CU ECP planarization by insertion of polymer treatment step between gap fill and bulk fill steps

• US 20040000488A1
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Published: 01/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Inventors: Yang, Michael X.
• Application Number:
  US10/186,056
• Publication Number:
  US 20040000488A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 205/96
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 17/001 Apparatus specially adapted for electrolytic coating of wafers, e.g. semiconductors or solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 5/02 Electroplating of selected surface areas
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 7/123 Semiconductors first coated with a seed layer or a conductive layer

Abstract

The method generally includes filling features in a substrate by plating metal ions from a gap fill solution onto the substrate, reducing plating activity in the features in a polymer treatment step by conditioning the substrate surface with a conditioning solution, and plating the substrate surface to a desired thickness by plating metal ions from a bulk fill solution onto the substrate surface. The method may also include treating the substrate with a conditioning solution comprising suppressors after a seed layer deposition to substantially eliminate conformal deposition in features of the substrate and plating metal ions from a plating solution onto the substrate.

Claims

1. A method for plating metal onto a substrate, comprising:

substantially filling features in the substrate by plating metal ions from a gap fill solution onto the substrate; and

reducing plating activity in the features prior to completely filling the features and plating a surface of the substrate by conditioning the substrate surface with a conditioning solution.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising plating the substrate with metal ions from a bulk fill solution.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the conditioning solution comprises deionized water.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the conditioning solution comprises suppressors.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the gap fill solution comprises accelerators and suppressors.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the reducing plating activity occurs during substrate transfer from a gap fill cell to a bulk fill cell by rinsing the substrate with the conditioning solution.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the substrate is transferred from a gap fill cell to a conditioning cell and then to a bulk fill cell, wherein the bulk fill solution comprises levelers and accelerators.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the bulk fill solution and the conditioning solution are contained in a bulk fill cell.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the reducing plating activity comprises providing a period of no-current for a time sufficient to allow diffusion of the gap fill solution to form the bulk fill solution.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising pre-treatment of the substrate with a solution comprising suppressors to substantially eliminate conformal deposition in the features prior to substantially filling the features.

11. A method for plating metal onto a substrate, comprising:

disposing a substrate in a gap fill solution to substantially fill features in the substrate by plating metal ions onto the substrate;

rinsing the substrate with a conditioning solution to substantially terminate plating activity in the features;

transferring the substrate from the gap fill solution to a bulk fill solution; and

then

plating metal ions from the bulk fill solution onto the substrate.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the conditioning solution comprises suppressors.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the conditioning solution comprises deionized water.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the gap fill solution comprises accelerators and suppressors.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the bulk fill solution comprises levelers and accelerators.

16. A method for plating metal onto a substrate, comprising:

disposing a substrate in a gap fill cell containing a gap fill solution to substantially fill features in the substrate by plating metal ions from the gap fill solution onto the substrate;

transferring the substrate from the gap fill cell to a conditioning cell containing a conditioning solution to substantially terminate plating activity in the features; and

transferring the substrate from the conditioning cell to a bulk fill cell containing a bulk

fill solution to plate a surface of the substrate to a desired thickness by plating metal ions from the bulk fill solution onto the substrate surface.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the conditioning solution comprises suppressors.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the conditioning solution comprises deionized water.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the gap fill solution comprises accelerators and suppressors.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the bulk fill solution comprises levelers and accelerators.

21. A method for plating metal onto a substrate, comprising:

disposing a substrate in a plating cell containing a gap fill solution to substantially fill features in the substrate by plating metal ions from the gap fill solution onto the substrate;

draining the gap fill solution from the plating cell upon completion of substantially filling the features;

rinsing the substrate with a conditioning solution;

filling the plating cell with a bulk fill solution; and

plating the surface for the substrate to a desired thickness by plating metal ions from the bulk fill solution onto the substrate.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the conditioning solution comprises suppressors.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the conditioning solution comprises deionized water.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the gap fill solution comprises accelerators and suppressors.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the bulk fill solution comprises levelers and accelerators.

26. A method for plating metal onto a substrate, comprising:

disposing a substrate in a plating cell containing a plating solution;

applying an electrical current to the plating cell to substantially fill features in the substrate by plating metal ions from the plating solution onto the substrate;

terminating an electrical current supplied to the plating cell for a time sufficient to allow diffusion of the plating solution to a point of equilibrium; and

then providing the electrical current to the plating cell to plate the substrate to a desired thickness.

27. A method for plating metal onto a substrate, comprising:

treating the substrate with a conditioning solution comprising suppressors after a seed layer deposition to substantially eliminate conformal deposition in features of the substrate; and

plating metal ions from a plating solution onto the substrate.