Abstract: The present invention provides, in one aspect, a method for fabricating an interconnect system within a semiconductor device. In this particular embodiment, the method comprises forming a conductive layer over a substrate of the semiconductor device, such as a dielectric material, forming a photoresist layer over the conductive layer and patterning the photoresist, forming a selected portion and an unselected portion of the conductive layer, altering the selected portion such that the selected portion has an etch rate different from an etch rate of the unselected portion, and forming an interconnect on the selected or unselected portion. As used herein, the selected portion is defined as that portion of the conductive layer, such as a blanket seed layer, that is subject to the alteration process as discussed herein. The selected portion may be, depending on the embodiment, within a footprint of the interconnect or outside the footprint of the interconnect.

Abstract: Silicon nitride regions suitable for applications such as capping layers in integrated circuit fabrication are produced by an advantageous plasma deposition process. This process utilizes a combination of gases, including a silicon-containing gas, a nitrogen-containing gas, a fluorine-containing gas, and a hydrogen-containing gas. Silicon nitride having a low density of defect states and thus having excellent dielectric properties is produced.

Abstract: The accuracy of measurements made to determine the extent of water vapor trapped upon encapsulation of an electronic device is significantly enhanced by carefully controlling the measurement technique employed. In particular, the encapsulant is generally punctured and the water vapor thus released is monitored. It has been found that to obtain an accurate measurement of the magnitude of the water vapor released, this measurement must be made within 0.1 second of the time of encapsulant punctured and released into a glass system. By using an absorption technique with suitable electronics, this time requirement is fulfilled and significantly more accurate quantitative measurements of entrapped water vapor are obtained.

Abstract: A highly selective--greater than 100 to 1--etch for silicon, tantalum, tantalum silicide and tantalum nitride is achieved by using polyatomic halogen fluorides. The selectivity is achievable without employing plasmas or wet etching.