Ta-TaN SELECTIVE REMOVAL PROCESS FOR INTEGRATED DEVICE FABRICATION
Disclosed are a method and a system for processing a semiconductor structure of the type including a substrate, a dielectric layer, and a TaN—Ta liner on the dielectric layer. The method comprises the step of using XeF2 to remove at least a portion of the TaN—Ta liner completely to the dielectric layer. In the preferred embodiments, the present invention uses XeF2 selective gas phase etching as alternatives to Ta—TaN Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) as a basic “liner removal process” and as a “selective cap plating base removal process.” In this first use, XeF2 is used to remove the metal liner, TaN—Ta, after copper CMP. In the second use, the XeF2 etch is used to selectively remove a plating base (TaN—Ta) that was used to form a metal cap layer over the copper conductor.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to integrated device fabrication; and more specifically, the invention relates to selective removal processes for integrated device fabrication. Even more specifically, the invention relates to processes that may be used effectively to remove selectively Ta—TaN layers or liners during the fabrication of an integrated device and that are compatible with low k dielectric materials.
2. Background Art
Generally, in the fabrication of integrated devices, various layers of materials, including copper and dielectric materials, are formed and patterned or etched to produce the desired end product. For example, Back-End-Of-Line (BEOL) interconnects are commonly fabricated using a combination of sequential layering and patterning of metal and dielectric films to produce an integrated multilevel wiring architecture for various semiconductor devices.
Advanced semiconductor devices typically require integrated interconnects with more inputs and outputs, greater current capacity, less signal delay and improved electrical noise characteristics. To this extent, BEOL interconnects have advanced by shrinking the cross-section of the wiring, increasing the levels of wiring, using better conductivity metals, and also reducing the intralevel capacitance by using low dielectric constant (low k) materials.
Of particular relevance is the implementation of low k materials in the BEOL structure. These materials have been extremely challenging to implement because they are mechanically weak and chemically sensitive to many of the processes used to integrate BEOL structures. Of particular concern is direct chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of low k dielectrics, as is commonly required for copper damascene in silicon dioxide. Mechanical damage, water penetration and slurry incorporation can all cause permanent damage to the low k dielectric. Furthermore, some dielectric materials are used in BEOL devices as integration or reliability enhancement layers and are detrimental to maintaining a low k BEOL structure. It is therefore necessary to discover new processes and integration techniques that are compatible with low k materials to facilitate integration of low k materials into BEOL structures.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn object of this invention is to improve processes for fabricating integrated devices.
Another object of this invention is to provide improved processes and integration techniques that are compatible with low k dielectric materials to facilitate integration of low k materials into BEOL structures.
A further object of the present invention is to use XeF2 selective gas phase etching as alternatives to Ta—TaN chemical mechanical polishing in the fabrication of integrated circuit devices.
These and other objectives are attained with a method and system for processing a semiconductor structure of the type including a substrate, a dielectric layer, and a TaN—Ta liner on the dielectric layer. The method comprises the step of using XeF2 to remove at least a portion of the TaN—Ta liner completely to the dielectric layer. In the preferred embodiments, the present invention uses XeF2 selective gas phase etching as alternatives to Ta—TaN Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) as a basic “liner removal process” and as a “selective cap conductive plating base removal process.”
In this first use, XeF2 is used to remove the metal liner, TaN—Ta, after copper CMP to minimize mechanical stressing of the low k material and chemical alteration of the low k dielectric material, and to improve planarity after CMP. In the second use, the XeF2 etch is used to selectively remove a plating base (TaN—Ta) that was used to form a metal cap layer over the copper conductor. In this use, the metal cap allows the elimination of a high k dielectric cap normally required to prevent diffusion of copper into the interconnect dielectric.
Further benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description, given with reference to the accompanying drawings, which specify and show preferred embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention, generally, relates to methods and systems for processing semiconductor devices. More specifically, the invention relates to processes for removing or etching metals or metal layers, such as Ta—TaN, and that are compatible with low-k dielectric materials. This, in turn, allows or facilitates the use of low k dielectric materials for various applications in semiconductor devices, in which applications it has heretofore been difficult to use such dielectric materials.
The challenges and difficulties of using these low-k dielectric materials in semiconductor devices are illustrated in
Following the copper CMP, the liner 16 is then polished, and this polish must be selective to both copper and the dielectric. This process has been shown to work well for conventional dielectric materials such as SiO2; however, when low k films are used, severe dielectric loss, mechanical degradation, and in some cases chemical modification of the low k material commonly occur.
Shown in
To evaluate this application of XeF2, we have tested the compatibility of a range of materials to excessively long XeF2 exposures (thousands of seconds as compared to tens of seconds required). Materials such as SiO2, SiN, low k Si—C—O—H based materials, TaN—Ta and copper were tested and relevant measurements were performed to examine changes in these films. This data is shown in table 1 of
In a second embodiment, illustrated in
Furthermore, we have also tested the compatibility of XeF2 with copper and found that no etching occurs.
In a third embodiment, the XeF2 etch is used to remove the plating base/liner for a non-planar structure fabricated by through mask plating or by the combination of damascene and through mask plating. A high performance thick copper inductor is a typical example of a device that could be fabricated in this manner.
As indicated in
Then, with reference to
The polymer mold 80 is then removed, resulting in the structure of
Any suitable dielectric material may be used in the practice of this invention. For instance, as mentioned above, the material may be SiO2, SiN, or low k Si—C—O—H based materials. Also, preferably, the dielectric material has a dielectric constant below 4, and, for example, this material may have a dielectric constant between 1.2 and 4.
Any suitable procedure may be employed to use the XeF2 to remove the Ta—TaN material from the semiconductor structure. For example, with reference to
A solid source form of XeF2, represented at 96, is exposed to the first chamber 92 through a valve 106; and the semiconductor structure, represented at 98, that is to be subjected to the XeF2 is placed in the second chamber 94. Valves 102 and 104 between the two chambers 92 and 94 are opened, and the XeF2 gas passes into the second chamber 94, thereby exposing semiconductor structure 98 to the XeF2. The semiconductor structure is exposed to the low pressure XeF2 for a defined period of time, such as one to one hundred seconds, and the XeF2 is then evacuated from chamber 94 through valve 110 into pump 100.
Chamber 94 may then be backfilled with nitrogen gas to help clean the XeF2 off the semiconductor structure 98 and to help ensure that the XeF2 is evacuated from chamber 94. Other gases may be diluted to the XeF2 or used in the backfill process to improve etch selectively or to help clean the semiconductor structure. These gases can be introduced into either chamber through valves 102, 104, 112, 114, 116 and 118. For instance, gases may be used to help displace water from the semiconductor structure. This backfill process may last, for example, from one to 10-20 seconds, and may be repeated. Additionally, substrate temperature control from 0° C. to 400° C. may be used to control chemical reactions on substrate 98.
While it is apparent that the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects stated above, it will be appreciated that numerous modifications and embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art, and it is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and embodiments as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
Claims
1-11. (canceled)
12. A system for processing a semiconductor structure of the type including a substrate, a dielectric layer, and a TaN—Ta liner on the dielectric layer, the system comprising:
- a source of XeF2 to expose the TaN—Ta liner to XeF2 to remove at least a portion of the TaN—Ta liner completely to the dielectric layer.
13. A system according to claim 12, wherein said XeF2 removes said at least a portion of the TaN—Ta liner without appreciably mechanically stressing or chemically altering said dielectric material
14. A system according to claim 12, wherein the semi-conductor structure further includes a copper layer extending above the TaN—Ta liner, and wherein:
- the system further includes means for removing the copper to a given level, lower than the top of the TaN—Ta liner; and
- said XeF2 removes enough the TaN—Ta liner to form a substantially planar top surface on the semiconductor structure.
15. A system according to claim 12, wherein the dielectric material forms a series of recesses, copper material is deposited in said recesses to form a series of copper wire traces, and a metal cap is formed on each of the copper wire traces, said metal caps defining a top surface lower than the top surface of the TaN—Ta liner, and wherein
- the XeF2 removes enough of the TaN—Ta liner to form a substantially coplanar top surface on the semiconductor structure.
16. A system according to claim 15, wherein the XeF2 removes the TaN—Ta while substantially preserving the metal caps.
17. A system according to claim 12, wherein the semiconductor structure includes a series of copper inductor coils extending to a level higher than the TaN—Ta liner, and the semiconductor structure forms a non-planar top surface, and wherein
- the XeF2 removes the TaN—Ta liner substantially completely from on top of the dielectric material, between the copper inductor coils.
18-31. (canceled)
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 12, 2007
Publication Date: Mar 20, 2008
Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION (Armonk, NY)
Inventors: John Cotte (New Fairfield, CT), Nils Hoivik (Pleasantville, NY), Christopher Jahnes (Upper Saddle River, NJ), Robert Wisnieff (Ridgefield, CT)
Application Number: 11/871,504
International Classification: C23F 1/00 (20060101);