INTEGRATED ELECTROLESS DEPOSITION SYSTEM

• US 20070111519A1
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Published: 05/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Inventors: Yang, Michael, Stewart, Michael, Birang, Manoocher, Lubomirsky, Dmitry, Shanmugasundram, Arulkumar, Weidman, Timothy, Wang, Yaxin, Sherman, Svetlana, Rabinovich, Eugene, Hansen, Bradley, D'Ambra, Allen
• Application Number:
  US11/428,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20070111519A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 438/678
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1619 Apparatus for electroless plating
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1653 Two or more layers with at least one layer obtained by electroless plating and one layer obtained by electroplating
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/168 Control of temperature, e.g. temperature of bath, substrate
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1682 Control of atmosphere
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1685 with supercritical condition, e.g. chemical fluid deposition
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1689 After-treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 17/001 Apparatus specially adapted for electrolytic coating of wafers, e.g. semiconductors or solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 7/123 Semiconductors first coated with a seed layer or a conductive layer
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02063 the processing being the formation of vias or contact holes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02068 during, before or after processing of conductive layers, e.g. polysilicon or amorphous silicon layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02087 Cleaning of wafer edges
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/28518 the conductive layers comprising silicides H01L21/28537 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/28562 Selective deposition
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/288 from a liquid, e.g. electrolytic deposition
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67051 using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6719 characterized by the construction of the processing chambers, e.g. modular processing chambers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6723 comprising at least one plating chamber electroless plating apparatuses C23C, electroplating apparatuses C25D
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67751 vertical transfer of a single workpiece
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/68785 characterised by the mechanical construction of the susceptor, stage or support
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76814 post-treatment or after-treatment, e.g. cleaning or removal of oxides on underlying conductors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76843 : formed in openings in a dielectric
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76856 : by treatment in plasmas or gaseous environments, e.g. nitriding a refractory metal liner
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76873 : for electroplating
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76874 : for electroless plating

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide methods for depositing a material onto a surface of a substrate by using one or more electroless, electrochemical plating, CVD and/or ALD processes. Embodiments of the invention provide a method for depositing a seed layer on a substrate with an electroless process and to subsequently fill interconnect features on the substrate with an ECP process on a single substrate processing platform. Other aspects provide a method for depositing a seed layer on a substrate, fill interconnect features on a substrate, or sequentially deposit both a seed layer and fill interconnect features on the substrate. One embodiment provides a method for forming a capping layer over substrate interconnects. Methods include the use of a vapor dryer for pre- and post-deposition cleaning of substrates as well as a brush box chamber for post-deposition cleaning.

Claims

1. A method of processing a substrate having a substrate structure formed thereon in a substrate processing platform, comprising:

forming a conductive layer on a surface of the substrate by an electroless deposition process in an environmentally controlled enclosure;

rinsing the substrate in an SRD chamber; and

spin drying the substrate in an SRD chamber.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing unwanted deposition on the periphery of the substrate with an IBC process prior to rinsing the substrate in an SRD chamber.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the IBC and SRD processes are performed on the substrate in the same chamber.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

removing a native oxide layer from the surface of the substrate in a plasma-enhanced dry etch chamber, comprising;

a temperature-controlled substrate support;

a temperature-controlled chamber body;

a lid assembly containing a first and second electrode, wherein plasma is struck between the first and second electrode and the second electrode is adapted to heat the substrate; and

a processing zone between the second electrode and the substrate support, wherein process gases flow from the lid assembly; and

heating the substrate to remove volatile contaminants from the surface of the substrate.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising filling trenches, vias, or other interconnect features with a metal layer on a surface of the substrate by an electroless deposition process in an environmentally controlled enclosure.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

applying a fluid selected from the group consisting of a supercritical fluid, a dense fluid, and combinations thereof to the substrate structure.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the process of forming a conductive layer comprises filling trenches, vias, or other interconnect features with a metal layer.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising filling trenches, vias, or other interconnect features with a metal layer on a surface of the substrate by a plating process in an environmentally controlled enclosure.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the plating process comprises an electroplating process.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising removing unwanted deposition on the bevel of the substrate with an IBC process prior to rinsing the substrate in an SRD chamber.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the plating process comprises an electroless plating process.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising cleaning the surface of the substrate with a brush box chamber prior to rinsing.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising removing unwanted deposition on the bevel of the substrate with an IBC process prior to rinsing the substrate in an SRD chamber.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the IBC and SRD processes are performed on the substrate in the same chamber.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a reducing layer and/or a metal-containing catalytic layer on the substrate.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the metal-containing catalytic layer is formed via a vapor deposition process.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a vapor deposition process comprises a catalytic precursor selected from the group consisting of ruthenium tetroxide, ruthenocene, derivatives thereof and combinations thereof.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the reducing layer is formed via a plasma soak process.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein a plasma soak process comprises exposing the substrate to a volatile reducing precursor selected from the group consisting of phosphine, diborane, silane, disilane, hydrogen, ammonia, hydrazine, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

forming a barrier layer on the substrate in a chamber selected from a group consisting of chemical vapor deposition chamber, atomic layer deposition chamber, or vapor deposition chamber, and;

forming a reducing layer on the substrate in the chamber forming the barrier layer on the substrate.

21. A method of processing a substrate having a substrate structure formed thereon in a substrate processing platform, comprising:

forming a metal layer on a surface of the substrate by an electroless deposition process;

cleaning the surface of the substrate in a brush box chamber; and

rinsing and drying the substrate in a vapor dryer chamber.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein forming the metal layer comprises a capping layer.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising filling trenches, vias, or other interconnect features on the surface of the substrate by an electroless deposition process prior to cleaning the surface of the substrate.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

removing a native oxide layer from the surface of the substrate in a plasma-enhanced dry etch chamber, comprising;

a temperature-controlled substrate support;

a temperature-controlled chamber body;

a lid assembly containing a first and second electrode, wherein plasma is struck between the first and second electrode and the second electrode is adapted to heat the substrate; and

a processing zone between the second electrode and the substrate support, wherein process gases flow from the lid assembly; and

heating the substrate to remove volatile contaminants from the surface of the substrate.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

applying a fluid selected from the group consisting of a supercritical fluid, a dense fluid, and combinations thereof to the substrate structure.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising forming a reducing layer and/or a metal-containing catalytic layer on the substrate.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the metal-containing catalytic layer is formed via a vapor deposition process.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the reducing layer is formed via a plasma soak process.

29. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

forming a barrier layer on the substrate in a chamber selected from a group consisting of chemical vapor deposition chamber, atomic layer deposition chamber, or vapor deposition chamber, and;

forming a reducing layer on the substrate in the chamber forming the barrier layer on the substrate.

30. A method of processing a substrate having a substrate structure formed thereon in a substrate processing platform, comprising:

forming a metal layer on a surface of the substrate in a processing chamber by an electroless deposition process; and

removing unwanted deposition on the bevel of the substrate with an IBC process in the processing chamber.

31. A method of processing a substrate having a substrate structure formed thereon in a substrate processing platform, comprising:

filling sub-micron high aspect ratio features on the substrate with a conductive layer by an electroless plating process in an environmentally controlled enclosure; and

filling all remaining features on a substrate with a conductive layer by an electroplating process.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising forming a conductive seed layer on the substrate structure prior to the electroless process.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the seed layer is formed by an electroless plating process.

34. The method of claim 31, further comprising forming a metal-containing catalytic layer on the substrate structure prior to the electroless process.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein forming a metal-containing catalytic layer further comprises forming a metal-containing catalytic layer with a catalytic precursor via a vapor deposition process, the catalytic precursor being selected from the group consisting of ruthenium tetroxide, ruthenocene, derivatives thereof and combinations thereof.

36. A method of processing a substrate having a substrate structure formed thereon in a substrate processing platform, comprising:

forming a metal-containing catalytic layer on the substrate structure;

forming a conductive seed layer on the substrate structure;

filling sub-micron high aspect ratio features on the substrate with a conductive layer by an electroless plating process; and

filling all remaining features on a substrate with a conductive layer by an ECP process.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the process of forming a conductive seed layer comprises forming a conductive layer on the substrate structure by an electroless deposition process in an environmentally controlled enclosure.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

removing a native oxide layer from the surface of the substrate in a plasma-enhanced dry etch chamber; and

heating the substrate in the plasma-enhanced dry etch chamber to remove volatile contaminants from the surface of the substrate.

39. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

applying a fluid selected from the group consisting of a supercritical fluid, a dense fluid, and combinations thereof to the substrate structure.

40. A method of processing a substrate having a substrate structure formed thereon in a substrate processing platform, comprising:

forming a catalytic layer on the substrate structure, comprising;

forming a ruthenium tetroxide-containing gas;

collecting the gas in a source vessel;

purging the source vessel of excess oxygen;

heating the source vessel; and

delivering the ruthenium tetroxide-containing gas to the substrate in a processing chamber; and

forming a conductive layer on the catalytic layer.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein forming a conductive layer comprises forming a conductive layer via an electroless plating process.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein forming a conductive layer comprises forming a conductive layer via an electroplating process.

43. The method of claim 40, further comprising:

removing a native oxide layer from the surface of the substrate in a plasma-enhanced dry etch chamber; and

heating the substrate in the plasma-enhanced dry etch chamber to remove volatile contaminants from the surface of the substrate.

44. The method of claim 40, further comprising:

applying a fluid selected from the group consisting of a supercritical fluid, a dense fluid, and combinations thereof to the substrate structure.

45. The method of claim 42, further comprising forming a barrier and/or reducing layer on the substrate structure via a plasma soak process.

46. A method of forming a silicide contact on a substrate surface in a substrate processing platform, comprising:

providing a substrate having an exposed silicon-based material thereon;

removing a native oxide layer on the silicon-based material to expose an unoxidized surface;

forming a hydride layer on the unoxidized surface;

depositing a metallic layer on the unoxidized surface by an electroless deposition process, wherein a silicon and metal chemical bond is formed at the unoxidized surface; and

annealing the substrate to generate a first stage silicide at the surface of the exposed silicon-based material.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the silicon-based material is selected from the group of materials consisting of single-crystal silicon, single crystal silicon-germanium, polysilicon, and polysilicon-germanium.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein the metallic layer consists of a material selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, and combinations thereof

49. The method of claim 46, wherein forming the hydride is completed using a native oxide-etching solution that comprises:

a hydrofluoric acid; and

an additive that is selected from a group consisting of ethanolamine, diethanollamine, or triethanolamine.

50. The method of claim 48, wherein the process of annealing the substrate takes place at a temperature between about 350°

C. and about 450°

C.

51. The method of claim 46, wherein annealing the substrate generates a first stage silicide layer and an excess metal layer, the method further comprising removing the excess metal layer by an acid strip process.

52. The method of claim 51, further comprising annealing the substrate to generate a second stage silicide layer.

53. The method of claim 46, further comprising rinsing and drying the substrate in the same chamber as the electroless deposition process.

54. The method of claim 46, further comprising drying the substrate with a vapor dry process after depositing the metallic layer.

55. The method of claim 46, further comprising removing organic contaminants from the silicon-based material.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein the process of removing organic contaminants comprises using an SC-1 cleaning process.

57. The method of claim 55, wherein the process of removing organic contaminants comprises using a supercritical fluid.

58. The method of claim 49, wherein the process of removing organic contaminants is performed in the same chamber as the process of removing a native oxide layer.

59. The method of claim 46, wherein the process of removing a native oxide layer comprises:

removing a native oxide layer from the surface of the substrate in a plasma-enhanced dry etch chamber, comprising;

a temperature-controlled substrate support;

a temperature-controlled chamber body;

a lid assembly containing a first and second electrode, wherein plasma is struck between the first and second electrode; and

a processing zone between the second electrode and the substrate support, wherein process gases flow from the lid assembly.