure having a barrier layer

A method of making a semiconductor device includes etching an insulating layer to form a first opening and a second opening. The method further includes depositing a conductive material in the first opening. The method further includes performing a surface modification process on the conductive material. The method further includes depositing, after the surface modification process, a first liner layer in the second opening, wherein the first liner layer extends over the conductive material and the insulating layer. The method further includes depositing a conductive fill over the first liner layer, wherein the conductive fill includes a different material from the conductive material.

Method of making a contact structure

Interconnect structure and method of forming thereof

A semiconductor device includes an insulating layer, wherein the insulating layer has a via opening and a conductive line opening. The semiconductor device further includes a via in the via opening, wherein the via includes a first conductive material. The semiconductor device further includes a conductive line in the conductive line opening. The conductive line includes a first liner layer, wherein a first thickness of the first liner layer over the via is less than a second thickness of the first liner layer over the insulating layer, and a conductive fill comprising a second conductive material different from the first conductive material.

Contact structure and method of making

A method used in a network device for outputting data to a bus with a data bus width at each cycle includes: using a packet generating circuit for generating idle data after an end of packet for a packet at a cycle and generating a start of packet for a next packet at a different cycle; and using an inter-packet gap (IPG) generating circuit for receiving data transmitted from the packet generating circuit, dynamically writing the received data into the buffer, and inserting a gap of idle data between the end of packet and the start of packet according to the end of packet and the idle data generated by the packet generating circuit.

Network device and method for outputting data to bus with data bus width at each cycle by generating end of packet and start of packet at different cycles

A communication device and associated method is provided. The communication device includes: a controller; a packet buffer, configured to store a current packet segment and a previous packet segment of an incoming packet; and a plurality of cyclic redundancy check (CRC) circuits, wherein each CRC circuit is individually fed with a portion of the current packet segment and/or a portion of the previous packet segment in a respective cycle of the incoming packet, and an initial value, wherein the plurality of CRC circuits are arranged in parallel.

Cyclic redundancy check device and method

A method used in a network device for outputting data to a bus with a data bus width at each cycle includes: using a packet generator for generating idle data after an end of packet for a packet at a cycle and generating a start of packet for a next packet at a different cycle; and using an inter-packet gap (IPG) generator for receiving data transmitted from the packet generator, dynamically writing the received data into the buffer, and inserting a gap of idle data between the end of packet and the start of packet according to the end of packet and the idle data generated by the packet generator.

In accordance with some embodiments, a method for forming a semiconductor device structure is provided. The method includes forming a dielectric layer on a semiconductor substrate. The dielectric layer has at least one first trench in the dielectric layer. The method also includes forming a seed layer on a sidewall and a bottom surface of the first trench. The method further includes forming a first conductive layer on the seed layer. The method includes performing a thermal treatment process to melt and transform the seed layer and the first conductive layer into a second conductive layer. The method also includes forming a third conductive layer on the second conductive layer to fill the first trench.

Method for forming semiconductor device structure

Embodiments of mechanisms for forming a semiconductor device structure are provided. The semiconductor device structure includes a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor device structure further includes a dielectric layer on the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor device structure also includes at least one conductive structure embedded in the dielectric layer. A plurality of crystal grains are composed of the conductive structure, and a ratio of an average grain size of the crystal grains to a width of the conductive structure ranges from about 0.75 to about 40.

Method of manufacturing a semiconductor device structure

A data transmission apparatus disposed within two network layers operative at different data rates is provided. The data transmission apparatus is coupled to a clock generator which provides a reference clock for a lower network layer and is coupled to a frequency synthesizer with an integer division factor that generates a divided clock for an upper network layer according to the reference clock and the integer division factor. The data transmission apparatus includes a first processing circuit and a second processing circuit. The first processing circuit corresponding to the upper network layer receives and transmits data by using the divided clock as its operation frequency. The second processing circuit corresponding to the lower network layer receives and transmits data from the first processing circuit by using the reference clock as an operation frequency for encoding data. The divided clock is generated from the frequency synthesizer with the integer division factor.

Growing community of inventors

Hsinchu, Taiwan

Chi-Feng Lin