Applied Materials, Inc.

James Hugh Connolly

Mark Joseph Saly

Xianmin Tang

Feng Quan Liu

Rongjun Wang

Bhaskar Jyoti Bhuyan

Liqi Wu

David Michael Thompson

Jiang Lu

Jie Zhang

Aixi Zhang

Zhimin Qi

Wei Dou

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to methods for selectively removing metal material from the top surface and sidewalls of a feature. The metal material which is covered by a flowable polymer material remains unaffected. In some embodiments, the metal material is formed by physical vapor deposition resulting in a relatively thin sidewall thickness. Any metal material remaining on the sidewall after removal of the metal material from the top surface may be etched by an additional etch process. The resulting metal layer at the bottom of the feature facilitates selective metal gapfill of the feature.

Selective metal removal with flowable polymer

Growing community of inventors

Dublin, Ireland

James Hugh Connolly