Semiconductor tool for copper deposition

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12394611-B2
Application number	US-202318447557-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 10, 2023
Priority date	Feb 16, 2022
Publication date	Aug 19, 2025
Grant date	Aug 19, 2025

Abstract

A magnetic shield reduces external noise in a chamber including a target and at least one electromagnet for copper physical vapor deposition (PVD). The shield may have a thickness in a range from approximately 0.1 mm to approximately 10 mm to provide sufficient protection from radio frequency and other electromagnetic signals. As a result, copper atoms in the chamber undergo less re-direction from external noise. Additionally, even when hardware failure occurs during PVD (e.g., an electromagnet malfunctions, a wafer stage is not level, and/or a flow optimizer induces too much shift, among other examples), the copper atoms are less susceptible to small re-directions from external noise. As a result, back end of line (BEOL) and/or middle end of line (MEOL) conductive structures are formed in a more uniform manner, which increases conductivity and improves lifetime of an electronic device including the BEOL and/or MEOL conductive structures.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
at least one processor configured to cause the apparatus to:
transmit a command, to a transport mechanism, to move a magnetic shield from a first position, adjacent to a chamber, to a second position adjacent to the chamber,
wherein the second position is based on a thickness of a deposition of a first layer of copper associated with a first portion of the chamber and a thickness of a deposition of a second layer of copper, thicker than the first layer of copper, associated with a second portion of the chamber, and
wherein an electromagnet and a flow optimizer, associated with the chamber, are configured to direct copper ions from a copper target onto a wafer associated with the chamber.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to:
determine the second position, for the magnetic shield, next to the electromagnet and next to the first portion.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to:
determine the second position, for the magnetic shield, between the electromagnet and another electromagnet of the chamber and next to the first portion.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to:
transmit an instruction to the flow optimizer to direct the copper ions towards the second portion.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to:
transmit an instruction to the electromagnet to direct the copper ions towards the second portion.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to:
estimate the first portion based on simulating the deposition of the first layer of copper on the wafer.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to:
input, to a machine learning model, one or more parameters associated with the deposition of the first layer of copper to determine the first portion, wherein the machine learning model is trained based on historical data.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the historical data includes historical deposition profiles and historical inputs associated with copper deposition processes.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the machine learning model is trained to correlate the historical deposition profiles with the historical inputs.

10. A method, comprising:
transmitting, by a processor and to a transport mechanism, a command to move a magnetic shield from a first position, adjacent to a chamber, to a second position adjacent to the chamber,
wherein the second position is based on a thickness of a deposition of a first layer of copper associated with a first portion of the chamber and a thickness of a deposition of a second layer of copper, thicker than the first layer of copper, associated with a second portion of the chamber, and
wherein an electromagnet and a flow optimizer, associated with the chamber, are configured to direct copper ions from a copper target onto a wafer associated with the chamber.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
determining the second position, for the magnetic shield, that is adjacent to the electromagnet and adjacent to the first portion.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
determining the second position, for the magnetic shield, between the electromagnet and another electromagnet of the chamber and adjacent to the first portion.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
transmitting an instruction to the flow optimizer to direct the copper ions towards the second portion.

14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
transmitting an instruction to the electromagnet to direct the copper ions towards the second portion.

15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
simulating the deposition on the wafer to estimate the first portion and the second portion.

16. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
inputting, to a machine learning model, one or more parameters associated with the deposition of the first layer of copper to determine the first portion.

17. A method, comprising:
transmitting, by a processor and to a transport mechanism, a command to move a magnetic shield from a first position, adjacent to a chamber, to a second position adjacent to the chamber,
wherein a first portion, of the chamber, is associated with a deposition of a first layer of copper that is thinner than a second layer of copper associated with at least a second portion of the chamber,
wherein an electromagnet and a flow optimizer, associated with the chamber, are configured to direct copper ions from a copper target onto a wafer associated with the chamber, and
wherein the second position is based on a thickness of the first layer of copper and a thickness of the second layer of copper.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
inputting, to a machine learning model, one or more parameters associated with the deposition of the first layer of copper, wherein the machine learning model is trained based on historical deposition profiles and historical inputs associated with copper deposition processes; and
outputting, from the machine learning model, data estimating the second position.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the second position is next to the electromagnet and next to the first portion.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein the second position is between the electromagnet and another electromagnet of the chamber and next to the first portion.

Assignees

• Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tsai Chia-Hung
• Lee Chin-Szu
• Wu Szu-Hua
• Ho Jui-Hung
• Liao Chi-Hung
• Chien Yu-Jen

Classifications

• H10P14/44

  Physical vapour deposition [PVD] · CPC title

• H10W20/425

  Barrier, adhesion or liner layers · CPC title

• H10W20/057

  by selectively depositing, e.g. by using selective CVD or plating · CPC title

• H10W20/4421

  the principal metal being copper · CPC title

• H10W20/056

  by filling conductive material into holes, grooves or trenches · CPC title