UV and reducing treatment for K recovery and surface clean in semiconductor processing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10037905-B2
Application number	US-64683009-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 23, 2009
Priority date	Nov 12, 2009
Publication date	Jul 31, 2018
Grant date	Jul 31, 2018

Abstract

Treatment of carbon-containing low-k dielectric with UV radiation and a reducing agent enables process-induced damage repair. Also, treatment with a reducing agent and UV radiation is effective to clean a processed wafer surface by removal of metal oxide (e.g., copper oxide) and/or organic residue of CMP slurry from the planarized surface of a processed wafer with or without low-k dielectric. The methods of the invention are particularly applicable in the context of damascene processing to recover lost low-k property of a dielectric damaged during processing, either pre-metalization, post-planarization, or both, and/or provide effective post-planarization surface cleaning to improve adhesion of subsequently applied dielectric barrier and/or other layers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising:
receiving in a processing chamber a semiconductor device substrate comprising conductive features and a dielectric layer having formed therein a feature; and
exposing the semiconductor device substrate to a reducing agent and UV radiation, without exposing the device substrate to a plasma, wherein the reducing agent is a reducing gas selected from the group consisting of NH 3 , NH 2 D, NHD 2 , ND 3 , H 2 , N 2 H 4 , and combinations of these with one another and/or inert gases, such that oxide on the conductive features is removed in a UV-mediated plasma-free process including exposure to a non-oxidizing reducing environment, wherein the UV and reducing agent exposure reduces oxide created in a via silicide.

2. A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising:
receiving in a processing chamber a semiconductor device substrate comprising conductive features and a dielectric layer having formed therein a feature; and
exposing the semiconductor device substrate to a reducing agent and UV radiation, without exposing the device substrate to a plasma, wherein the reducing agent is a reducing gas selected from the group consisting of NH 3 , NH 2 D, NHD 2 , ND 3 , H 2 , N 2 H 4 , and combinations of these with one another and/or inert gases, such that oxide on the conductive features is removed in a UV-mediated plasma-free process including exposure to a non-oxidizing reducing environment, and wherein the reducing agent is NH 3 gas, the exposure to the reducing agent is conducted at a temperature of about 400° C. for less than 1 minute, and the UV radiation exposure is conducted in an inert atmosphere.

3. A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising:
receiving in a processing chamber a semiconductor device substrate comprising conductive features and a dielectric layer having formed therein a feature; and
exposing the semiconductor device substrate to a reducing agent and UV radiation, without exposing the device substrate to a plasma, wherein the reducing agent is a reducing gas selected from the group consisting of NH 3 , NH 2 D, NHD 2 , ND 3 , H 2 , N 2 H 4 , and combinations of these with one another and/or inert gases, such that oxide on the conductive features is removed in a UV-mediated plasma-free process including exposure to a non-oxidizing reducing environment, and wherein the reducing gas is selected from the group consisting of NH 2 D, NHD 2 and ND 3 .

4. A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising:
receiving in a processing chamber a semiconductor device substrate comprising conductive features and a dielectric layer having formed therein a feature; and
exposing the semiconductor device substrate to a reducing agent and UV radiation, without exposing the device substrate to a plasma, wherein the reducing agent is a reducing gas selected from the group consisting of NH 3 , NH 2 D, NHD 2 , ND 3 , H 2 , N 2 H 4 , and combinations of these with one another and/or inert gases, such that oxide on the conductive features is removed in a UV-mediated plasma-free process including exposure to a non-oxidizing reducing environment, and wherein the UV-mediated plasma-free process comprises exposing the oxide to hydrogen radicals.

5. A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising:
receiving in a processing chamber a semiconductor device substrate comprising a planarized surface having conductive features in a dielectric layer; and
exposing the planarized surface to UV radiation and a reducing agent, without exposing the planarized surface to a plasma, wherein the reducing agent is a reducing gas selected from the group consisting of NH 3 , NH 2 D, NHD 2 , ND 3 , H 2 , N 2 H 4 ,and combinations of these with one another and/or inert gases; whereby oxide on the conductive features is removed in a UV-mediated plasma-free process including exposure to a non-oxidizing reducing environment,
wherein the UV-mediated plasma-free process comprises exposing the oxide to hydrogen radicals.

Assignees

• Varadarajan Bhadri
• Antonelli George A
• Van Schravendijk Bart
• Novellus Systems Inc

Inventors

• Varadarajan Bhadri
• Antonelli George A
• Van Schravendijk Bart

Classifications

• H10P95/00

  Generic processes or apparatus for manufacture or treatments not covered by the other groups of this subclass · CPC title

• H10P70/277

  the processing being a planarisation of conductive layers · CPC title

• H10P70/234

  the processing being the formation of vias or contact holes · CPC title

• H10W20/096

  by contacting with gases, liquids or plasmas · CPC title

• H10W20/095

  by irradiating with electromagnetic or particle radiation (plasma treatment H10W20/096) · CPC title