International Business Machines Corporation

Adeia Semiconductor Bonding Technologies Inc.

Stmicroelectronics Gmbh

Tokyo Electron Limited

Zeon Corporation

Adeia Semiconductor Solutions LLC

Joe Lee

Benjamin David Briggs

Yann Mignot

Theodorus E Standaert

Elbert Emin Huang

Jessica M Dechene

Christopher J Penny

Yongan Xu

Junli Wang

Dung Q Nguyen

Hosadurga K Shobha

Susan Elizabeth Eisen

Kenneth Lundy Ward

Deepak K Singh

Douglas M Trickett

Lars W Liebmann

Koichi Motoyama

Eric Andrew Joseph

Terry Allen Spooner

Robert L Bruce

Glenn Owen Kincaid

Yannick Feurprier

Takefumi Suzuki

Mehmet Yilmaz

Chih-Chao Yang

Michael Rizzolo

Ruqiang Bao

Kisik Choi

Cornelius Brown Peethala

Brown Cornelius Peethala

Son Van Nguyen

Stephen McConnell Gates

Muthumanickam Sankarapandian

Deepika Priyadarshini

Angelique Denise Raley

Kenneth Chun Kuen Cheng

Christopher M Mueller

Yen-Tien Lu

Benjamin D Briggs

Elbert Huang

Jessica Dechene

Thedorus E Standaert

A method of forming a mandrel for use in a pitch doubling process is provided in which a metal hard mask is inserted between a mandrel material layer and a soft mask. The insertion of the metal hard mask allows for easier pattern transfer into the mandrel material layer and avoids many issues encountered during multi-patterning steps. The insertion of the metal hard mask forms a square mandrel that has a flat top due to durability against etch and ability to wet strip the metal hard mask. The metal hard mask can be tuned before pattern transfer into the underlying mandrel material layer to provide a hard mask pattern that is smaller or larger than the pattern without performing such tuning. The method also can be used to protect the downstream non-mandrel processes where selectivity is crucial.

Metal hard mask for precise tuning of mandrels

Bottom barrier free interconnects are provided. In one aspect, an interconnect structure includes: metal lines embedded in a dielectric; an interlayer dielectric (ILD) disposed over the metal lines; interconnects formed in the ILD on top of the metal lines; a barrier layer separating the interconnects from the ILD, wherein the barrier layer is absent in between the interconnects and the metal lines; and a selective capping layer disposed on the interconnects.

Bottom barrier free interconnects without voids

A method of forming a semiconductor device having a vertical metal line interconnect (via) fully aligned to a first direction of a first interconnect layer and a second direction of a second interconnect layer in a selective recess region by forming a plurality of metal lines in a first dielectric layer; and recessing in a recess region first portions of the plurality of metal lines such that top surfaces of the first portions of the plurality of metal lines are below a top surface of the first dielectric layer; wherein a non-recess region includes second portions of the plurality of metal lines that are outside the recess region.

Selective recessing to form a fully aligned via

A method of forming fully aligned vias in a semiconductor device, the method including forming a first level interconnect line embedded in a first interlevel dielectric (ILD), selectively depositing a dielectric on the first interlevel dielectric, laterally etching the selectively deposited dielectric, depositing a dielectric cap layer and a second level interlevel dielectric on top of the first interlevel dielectric, and forming a via opening.

Structure and method to improve FAV RIE process margin and electromigration

Split ash processes are disclosed to suppress damage to low-dielectric-constant (low-K) layers during via formation. For one embodiment, ash processes used to remove an organic layer, such as an organic planarization layer (OPL), associated with via formation are split into multiple ash process steps that are separated by intervening process steps. A first ash process is performed to remove a portion of an organic layer after vias have been partially opened to a low-K layer. Subsequently, after the vias are fully opened through the low-K layer, an additional ash process is performed to remove the remaining organic material. Although some damage may still occur on via sidewalls due to this split ash processing, the damage is significantly reduced as compared to prior solutions, and device performance is improved. Target critical dimension (CD) for vias and effective dielectric constants for the low-K layer are achieved.

Split ash processes for via formation to suppress damage to low-K layers

Structure and method to improve FAV RIE process margin and Electromigration

Method and apparatus for a completion mechanism for a microprocessor are provided by identifying entries in a section of an Instruction Completion Table (ICT) that are marked as ready to complete via corresponding Ready to Complete (RTC) status bits; determining a tail pointer indicating a start of the entries in the ICT that are ready for completion; determining a head pointer that indicates an end of the entries in the ICT that are ready for completion; completing instructions included in the entries between the tail pointer and the head pointer; and updating the tail pointer to a value of the head pointer for a subsequent instruction completion round.

Completion mechanism for a microprocessor instruction completion table

Techniques to enable bottom barrier free interconnects without voids. In one aspect, a method of forming interconnects includes: forming metal lines embedded in a dielectric; depositing a sacrificial dielectric over the metal lines; patterning vias and trenches in the sacrificial dielectric down to the metal lines, with the trenches positioned over the vias; lining the vias and trenches with a barrier layer; depositing a conductor into the vias and trenches over the barrier layer to form the interconnects; forming a selective capping layer on the interconnects; removing the sacrificial dielectric in its entirety; and depositing an interlayer dielectric (ILD) to replace the sacrificial dielectric. An interconnect structure is also provided.

A method is presented for forming interlayer connections in a semiconductor device. The method includes patterning an etch stack to provide for a plurality of interlayer connections, etching guide layers following the etch stack to a first capping layer to form a plurality of guide openings, concurrently exposing a first plurality of conductive lines and a second plurality of conductive lines to form a plurality of interlayer connection openings by etching through the plurality of guide openings to remove the first capping layer, an interlayer dielectric, and a second capping layer, and depositing a metal fill in the plurality of interlayer connection openings to form the plurality of interlayer connections.

Svia using a single damascene interconnect

A method of forming fully aligned vias in a semiconductor device, the method including recessing a first level interconnect line below a first interlevel dielectric (ILD), laterally etching the exposed upper portion of the first interlevel dielectric bounding the recess, depositing a dielectric cap layer and a second level interlevel dielectric on top of the first interlevel dielectric, and forming a via opening.

Method and apparatus for completing atomic instructions in a microprocessor may be provided by identifying from a program-ordered Instruction Completion Table (ICT) a last entry in a completion window of instructions for completion in a current clock cycle of a processor; in response to determining that the last entry includes an atomic instruction that straddles the completion window: excluding the last entry from completion during the current clock cycle; completing instructions in the completion window for the current clock cycle; and shifting the completion window to include the last entry and a next entry adjacent to the last entry in the ICT in a next clock cycle.

Mechanism for completing atomic instructions in a microprocessor

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Albany, NY, United States of America

Joe Lee