Method of forming an interconnect structure

US9502288B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-9502288-B2
Application numberUS-201213420728-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateMar 15, 2012
Priority dateJan 7, 2010
Publication dateNov 22, 2016
Grant dateNov 22, 2016

How to read this patent

A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.

  1. Title

    What the patent document calls the invention.

  2. Abstract

    A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.

  3. Assignees and inventors

    Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.

  4. Key dates

    Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.

  5. First independent claim

    The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.

  6. CPC / IPC classifications

    Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.

  7. Citations and related patents

    Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.

Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

An interconnect structure is provided that has improved electromigration resistance as well as methods of forming such an interconnect structure. The interconnect structure includes a composite M-MOx cap located at least on the upper surface of the Cu-containing material within the at least one opening. The composite M-MOx cap includes an upper region that is composed of the metal having a higher affinity for oxygen than copper and copper oxide and a lower region that is composed of a non-stoichiometric oxide of said metal.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

What is claimed is: 1. A method of forming an interconnect structure comprising: providing an interconnect dielectric material having a dielectric constant of 4.0 or less, said interconnect dielectric material having opposing upper and lower surfaces, said surfaces having at least one opening that is filled with a Cu-containing material, said Cu-containing material having an exposed upper surface that is co-planar with an upper surface of said interconnect dielectric material; forming a metal layer M directly on at least the exposed upper surface of the Cu-containing material, wherein said metal layer is composed of a metal having a higher affinity for oxygen than copper and copper oxide; annealing to react any oxygen within the Cu-containing material with the metal layer M forming a composite M-MOx cap, wherein said composite M-MOx cap includes an upper region that is composed of said metal M and a lower region that is composed of a non-stoichiometric oxide MOx of said metal; and forming a dielectric capping material directly on at least an upper surface of the composite M-MOx cap. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said forming the metal layer includes a selective deposition process. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said selective deposition process includes chemical vapor deposition, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, or plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition. 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said forming the metal layer includes a non-selective deposition process. 5. The method of claim 4 wherein said non-selective deposition process comprises plating, sputtering or chemical solution deposition. 6. The method of claim 1 wherein said forming the metal layer includes selecting one of Mn, Ta, Nb, Ti, Zr, Al, Ru, Co, Zn, Fe and Sn. 7. The method of claim 1 wherein said forming the metal layer includes selecting Mn as said metal layer. 8. The method of claim 1 wherein said annealing includes thermal annealing, UV curing, a low rf power plasma treatment or a combination thereof. 9. The method of claim 1 wherein said forming the dielectric capping material includes selecting a non-oxygen containing dielectric capping material. 10. The method of claim 1 wherein said composite M-MOx cap has vertical edges that do not extend beyond vertical edges of said Cu-containing material.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • by thermal treatment thereof · CPC title

  • by formation methods other than physical vapour deposition [PVD], chemical vapour deposition [CVD] or liquid deposition · CPC title

  • combinations of barrier, adhesion or liner layers, e.g. multi-layered barrier layers · CPC title

  • by diffusing metallic dopants to react with dielectrics · CPC title

  • H10W20/037Primary

    the barrier, adhesion or liner layers being on top of a main fill metal · CPC title

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Frequently asked questions

Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.

What does patent US9502288B2 cover?
An interconnect structure is provided that has improved electromigration resistance as well as methods of forming such an interconnect structure. The interconnect structure includes a composite M-MOx cap located at least on the upper surface of the Cu-containing material within the at least one opening. The composite M-MOx cap includes an upper region that is composed of the metal having a high…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Nguyen Son Van, Grill Alfred, Haigh Jr Thomas J, and 3 more
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification H10W20/037. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue Nov 22 2016 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).