| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080206986 | METHOD OF FORMING A COPPER-BASED METALLIZATION LAYER INCLUDING A CONDUCTIVE CAP LAYER BY AN ADVANCED INTEGRATION REGIME - By appropriately designing a plurality of deposition steps and intermediate sputter processes, the formation of a barrier material within a via opening may be accomplished on the basis of a highly efficient process strategy that readily integrates conductive cap layers formed above metal-containing regions into well-approved process sequences. | 08-28-2008 |
| 20090061621 | METHOD OF FORMING A METAL DIRECTLY ON A CONDUCTIVE BARRIER LAYER BY ELECTROCHEMICAL DEPOSITION USING AN OXYGEN-DEPLETED AMBIENT - By suppressing the presence of free oxygen during a cleaning process and a subsequent electrochemical deposition of a seed layer, the quality of a corresponding interface between the barrier material and the seed layer may be enhanced, thereby also improving performance and the characteristics of the finally obtained metal region. Thus, by identifying free oxygen as a main source for negatively affecting the characteristics of metals during a “direct on barrier” plating process, efficient strategies have been developed and are disclosed herein to provide a reliable technique for volume production of sophisticated semiconductor devices. | 03-05-2009 |
| 20090061629 | METHOD OF FORMING A METAL DIRECTLY ON A CONDUCTIVE BARRIER LAYER BY ELECTROCHEMICAL DEPOSITION USING AN OXYGEN-DEPLETED AMBIENT - By suppressing the presence of free oxygen during a cleaning process and a subsequent electrochemical deposition of a seed layer, the quality of a corresponding interface between the barrier material and the seed layer may be enhanced, thereby also improving performance and the characteristics of the finally obtained metal region. Thus, by identifying free oxygen as a main source for negatively affecting the characteristics of metals during a “direct on barrier” plating process, efficient strategies have been developed and are disclosed herein to provide a reliable technique for volume production of sophisticated semiconductor devices. | 03-05-2009 |
| 20090243109 | METAL CAP LAYER OF INCREASED ELECTRODE POTENTIAL FOR COPPER-BASED METAL REGIONS IN SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES - A conductive cap material for a copper region may be provided with enhanced etch resistivity by taking into consideration the standard electrode potential of one or more of the species contained therein. For example, instead of a conventionally used CoWP alloy, a modified alloy may be used, by substituting the cobalt species by a metallic species having a less negative standard electrode potential, such as nickel. Consequently, device performance may be enhanced, while at the same time the overall process complexity may be reduced. | 10-01-2009 |
| 20090325375 | REDUCING LEAKAGE IN DIELECTRIC MATERIALS INCLUDING METAL REGIONS INCLUDING A METAL CAP LAYER IN SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES - By introducing an additional heat treatment prior to and/or after contacting a sensitive dielectric material with wet chemical agents, such as an electrolyte solution, enhanced performance with respect to leakage currents or dielectric strength may be accomplished during the fabrication of advanced semiconductor devices. For example, metal cap layers for metal lines may be provided on the basis of electroless deposition techniques, wherein the additional heat treatment(s) may provide the required electrical performance. | 12-31-2009 |
| 20100024724 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR REMOVING BUBBLES FROM A PROCESS LIQUID - The present invention is directed to methods and apparatuses for removing bubbles from a process liquid. The process liquid can comprise a plating solution used in a plating tool. The process liquid is supplied to a tank. A plurality of streams of the process liquid are directed towards a surface of the process liquid from below. This can be done by feeding the process liquid to a flow distributor comprising a plurality of openings providing flow communication between an inner volume of the flow distributor and a main volume of the tank. Before leaving the tank through an outlet, the process liquid flows through a flow barrier. | 02-04-2010 |
| 20100133648 | MICROSTRUCTURE DEVICE INCLUDING A METALLIZATION STRUCTURE WITH SELF-ALIGNED AIR GAPS BETWEEN CLOSELY SPACED METAL LINES - In sophisticated metallization systems, air gaps may be formed on the basis of a self-aligned patterning regime during which the conductive cap material of metal lines may be protected by providing one or more materials, which may subsequently be removed. Consequently, the etch behavior and the electrical characteristics of metal lines during the self-aligned patterning regime may be individually adjusted. | 06-03-2010 |
| 20100221911 | PROVIDING SUPERIOR ELECTROMIGRATION PERFORMANCE AND REDUCING DETERIORATION OF SENSITIVE LOW-K DIELECTRICS IN METALLIZATION SYSTEMS OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES - During the formation of complex metallization systems, a conductive cap layer may be formed on a copper-containing metal region in order to enhance the electromigration behavior without negatively affecting the overall conductivity. At the same time, a thermo chemical treatment may be performed to provide superior surface conditions of the sensitive dielectric material and also to suppress carbon depletion, which may conventionally result in a significant variability of material characteristics of sensitive ULK materials. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100289125 | ENHANCED ELECTROMIGRATION PERFORMANCE OF COPPER LINES IN METALLIZATION SYSTEMS OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES BY SURFACE ALLOYING - In sophisticated semiconductor devices, the electromigration performance of copper metal lines at the top interface thereof may be enhanced by forming a copper alloy that is locally restricted to the interface. To this end, an appropriate alloy-forming species, such as aluminum, may be provided on the basis of a non-masked deposition process and may be subsequently removed by a non-masked etch process, wherein the characteristic of the resulting alloy may be adjusted during an intermediate heat treatment. | 11-18-2010 |
| 20110156270 | CONTACT ELEMENTS OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES FORMED ON THE BASIS OF A PARTIALLY APPLIED ACTIVATION LAYER - When forming contact levels of sophisticated semiconductor devices, a superior bottom to top fill behavior may be accomplished by applying an activation material selectively in the lower part of the contact openings and using a selective deposition technique. Consequently, deposition-related irregularities, such as voids, may be efficiently suppressed even for high aspect ratio contact openings. | 06-30-2011 |
