Applied Materials, Inc.

Sang-Ho Yu

Seshadri Ganguli

See-Eng Phan

Mei Yin Chang

Kevin Vincent Moraes

Srinivas Gandikota

Avgerinos V Gelatos

Yu Lei

Bo Zheng

Xinyu Fu

Ted Tie Guo

Bhushan N Zope

Mathew Abraham

Hyoung-Chan Ha

Hua Chung

Paul F Ma

Schubert S Chu

Wei Ti Lee

Fufa Chen

Liqi Wu

Amit Khandelwal

Yonghwa Chris Cha

Murali Abburi

Shri Singhvi

Rongjun Wang

Yixiong Yang

Naomi Yoshida

Adolph Miller Allen

Joseph F AuBuchon

Wei V Tang

Jacqueline S Wrench

Shih Chung Chen

Murali K Narasimhan

Hong Sheng Yang

Lin Dong

Jiang Lu

Yongjing Lin

Steven C Hung

Nobuyuki Sasaki

Karla M Bernal Ramos

Ki Hwan Yoon

Fuqun Grace Vasiknanonte

Mohd Fadzli Anwar Hassan

Hsiang Ning Wu

Embodiments of the invention provide processes to selectively form a cobalt layer on a copper surface over exposed dielectric surfaces. In one embodiment, a method for capping a copper surface on a substrate is provided which includes positioning a substrate within a processing chamber, wherein the substrate contains a contaminated copper surface and a dielectric surface, exposing the contaminated copper surface to a reducing agent while forming a copper surface during a pre-treatment process, exposing the substrate to a cobalt precursor gas to selectively form a cobalt capping layer over the copper surface while leaving exposed the dielectric surface during a vapor deposition process, and depositing a dielectric barrier layer over the cobalt capping layer and the dielectric surface. In another embodiment, a deposition-treatment cycle includes performing the vapor deposition process and subsequently a post-treatment process, which deposition-treatment cycle may be repeated to form multiple cobalt capping layers.

Selective cobalt deposition on copper surfaces

Methods and apparatus for increasing reflectivity of an aluminum layer on a substrate. In some embodiments, a method of depositing an aluminum layer on a substrate comprises depositing a layer of cobalt or cobalt alloy or a layer of titanium or titanium alloy on the substrate with a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, pre-treating the layer of cobalt or cobalt alloy with a thermal hydrogen anneal at a temperature of approximately 400 degrees Celsius if a top surface of the layer of cobalt or cobalt alloy is compromised, and depositing a layer of aluminum on the layer of cobalt or cobalt alloy or the layer of titanium or titanium alloy with a CVD process at a temperature of approximately 120 degrees Celsius. Pre-treatment of the layer of cobalt or cobalt alloy may be accomplished for a duration of approximately 60 seconds to approximately 120 seconds.

Methods and apparatus for high reflectivity aluminum layers

Methods and apparatus for filling a high aspect ratio feature such as a via with ruthenium including: contacting a ruthenium liner with a ruthenium precursor within a high aspect ratio feature such as a via, wherein the ruthenium liner has a top surface within a high aspect ratio feature such as a via, and wherein the top surface comprises a halogen material such as iodine or bromine. Embodiments also relate to selective deposition of ruthenium within a high-aspect ratio feature such as a via.

Methods for filling features with ruthenium

Methods and apparatus for forming a semiconductor structure such as an NMOS gate electrode are described. Methods may include depositing a first capping layer having a first surface atop a first surface of a high-k dielectric layer; and depositing at least one metal layer having a first surface atop the first surface of the first capping layer, wherein the at least one metal layer includes titanium aluminum silicide material. Some methods include removing an oxide layer from the first surface of the first capping layer by contacting the first capping layer with metal chloride in an amount sufficient to remove an oxide layer. Some methods for depositing a titanium aluminum silicide material are performed by an atomic layer deposition process performed at a temperature of 350 to 400 degrees Celsius.

Methods and apparatus for n-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) metal gate materials using atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes with metal based precursors

Methods for depositing a contact metal layer in contact structures of a semiconductor device are provided. In one embodiment, a method for depositing a contact metal layer for forming a contact structure in a semiconductor device is provided. The method comprises performing a cyclic metal deposition process to deposit a contact metal layer on a substrate and annealing the contact metal layer disposed on the substrate. The cyclic metal deposition process comprises exposing the substrate to a deposition precursor gas mixture to deposit a portion of the contact metal layer on the substrate, exposing the portion of the contact metal layer to a plasma treatment process, and repeating the exposing the substrate to a deposition precursor gas mixture and exposing the portion of the contact metal layer to a plasma treatment process until a predetermined thickness of the contact metal layer is achieved.

Method of enabling seamless cobalt gap-fill

Embodiments of the invention provide processes for depositing a cobalt layer on a barrier layer and subsequently depositing a conductive material, such as copper or a copper alloy, thereon. In one embodiment, a method for depositing materials on a substrate surface is provided which includes forming a barrier layer on a substrate, exposing the substrate to dicobalt hexacarbonyl butylacetylene (CCTBA) and hydrogen to form a cobalt layer on the barrier layer during a vapor deposition process (e.g., CVD or ALD), and depositing a conductive material over the cobalt layer. In some examples, the barrier layer and/or the cobalt layer may be exposed to a gas or a reagent during a treatment process, such as a thermal process, an in situ plasma process, or a remote plasma process.

Cobalt deposition on barrier surfaces

A sputtering target for a sputtering chamber comprises a backing plate with a sputtering plate mounted thereon. In one version, the backing plate comprises a circular plate having a front surface comprising an annular groove. The sputtering plate comprises a disk comprising a sputtering surface and a backside surface having a circular ridge that is shaped and sized to fit into the annular groove of the backing plate.

Sputtering target having increased life and sputtering uniformity

Embodiments of the invention described herein generally provide methods and apparatuses for forming cobalt silicide layers, metallic cobalt layers, and other cobalt-containing materials. In one embodiment, a method for forming a cobalt silicide containing material on a substrate is provided which includes exposing a substrate to at least one preclean process to expose a silicon-containing surface, depositing a cobalt silicide material on the silicon-containing surface, depositing a metallic cobalt material on the cobalt silicide material, and depositing a metallic contact material on the substrate. In another embodiment, a method includes exposing a substrate to at least one preclean process to expose a silicon-containing surface, depositing a cobalt silicide material on the silicon-containing surface, expose the substrate to an annealing process, depositing a barrier material on the cobalt silicide material, and depositing a metallic contact material on the barrier material.

Process for forming cobalt-containing materials

Methods for forming cobalt silicide are provided. One method for forming a cobalt silicide material includes exposing a substrate having a silicon-containing material to either a wet etch solution or a pre-clean plasma during a first step and then to a hydrogen plasma during a second step of a pre-clean process. The method further includes depositing a cobalt metal layer on the silicon-containing material by a CVD process, heating the substrate to form a first cobalt silicide layer comprising CoSi at the interface of the cobalt metal layer and the silicon-containing material during a first annealing process, removing any unreacted cobalt metal from the substrate during an etch process, and heating the substrate to form a second cobalt silicide layer comprising CoSiduring a second annealing process.

Process for forming cobalt and cobalt silicide materials in tungsten contact applications

Methods for forming cobalt silicide materials are disclosed herein. In one example, a method for forming a cobalt silicide material includes exposing a substrate having a silicon-containing material to either a wet etch solution or a pre-clean plasma during a first step and then to a hydrogen plasma during a second step of a pre-clean process. The exemplary method further includes depositing a cobalt metal layer on the silicon-containing material by a CVD process, heating the substrate to form a first cobalt silicide layer comprising CoSi at the interface of the cobalt metal layer and the silicon-containing material during a first annealing process, removing any unreacted cobalt metal from the first cobalt silicide layer during an etch process, and heating the substrate to form a second cobalt silicide layer comprising CoSiduring a second annealing process.

Embodiments herein provide methods for forming an aluminum contact on a cobalt silicide junction. In one embodiment, a method for forming materials on a substrate is provided which includes forming a cobalt silicide layer on a silicon-containing surface of the substrate during a silicidation process, forming a fluorinated sublimation film on the cobalt silicide layer during a plasma process, heating the substrate to a sublimation temperature to remove the fluorinated sublimation film, depositing a titanium-containing nucleation layer over the cobalt silicide layer, and depositing an aluminum-containing material over the titanium-containing nucleation layer. In one example, the method further provides forming the cobalt silicide layer by depositing a cobalt-containing layer on the silicon-containing surface, heating the substrate during a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process, etching away any remaining portions of the cobalt-containing layer from the substrate, and subsequently heating the substrate during another RTA process.

Aluminum contact integration on cobalt silicide junction

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Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Sang-Ho Yu