Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100009161 | STRUCTURE AND METHOD FOR SiCOH INTERFACES WITH INCREASED MECHANICAL STRENGTH - Disclosed is a structure and method for forming a structure including a SiCOH layer having increased mechanical strength. The structure includes a substrate having a layer of dielectric or conductive material, a layer of oxide on the layer of dielectric or conductive material, the oxide layer having essentially no carbon, a graded transition layer on the oxide layer, the graded transition layer having essentially no carbon at the interface with the oxide layer and gradually increasing carbon towards a porous SiCOH layer, and a porous SiCOH (pSiCOH) layer on the graded transition layer, the porous pSiCOH layer having an homogeneous composition throughout the layer. The method includes a process wherein in the graded transition layer, there are no peaks in the carbon concentration and no dips in the oxygen concentration. | 01-14-2010 |
20100311236 | COPPER INTERCONNECT STRUCTURE WITH AMORPHOUS TANTALUM IRIDIUM DIFFUSION BARRIER - A method of forming a diffusion barrier for use in semiconductor device manufacturing includes depositing, by a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process, an iridium doped, tantalum based barrier layer over a patterned interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer, wherein the barrier layer is deposited with an iridium concentration of at least 60% by atomic weight such that the barrier layer has a resulting amorphous structure. | 12-09-2010 |
20100327446 | VIA GOUGED INTERCONNECT STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF FABRICATING SAME - An interconnect structure including a gouging feature at the bottom of a via opening and a method of forming the same are provided. The method of the present invention does not disrupt the coverage of the deposited trench diffusion barrier in a line opening that is located atop the via opening, and/or does not introduce damages caused by creating a gouging feature at the bottom of the via opening by sputtering into the interconnect dielectric material that includes the via and line openings. Such an interconnect structure is achieved by providing a gouging feature in the bottom of the via opening by first forming the line opening within the interconnect dielectric, followed by forming the via opening and then the gouging feature. | 12-30-2010 |
20110017499 | FORMATION OF ALLOY LINER BY REACTION OF DIFFUSION BARRIER AND SEED LAYER FOR INTERCONNECT APPLICATION - An interconnect structure including an alloy liner positioned directly between a diffusion barrier and a Cu alloy seed layer as well as methods for forming such an interconnect structure are provided. The alloy liner of the present invention is formed by thermally reacting a previously deposited diffusion barrier metal alloy layer with an overlying Cu alloy seed layer. During the thermal reaction, the metal alloys from both the diffusion barrier and the Cu alloys seed layer react forming a metal alloy reaction product between the diffusion barrier and the Cu seed layer. | 01-27-2011 |
20110037175 | INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN SUBLITHOGRAPHIC-PITCHED STRUCTURES AND LITHOGRAPHIC-PITCHED STRUCTURES - An interconnection between a sublithographic-pitched structure and a lithographic pitched structure is formed. A plurality of conductive lines having a sublithographic pitch may be lithographically patterned and cut along a line at an angle less than 45 degrees from the lengthwise direction of the plurality of conductive lines. Alternately, a copolymer mixed with homopolymer may be placed into a recessed area and self-aligned to form a plurality of conductive lines having a sublithographic pitch in the constant width region and a lithographic dimension between adjacent lines at a trapezoidal region. Yet alternately, a first plurality of conductive lines with the sublithographic pitch and a second plurality of conductive lines with the lithographic pitch may be formed at the same level or at different. | 02-17-2011 |
20110062587 | LARGE GRAIN SIZE CONDUCTIVE STRUCTURE FOR NARROW INTERCONNECT OPENINGS - An interconnect structure having reduced electrical resistance and a method of forming such an interconnect structure are provided. The interconnect structure includes a dielectric material including at least one opening therein. The at least one opening is filled with an optional barrier diffusion layer, a grain growth promotion layer, an agglomerated plating seed layer, an optional second plating seed layer a conductive structure. The conductive structure which includes a metal-containing conductive material, typically Cu, has a bamboo microstructure and an average grain size of larger than 0.05 microns. In some embodiments, the conductive structure includes conductive grains that have a (111) crystal orientation. | 03-17-2011 |
20110108992 | AIR GAP INTERCONNECT STRUCTURES AND METHODS FOR FORMING THE SAME - A metal interconnect structure includes at least a pair of metal lines, a cavity therebetween, and a dielectric metal-diffusion barrier layer located on at least one portion of walls of the cavity. After formation of a cavity between the pair of metal lines, the dielectric metal-diffusion barrier layer is formed on the exposed surfaces of the cavity. A dielectric material layer is formed above the pair of metal lines to encapsulate the cavity. The dielectric metal-diffusion barrier layer prevents diffusion of metal and impurities from one metal line to another metal line and vice versa, thereby preventing electrical shorts between the pair of metal lines. | 05-12-2011 |
20110180309 | INTERCONNECT STRUCTURE EMPLOYING A Mn-GROUP VIIIB ALLOY LINER - A metallic liner stack including at least a Group VIIIB element layer and a CuMn alloy layer is deposited within a trench in a dielectric layer. Copper is deposited on the metallic liner stack and planarized to form a conductive interconnect structure, which can be a metal line, a metal via, or a combination thereof. The deposited copper and the metallic liner stack are annealed before or after planarization. The Mn atoms are gettered by the Group VIIIB element layer to form a metallic alloy liner including Mn and at least one of Group VIIIB elements. Mn within the metallic alloy liner combines with oxygen during the anneal to form MnO, which acts as a strong barrier to oxygen diffusion, thereby enhancing the reliability of the conductive interconnect structure. | 07-28-2011 |
20130000962 | FORMATION OF ALLOY LINER BY REACTION OF DIFFUSION BARRIER AND SEED LAYER FOR INTERCONNECT APPLICATION - An interconnect structure including an alloy liner positioned directly between a diffusion barrier and a Cu alloy seed layer as well as methods for forming such an interconnect structure are provided. The alloy liner of the present invention is formed by thermally reacting a previously deposited diffusion barrier metal alloy layer with an overlying Cu alloy seed layer. During the thermal reaction, the metal alloys from the both the diffusion barrier and the Cu alloys seed layer react forming a metal alloy reaction product between the diffusion barrier and the Cu seed layer. | 01-03-2013 |
20130178058 | INTERCONNECT STRUCTURE EMPLOYING A Mn-GROUP VIIIB ALLOY LINER - A metallic liner stack including at least a Group VIIIB element layer and a CuMn alloy layer is deposited within a trench in a dielectric layer. Copper is deposited on the metallic liner stack and planarized to form a conductive interconnect structure, which can be a metal line, a metal via, or a combination thereof. The deposited copper and the metallic liner stack are annealed before or after planarization. The Mn atoms are gettered by the Group VIIIB element layer to form a metallic alloy liner including Mn and at least one of Group VIIIB elements. Mn within the metallic alloy liner combines with oxygen during the anneal to form MnO, which acts as a strong barrier to oxygen diffusion, thereby enhancing the reliability of the conductive interconnect structure. | 07-11-2013 |