Motorola Corporation

Jiming Zhang

Dean J Denning

Scott K Pozder

Sam S Garcia

The formation of an adhesion/interlayer region (,) of a semiconductor substrate device (,) before barrier layer (,) deposition provides improved adhesion of the barrier layer (,) to the underlying dielectric (,) and increases strength to the next interconnect layer without altering the function of the barrier layer (,) to limit Cu diffusion into the dielectric substrate (,). The adhesion/interlayer region (,) is formed in an inlaid structure (,) of a semiconductor wafer. The inlaid structure (,) is connected to upper or lower metal layers through vias in the dielectric layer (,) to a copper layer. The adhesion/interlayer region is formed by flowing a treating gas in a glow discharge process of the dielectric substrate in a chamber either attached or separated from the barrier deposition chamber (,). The barrier layer (,) and the adhesion/interlayer region (,) can be formed in this inlaid structure (,) of a semiconductor wafer. The treating gas (,) can be nitrogen, hydrogen, gases containing carbon atoms, or some other suitable gas.

Semiconductor device adhesive layer structure and process for forming structure

A semiconductor device comprises a substrate (100), first conductive film (22 and 32) over the substrate (100), and a second conductive film (54 and 64) over the first conductive film (22 and 32). The first conductive film includes a refractory metal and nitrogen. The first conductive film has a first portion (22) that lies closer to the substrate and a second portion (32) that lies further from the substrate. The nitrogen percentage for the second portion (32) is lower than the nitrogen atomic percentage for the first portion (22). The second conductive film (54 and 64) includes mostly copper. The combination of portions (22 and 32) within the first conductive film provides a good diffusion barrier (first portion) and has good adhesion (second portion) with the second conductive film (54 and 64).

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Jiming Zhang