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:
May. 11, 2004
Filed:
Sep. 23, 2002
Applicant:
Inventors:
Assignee:
Applied Materials Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L 2/3205 ; H01L 2/1302 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L 2/3205 ; H01L 2/1302 ;
Abstract
The present invention provides an in situ plasma reducing process to reduce oxides or other contaminants, using a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, typically ammonia, at relatively low temperatures prior to depositing a subsequent layer thereon. The adhesion characteristics of the layers are improved and oxygen presence is reduced compared to the typical physical sputter cleaning process of an oxide layer. This process may be particularly useful for the complex requirements of a dual damascene structure, especially with copper applications.