Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090072409 | Interconnect Structures Incorporating Air-Gap Spacers - A dual damascene article of manufacture comprises a trench containing a conductive metal column where the trench and the conductive metal column extend down into and are contiguous with a via. The trench and the conductive metal column and the via have a common axis. These articles comprise interconnect structures incorporating air-gap spacers containing metal/insulator structures for Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) and Ultra Large Scale Integrated (ULSI) devices and packaging. The trench in this regard comprises a sidewall air-gap immediately adjacent the side walls of the trench and the conductive metal column, the sidewall air-gap extending down to the via to a depth below a line fixed by the bottom of the trench, and continues downward in the via for a distance of from about 1 Angstrom below the line to the full depth of the via. In another aspect, the article of manufacture comprises a capped dual damascene structure. | 03-19-2009 |
20090075470 | Method for Manufacturing Interconnect Structures Incorporating Air-Gap Spacers - Methods for manufacturing air-gap (e.g., side wall air-gap) containing metal/insulator interconnect structures for Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) and Ultra Large Scale Integrated (ULSI) devices and packaging comprise forming the air-gap spacers by deviating from a conventional dual-damascene etch process in order to avoid damage to the dielectric, and instead utilize intentional and controlled chemical damage of the Si, C, O, H containing dielectric by appropriate strip/ash etch chemistries after the trench etch and/or after via etch. The damaged dielectric layer is left in place after etch and the stack is taken through metallization and chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) processes. Subsequent to this, selective removal of the oxide-like damaged layer takes place by exposure to appropriate chemistries such as dilute HF, leaving behind air-gap spacers. Pinch-off cap deposition ensures integration of the air-gap for narrow air-gaps or perforated caps for wide air-gaps. | 03-19-2009 |
20090075472 | METHODS TO MITIGATE PLASMA DAMAGE IN ORGANOSILICATE DIELECTRICS - Methods of minimizing or eliminating plasma damage to low k and ultra low k organosilicate intermetal dielectric layers are provided. The reduction of the plasma damage is effected by interrupting the etch and strip process flow at a suitable point to add an inventive treatment which protects the intermetal dielectric layer from plasma damage during the plasma strip process. Reduction or elimination of a plasma damaged region in this manner also enables reduction of the line bias between a line pattern in a photoresist and a metal line formed therefrom, and changes in the line width of the line trench due to a wet clean after the reactive ion etch employed for formation of the line trench and a via cavity. The reduced line bias has a beneficial effect on electrical yields of a metal interconnect structure. | 03-19-2009 |
20090200668 | INTERCONNECT STRUCTURE WITH HIGH LEAKAGE RESISTANCE - An interconnect structure is provided in which the conductive feature (i.e., conductive material) is not coplanar with the upper surface of the dielectric material, but instead the conductive material is recessed below an upper surface of the dielectric material. In addition to being recessed below the upper surface of the dielectric material, the conductive material of the interconnect structure is surrounded on all sides (i.e., sidewall surfaces, upper surface and bottom surface) by a diffusion barrier material. Unlike prior art interconnect structures, the barrier material located on the upper surface of the recessed conductive material is located with an opening including the recessed conductive material. | 08-13-2009 |
20090218691 | BILAYER METAL CAPPING LAYER FOR INTERCONNECT APPLICATIONS - The invention provides semiconductor interconnect structures that have improved reliability and technology extendibility. In the present invention, a second metallic capping layer is located on a surface of a first metallic cap layer which is, in turn, located on a surface of the conductive feature embedded within a first dielectric material. Both the first and second metallic capping layers are located beneath an opening, e.g., a via opening, the is present within an overlying second dielectric material. The second metallic capping layer protects the first dielectric capping layer from being removed (either completely or partially) during subsequent processing steps. Interconnect structures including via gouging features as well as non-via gouging features are disclosed. The present invention provides methods of fabricating such semiconductor interconnect structures. | 09-03-2009 |
20090250815 | SURFACE TREATMENT FOR SELECTIVE METAL CAP APPLICATIONS - Interconnect structures in which a noble metal-containing cap layer is present directly on a non-recessed surface of a conductive material which is embedded within a low k dielectric material are provided. It has been determined that by forming a hydrophobic surface on a low k dielectric material prior to metal cap formation provides a means for controlling the selective formation of the metal cap directly on the non-recessed surface of a conductive material. That is, the selective formation of the metal cap directly on the non-recessed surface of a conductive material is enhanced since the formation rate of the metal cap on the non-recessed surface of a conductive material is greater than on the hydrophobic surface of the low k dielectric material. It is observed that the hydrophobic surface may be a result of treating a damaged surface of the dielectric material with a silylating agent prior to the selective formation of the noble metal cap or, as a result of forming a hydrophobic polymeric layer on the surface of the dielectric material prior to the selective deposition of the noble metal cap. The hydrophobic polymeric layer typically includes atoms of Si, C and O. | 10-08-2009 |
20090298281 | INTERCONNECT STRUCTURE WITH HIGH LEAKAGE RESISTANCE - An interconnect structure is provided in which the conductive feature (i.e., conductive material) is not coplanar with the upper surface of the dielectric material, but instead the conductive material is recessed below an upper surface of the dielectric material. In addition to being recessed below the upper surface of the dielectric material, the conductive material of the interconnect structure is surrounded on all sides (i.e., sidewall surfaces, upper surface and bottom surface) by a diffusion barrier material. Unlike prior art interconnect structures, the barrier material located on the upper surface of the recessed conductive material is located with an opening including the recessed conductive material. | 12-03-2009 |
20110024909 | BILAYER METAL CAPPING LAYER FOR INTERCONNECT APPLICATIONS - The invention provides semiconductor interconnect structures that have improved reliability and technology extendibility. In the present invention, a second metallic capping layer is located on a surface of a first metallic cap layer which is, in turn, located on a surface of the conductive feature embedded within a first dielectric material. Both the first and second metallic capping layers are located beneath an opening, e.g., a via opening, the is present within an overlying second dielectric material. The second metallic capping layer protects the first dielectric capping layer from being removed (either completely or partially) during subsequent processing steps. Interconnect structures including via gouging features as well as non-via gouging features are disclosed. The present invention provides methods of fabricating such semiconductor interconnect structures. | 02-03-2011 |
20120329269 | METHODS TO MITIGATE PLASMA DAMAGE IN ORGANOSILICATE DIELECTRICS - Methods of minimizing or eliminating plasma damage to low k and ultra low k organosilicate intermetal dielectric layers are provided. The reduction of the plasma damage is effected by interrupting the etch and strip process flow at a suitable point to add an inventive treatment which protects the intermetal dielectric layer from plasma damage during the plasma strip process. Reduction or elimination of a plasma damaged region in this manner also enables reduction of the line bias between a line pattern in a photoresist and a metal line formed therefrom, and changes in the line width of the line trench due to a wet clean after the reactive ion etch employed for formation of the line trench and a via cavity. The reduced line bias has a beneficial effect on electrical yields of a metal interconnect structure. | 12-27-2012 |
20130009315 | INTERCONNECT STRUCTURES WITH ENGINEERED DIELECTRICS WITH NANOCOLUMNAR POROSITY - A method for forming an interconnect structure with nanocolumnar intermetal dielectric is described involving the construction of an interconnect structure using a solid dielectric, and introducing a regular array of vertically aligned nanoscale pores through stencil formation and etching to form a hole array and subsequently pinching off the tops of the hole array with a cap dielectric. Variations of the method and means to construct a multilevel nanocolumnar interconnect structure are also described. | 01-10-2013 |