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Evaluation of Contact and Via Step Coverage Using a Novel Two-Step Titanium Nitride Barrier Deposition Process

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Ardy Sidhwa ,
Chuck Spinner ,
Todd Gandy ,
William Brown ,
Simon Ang ,
Hameed Naseem  and
Richard Ulrich
Chuck Spinner
Affiliation:
STMicroelectronics, Inc.; 1000 East Bell Road; Phoenix AZ 85255
Todd Gandy
Affiliation:
STMicroelectronics, Inc.; 1000 East Bell Road; Phoenix AZ 85255
William Brown
Affiliation:
University of Arkansas; Department of Electrical Engineering 3217 Bell Engineering Center; Fayetteville AR 72701
Simon Ang
Affiliation:
University of Arkansas; Department of Electrical Engineering 3217 Bell Engineering Center; Fayetteville AR 72701
Hameed Naseem
Affiliation:
University of Arkansas; Department of Electrical Engineering 3217 Bell Engineering Center; Fayetteville AR 72701
Richard Ulrich
Affiliation:
STMicroelectronics, Inc.; 1000 East Bell Road; Phoenix AZ 85255
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Abstract

Aluminum plug technologies are still used for many different semiconductor device applications and are cost-effective processes. However, there are some disadvantages associated with them. The key disadvantage is aluminum junction spiking caused by aluminum diffusing down into the silicon substrate and silicon diffusing up into the aluminum plug due to a poor titanium nitride (TiN) barrier [1]. The tungsten plug process is primarily used for 0.5mm and smaller technologies. Titanium nitride barrier material plays an important role as an underlayer for tungsten plugs to prevent tungsten hexafluoride (WF6) from attacking the titanium (Ti) film [2]. The role of the TiN barrier is to retard or prevent diffusion of the materials that the TiN layer separates [3]. In this work, the authors investigated the TiN barrier film properties with respect to nitrogen flows at two different power set points and argon gas flows. Different experiments were performed to understand the properties of the TiN film with respect to process variables. Single-step and dual-step TiN barrier processes were studied for contact and via step coverage profiles used for aluminum and tungsten plug technologies.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 716: Symposium B – Silicon Materials-Processing, Characterization, and Reliability , 2002 , B12.10
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2002

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References

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