The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 11, 2025
Filed:
Jan. 04, 2023
Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Yi Xu, San Jose, CA (US);
Yu Lei, Belmont, CA (US);
Zhimin Qi, Fremont, CA (US);
Aixi Zhang, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Xianyuan Zhao, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
Embodiments of the disclosure are directed to methods of removing metal oxide from a substrate surface by exposing the substrate surface to a hydrogen (H) plasma and pulses of RF. In some embodiments, the substrate surface has at least one feature thereon, the at least one feature defining a trench having a top surface, a bottom surface, and two opposed sidewalls. The hydrogen (H) plasma and pulses of RF remove substantially all of the metal oxide, e.g., tungsten oxide (WOx), molybdenum oxide (MoOx), or ruthenium oxide (RuOx), from the substrate surface, without damaging the dielectric and/or critical dimension (CD)/profile of the structure. A metal fill can then be selectively deposited in the trench.