International Business Machines Corporation

Edward Paul Barth

John Anthony Fitzsimmons

Thomas H Ivers

Stephen McConnell Gates

Darryl D Restaino

Jia Lee

Ann H McDonald

Vincent James McGahay

Sarah L Lane

Anthony K Stamper

Jeffrey P Gambino

Sampath Purushothaman

Hyun K Lee

William Francis Landers

Stephan Alan Cohen

Lee Matthew Nicholson

Matthew S Angyal

Habib Hichri

Charles Robert Davis

Horatio Seymour Wildman

Ernest N Levine

Chester T Dziobkowski

Glenn A Biery

Arthur W Martin

Sanjit Kumar Das

A metallization insulating structure, having

Dual damascene interconnect structure using low stress fluorosilicate insulator with copper conductors

An interlevel dielectric layer (ILD) comprises a low-k dielectric layer; and a low-k dielectric film, deposited under compressive stress, atop the dielectric layer. The dielectric layer comprises a low-k material, such as an organosilicon glass (OSG) or a SiCOH material. The dielectric film has a thickness, which is 2%&#x2013;10% of the thickness of the dielectric layer, has a similar chemical composition to the dielectric layer, but has a different morphology than the dielectric layer. The dielectric film is deposited under compressive stress, in situ, at or near the end of the dielectric layer deposition by altering a process that was used to deposit the low-k dielectric layer.

Low-k interlevel dielectric layer (ILD)

An advanced back-end-of-line (BEOL) metallization structure is disclosed. The structure includes a diffusion barrier or cap layer having a low dielectric constant (low-k), where the cap layer is formed of silicon nitride by a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE CVD) process. The metallization structure also includes an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) formed of a carbon-containing dielectric material having a dielectric constant of less than about 4, and a continuous hardmask layer overlying the ILD which is preferably formed of silicon nitride or silicon carbide. A method for forming the BEOL metallization structure is also disclosed. The method includes a pre-clean or pre-activation step to improve the adhesion of the cap layer to the underlying copper conductors. The pre-clean or pre-activation step comprises exposing the copper surface to a reducing plasma including hydrogen, ammonia, nitrogen and/or noble gases.

Advanced BEOL interconnect structures with low-k PE CVD cap layer and method thereof

The coating thickness and uniformity of spin-on deposition layers on semiconductor wafers is controlled through the in situ control of the viscosity and homogeneity of the mixture of precursor material and solvent material. The thickness of the deposited material is selected and the viscosity required at a given spin rate for the selected thickness is automatically mixed. Sensing and control apparatus are employed to ensure that the uniformity and viscosity required is maintained before dispensing onto said semiconductor wafer. Low-K dielectric materials of selected thickness are deposited in a uniform coating.

Method and apparatus for controlling coating thickness

A diffusion barrier that has a low dielectric constant, k, yet resistant to oxygen and/or moisture permeability is provided. The diffusion barrier includes a dielectric stack having at least two or more dielectric films, each film having a dielectric constant of about 8 or less, wherein the dielectric stack comprises alternating films composed of a high-permeability material and a low-permeability material. A semiconductor structure including substrate having at least one wiring region and the inventive diffusion barrier formed on a surface of the substrate is also provided.

Laminated diffusion barrier

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Ridgefield, CT, United States of America

Edward Paul Barth