Other

Seagate Technology Incorporated

Torohead, Inc.

Velocidata, Inc.

Seed Layers Technology, LLC

Uri Cohen

Gene Patrick Bonnie

Nurul Amin

Dennis R Hollars

Wei C Hsie

George Tzanavaras

Michael Roitberg

One embodiment is a semiconductor device including: at least one patterned dielectric layer having at least one opening therein, said at least one opening having sidewalls and bottom; at least one barrier layer disposed over the sidewalls and bottom; a first metallic layer disposed over the at least one barrier layer; a second metallic layer disposed over the first metallic layer; and a metallic filling layer disposed over the second metallic layer; wherein: the first metallic layer is continuous over the sidewalls and bottom, has a thickness in a range from about 10 &#x212b; to no more than 40 &#x212b; over a sidewall of the at least one opening; and the second metallic layer, and the metallic filling layer are selected from a group consisting of Cu, Ag, and alloys containing one or more of these metals.

Metallic interconnects products

One embodiment of the present invention one embodiment of the present invention is a method for electrofilling a metal or alloy inside at least one opening surrounded by a field on a front surface of a substrate, wherein at least one surface inside the at least one opening includes an exposed metallic surface, said method including steps of: (a) immersing the substrate in an activation or wetting solution; (b) applying ultrasonic or megasonic vibrations to the substrate; and, after commencing applying ultrasonic or megasonic vibrations to the substrate, (c) applying high pressure jets of an electrolyte to the substrate, said electrolyte includes metallic ions of said metal or alloy; and (d) applying an electroplating current to the substrate to electroplate said metal or alloy inside the at least one opening.

Methods for activating openings for jets electroplating

One embodiment of the present invention is a method for depositing two or more PVD seed layers for electroplating metallic interconnects over a substrate, the substrate including a patterned insulating layer which includes at least one opening surrounded by a field, the at least one opening having top corners, sidewalls, and bottom, the field and the at least one opening being ready for depositing one or more seed layers, and the method includes: (a) depositing by a PVD technique, in a PVD chamber, a continuous PVD seed layer over the sidewalls and bottom of the at least one opening, using a first set of deposition parameters; and (b) depositing by a PVD technique, in a PVD chamber, another PVD seed layer over the substrate, using a second set of deposition parameters, wherein (i) the second set of deposition parameters includes at least one deposition parameter which is different from any of the parameters in the first set of deposition parameters, or the second set of deposition parameters includes at least one deposition parameter whose value is different in the two sets of deposition parameters, (ii) at least one of the PVD seed layers includes a material selected from a group consisting of Cu, Ag, or alloys including one or more of these metals, (iii) the PVD seed layers have no substantial overhangs sealing or pinching-off the top corners of the at least one opening, (iv) the combined thickness of the seed layers over the field is sufficient to enable uniform electroplating across the substrate, and (v) the combined seed layers inside the at least one opening leave sufficient room for electroplating inside the at least one opening.

Seed layers for metallic interconnects

One embodiment is a method for producing void-free electroplated metallic conductors inside openings by electrochemical deposition (ECD), said method including steps of: forming at least one opening in a substrate, said at least one opening having an aspect ratio in a range from 8:1 to 28:1; forming at least one barrier layer over the sidewalls of the at least one opening; depositing at least one seed layer over the at least one barrier layer; immersing the substrate in an electrolyte contained in an ECD cell, the ECD cell including at least one anode and a cathode, wherein the electrolyte includes plating metallic ions and at least one inhibitor additive; providing agitation of the electrolyte across the surface of the substrate by moving multiple non-contacting wiping blades relative to the substrate, wherein the agitation facilitates a limiting current density larger by at least an order of magnitude than a limiting current density without the agitation; and applying an average electroplating current density on the substrate, wherein the agitation, the concentrations of the metallic ions and the inhibitor additive, and the average electroplating current density are such as to produce void-free, electroplated metallic filling inside the at least one opening.

High speed electroplating metallic conductors

One embodiment is a method for producing void-free electroplated metallic conductors, the method including steps of: (a) providing a substrate having an insulating mask formed over a metallic seed layer, said insulating mask having at least one opening formed therein, wherein inside the at least one opening only the bottom surface includes exposed metallic seed layer; (b) immersing the substrate in an electrolyte contained in an electrochemical deposition (ECD) cell, the ECD cell including at least one anode and a cathode, wherein the cathode includes at least the exposed metallic seed layer at the bottom of the at least one opening, and wherein the electrolyte includes plating metallic ions and at least one inhibitor additive, said metallic ions and said at least one inhibitor additive having concentrations; (c) providing agitation of the electrolyte across the surface of the substrate; (d) electroplating inside the at least one opening wherein (i) the agitation and the concentrations of the plating metallic ions and the at least one inhibitor additive produce void-free electroplated metal or alloy inside the at least one opening when applying to the substrate an average electroplating current density between 45-250 mA/cm, and (ii) said electroplated metal or alloy is a material selected from a group consisting of Cu, Ag, Cu alloys, and Ag alloys; and (e) removing the insulating mask, and then removing the metallic seed layer which was covered by the insulating mask during step (d).

Electroplated metallic conductors

One embodiment is a method for void-free metallic electrofilling inside openings, said method includes: providing a substrate with at least one opening, the substrate includes an electrically conductive surface, including inside the at least one opening; immersing the substrate in an electrolyte contained in an ECD cell, the ECD cell includes at least one anode and a cathode, the cathode includes at least a portion of the conductive surface, the electrolyte includes plating metallic ions and at least one inhibitor additive, said metallic ions and at least one inhibitor additive having concentrations; providing electrolyte agitation across the substrate surface; and applying electroplating current density to the substrate; wherein the agitation, the concentrations, and the electroplating current density are such to produce void-free metallic electrofilling of the at least one opening, and wherein a height of electrodeposited surface bumps, or transition steps or humps, or transition spikes, is less than 140 nm.

Enhanced electrochemical deposition filling

One embodiment of the present invention is a method for producing a silicon (Si) and/or germanium (Ge) foil, the method including: dissolving a Si and/or Ge source material in a molten metallic bath at an elevated temperature T, wherein the density of Si and/or Ge is smaller than the density of the molten metallic bath; cooling the molten metallic bath to a lower temperature T, thereby causing Si and/or Ge to separate out of the molten metallic bath and to float and grow as a Si and/or Ge foil on a top surface of the molten metallic bath; and separating the floating Si and/or Ge foil from the top surface of the molten metallic bath.

Floating semiconductor foils

A method is disclosed for depositing multiple seed layers for metallic interconnects over a substrate, the substrate includes a patterned insulating layer which comprises an opening surrounded by a field, said opening has sidewalls and top corners, and the method including: depositing a continuous seed layer over the sidewalls, using a first set of deposition parameters; and depositing another seed layer over the substrate, including inside the opening and over a portion of said field, using a second set of deposition parameters, wherein: the second set of deposition parameters includes one deposition parameter which is different from any parameters in the first set, or whose value is different in the first and second sets; the continuous seed layer has a thickness in a range from about 20 &#x212b; to not more than 250 &#x212b; over the field; and the combined seed layers leave sufficient room for electroplating inside the opening.

Seed layers for metallic interconnects and products

Floating Si and/or Ge foils

One embodiment of the invention is an apparatus for electrochemical deposition (ECD) of a metal or an alloy inside at least one opening located at a front surface of a substrate, said apparatus including: (a) an electrochemical deposition (ECD) cell adapted to contain an electrolyte, the electrolyte including plating metallic ions and at least one inhibitor additive; (b) a cathode including at least a portion of said front surface of the substrate, wherein at least one surface inside said at least one opening includes an exposed metallic surface, and wherein at least a portion of said cathode is immersed in said electrolyte; (c) at least one anode, wherein at least a portion of the at least one anode is immersed in said electrolyte; (d) a power supply adapted to generate an electroplating current through the electrolyte between said cathode and said at least one anode; and (e) means for producing a turbulent flow of the electrolyte across the front surface of the substrate, wherein the turbulent flow is capable of producing a diffusion layer thickness of less than about 50 &#x3bc;m at said front surface of the substrate.

Apparatus for enhanced electrochemical deposition

An apparatus for depositing seed layers over a substrate, which substrate includes a patterned insulating layer with at least one opening surrounded by a field, and which opening has sidewalls, bottom surfaces and top corners, includes: a CVD chamber adapted to deposit one or more CVD seed layers over the substrate; a PVD chamber adapted to deposit one or more PVD seed layers over the substrate; and a controller which includes recipe information. The recipe information includes deposition sequence and process parameters for operation of the deposition chambers. The controller, in response to the recipe information, causes the CVD chamber to deposit a continuous CVD seed layer over the substrate, and causes the PVD chamber to deposit a PVD seed layer over the substrate, wherein: (a) the continuous CVD seed layer is continuous over the sidewalls and bottom surfaces of the at least one opening, (b) the continuous CVD seed layer has a thickness from about 20 &#x212b; to about 250 &#x212b; over the field, and (c) the controller causes the stopping of the deposition of the seed layers so as to leave room for electroplating inside the at least one opening.

Apparatus for making interconnect seed layers and products

One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to structures obtained by methods (a) for growing a film by an intermixing growth process, or (b) by depositing a film, which film includes chalcogenides of copper and/or silver (but excluding oxides), such as, for example, copper sulfide (CuSand/or CuS, where 0.7&#x2266;X&#x2266;1.3; and X=1.0 for stoichiometric compounds).

Methods and structures for interconnect passivation

One embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus for depositing seed layers over a substrate, said substrate includes at least one opening surrounded by a field, the apparatus includes: (a) a CVD chamber adapted to deposit a CVD seed layer over the substrate; (b) a PVD chamber adapted to deposit a PVD seed layer over the substrate; and (c) a controller which includes recipe information, said recipe information includes deposition sequence and process parameters for operation of the deposition chambers, wherein the controller, in response to the recipe information, causes first the CVD chamber to deposit a CVD seed layer over the substrate and then causes the PVD chamber to deposit a PVD seed layer over the CVD seed layer, wherein (i) at least one of the seed layers comprises a material selected from a group consisting of Cu, Ag, or alloys comprising one or more of these metals, (ii) the CVD seed layer having a thickness of less than about 200 &#x212b; over the field, (iii) the PVD seed layer having a thickness from about 100 &#x212b; to about 2,000 &#x212b; over the field, (iv) the PVD seed layer is thicker than the CVD seed layer over the field, and (v) the controller causes the stopping of the deposition of the CVD and the PVD seed layers prior to filling the at least one opening, thereby leaving enough room for electroplating inside the at least one opening.

Apparatus for depositing seed layers

Interconnect structures and methods for their fabrication

One embodiment of the present invention is a method for making metallic interconnects over a substrate, the substrate having a patterned insulating layer which includes at least one opening and a field surrounding the at least one opening, the at least one opening has sidewalls and bottom and a width of less than about 0.13 &#x3bc;m, and the method includes: (a) depositing by a PVD technique a PVD seed layer over the substrate, said PVD seed layer being sufficiently thick over the field to enable uniform electroplating across the substrate; (b) depositing by a CVD technique a CVD seed layer over the PVD seed layer, wherein (i) the CVD seed layer having a thickness of less than about 150 &#x212b; over the field, (ii) the CVD seed layer is continuous over the sidewalls and bottom surfaces, (iii) at least one of the seed layers includes a material selected from a group consisting of Cu, Ag, or alloys including one or more of these metals, and (iv) the seed layers inside the at least one opening leave sufficient room for electroplating inside the at least one opening; and (c) filling the at least one opening by electroplating a metallic layer over the CVD seed layer, wherein the electroplated metallic layer includes a material selected from a group consisting of Cu, Ag, or alloys including one or more of these metals.

Growing community of inventors

Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Uri Cohen