Sgs-Thomson Microelectronics Limited

Christopher McGee

Howard Charles Nicholls

Graeme Michael Wyborn

A method of fabricating a tungsten contact in a semiconductor device, the method including the steps of: (a) providing a silicon wafer structure including a dielectric layer and an underlying layer selected from a semiconductor or electrically conductive material, the dielectric layer being patterned to expose a contact portion of the underlying layer; and (b) depositing by chemical vapor deposition a tungsten layer over the dielectric layer and the contact portion, the deposition being carried out by reaction of a tungsten-containing component and a reducing agent which are introduced into the vicinity of the silicon wafer structure, the deposition step having a first phase in which the process conditions are controlled to form a seed layer of tungsten on the dielectric layer and a second phase in which the process conditions are modified from the first phase to form a blanket tungsten layer over the seed layer which acts as an adhesion layer between the dielectric layer and the blanket tungsten layer. The invention also provides a semiconductor device incorporating a tungsten contact which is disposed in a contact hole of a dielectric layer, the tungsten contact including a seed layer of tungsten which extends over the dielectric layer surface and an overlying layer of blanket tungsten.

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Wales, United Kingdom

Christopher McGee