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:
Jul. 13, 2010
Filed:
Mar. 16, 2006
Amit Marathe, Milpitas, CA (US);
Connie Pin-chin Wang, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Christy Mei-chu Woo, Cupertino, CA (US);
Paul L. King, Mountain View, CA (US);
Amit Marathe, Milpitas, CA (US);
Connie Pin-Chin Wang, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Christy Mei-Chu Woo, Cupertino, CA (US);
Paul L. King, Mountain View, CA (US);
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Abstract
A composite α-Ta/graded tantalum nitride/TaN barrier layer is formed in Cu interconnects with a controlled surface roughness for improved adhesion, electromigration resistance and reliability. Embodiments include lining a damascene opening, such as a dual damascene opening in a low-k interlayer dielectric, with an initial layer of TaN, forming a graded tantalum nitride layer on the initial TaN layer and then forming an α-Ta layer on the graded TaN layer, the composite barrier layer having an average surface roughness (Ra) of about 25 Å to about 50 Å. Embodiments further include controlling the surface roughness of the composite barrier layer by varying the Nflow rate and/or ratio of the thickness of the combined α-Ta and graded tantalum nitride layers to the thickness of the initial TaN layer.