Methods and apparatus for making integrated-circuit wiring from copper, silver, gold, and other metals
First Claim
1. A processing chamber for one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising means for sputtering a material and means for vapor-depositing a material, wherein the means for vapor-depositing is adapted to form a graded composition of WSix, where x varies from 2.0 to 2.5.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In recent years, copper wiring has emerged as a promising substitute for the aluminum wiring in integrated circuits, because copper offers lower electrical resistance and better reliability at smaller dimensions than aluminum. However, use of copper typically requires forming a diffusion barrier to prevent contamination of other parts of an integrated circuit and forming a seed layer to facilitate copper plating steps. Unfortunately, conventional methods of forming the diffusion barriers and seed layers require use of separate wafer-processing chambers, giving rise to transport delays and the introduction of defect-causing particles. Accordingly, the inventors devised unique wafer-processing chambers and methods of forming barrier and seed layers. One embodiment of the wafer-processing chamber includes equipment for physical vapor deposition and equipment for chemical vapor deposition to facilitate formation of diffusion barriers and seed layers within one chamber, thereby promoting fabrication efficiency and reducing defects.
276 Citations
30 Claims
- 1. A processing chamber for one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising means for sputtering a material and means for vapor-depositing a material, wherein the means for vapor-depositing is adapted to form a graded composition of WSix, where x varies from 2.0 to 2.5.
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4. A processing chamber for one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising:
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means for holding a sputter target; means for depositing a material including means for chemical vapor-depositing; and means for preventing contamination of the sputter target during operation of the means for chemical vapor-depositing the material; wherein the means for preventing contamination include a gas source adapted to sweep a sputter target during operation of the means for chemical vapor-depositing the material. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A processing chamber for one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising:
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means for holding a sputter target; means for depositing a material including means for vapor-depositing; means for preventing contamination of the sputter target during operation of the means for vapor-depositing the material; wherein the means for vapor-depositing is adapted to deposit tungsten; and wherein the means for vapor-depositing is adapted to deposit tungsten by introducing tungsten hexafluoride and hydrogen gases, introducing silane gas, and terminating introduction of silane gas before terminating introduction of tungsten hexafluoride and hydrogen gases. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A processing chamber for one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising:
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means for holding a sputter target within the chamber; plasma means for introducing a plasma into the chamber; means for chemical vapor-deposition including a gas emitting electrode disposed between the target and the integrated-circuit assemblies; and means for isolating the plasma means from the means for vapor-deposition during operation of the means for chemical vapor-depositing. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A processing chamber for one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising:
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means for holding a sputter target within the chamber; plasma means for introducing a plasma into the chamber; means for chemical vapor-deposition; and means for isolating the plasma means from the means for vapor-deposition during operation of the means for chemical vapor-depositing; wherein the plasma means includes an ECR source.
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15. A processing chamber for one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising:
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means for holding a sputter target within the chamber; plasma means for introducing a plasma into the chamber; means for vapor-deposition; and means for isolating the plasma means from the means for vapor-deposition during operation of the means for vapor-depositing; wherein the means for vapor-deposition includes a plurality of gas sources and a plurality of mass flow-controllers; wherein the plurality of gas sources include a WF6 source, a SiH4 source, and an N2 source.
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16. A processing chamber for one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising:
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means for holding a sputter target within the chamber; plasma means for introducing a plasma into the chamber; means for vapor-deposition; and means for isolating the plasma means from the means for vapor-deposition during operation of the means for vapor-depositing; wherein the means for isolating includes an isolation valve positioned in an inlet into the chamber.
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17. A processing chamber for one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising:
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means for holding a sputter target within the chamber; plasma means for introducing a plasma into the chamber; means for chemical vapor-deposition including a gas emitting electrode; means for holding one or more integrated-circuit assemblies on an opposite side of the gas emitting electrode from the sputter target; means for isolating the plasma means from the means for chemical vapor-deposition during operation of the means for chemical vapor-deposition; and means for preventing contamination of the sputter target during operation of the means for chemical vapor-deposition.
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18. A processing chamber for one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising:
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means for holding a sputter target within the chamber; plasma means for introducing a plasma into the chamber; means for vapor-deposition; means for isolating the plasma means from the means for vapor-deposition during operation of the means for vapor-deposition; means for preventing contamination of the sputter target during operation of the means for vapor-deposition; and wherein the means for preventing contamination includes a gas source adapted to sweep the sputter target. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A processing chamber for one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising:
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means for holding a sputter target within the chamber; plasma means for introducing a plasma into the chamber; means for vapor-deposition; means for isolating the plasma means from the means for vapor-deposition during operation of the means for vapor-deposition; means for preventing contamination of the sputter target during operation of the means for vapor-deposition; and wherein the means for vapor-deposition is adapted to deposit a graded composition of WSix, wherein x is in a range of about 2.0 to 2.5. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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23. Apparatus for processing one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising:
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chamber; a sputtering target holder within the chamber holding a sputtering target; an integrated-circuit assembly holder; an electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma source coupled to a gas emission electrode disposed adjacent to the sputtering target and between the sputtering target and the integrated-circuit assembly holder in the chamber and emitting gas directly towards the sputtering target holder; and a mass-flow controller coupled to the chamber; wherein the plasma source includes an isolation valve adapted to selectively isolate the plasma source from the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. Apparatus for processing one or more integrated-circuit assemblies, comprising:
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a chamber; a sputtering target holder within the chamber; an integrated-circuit assembly holder; an electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma source coupled to the chamber; a mass-flow controller coupled to the chamber; and wherein the chamber includes an RF-gas emission coil below the sputtering target holder disposed immediately adjacent a face of the sputtering target holder and emitting gas directly towards the sputtering target holder; wherein the plasma source includes an isolation valve adapted to selectively isolate the plasma source from the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification