Apparatus and method for edge bevel removal of copper from silicon wafers
Granted: April 16, 2013
Patent Number:
8419964
Chemical etching methods and associated modules for performing the removal of metal from the edge bevel region of a semiconductor wafer are described. The methods and systems provide the thin layer of pre-rinsing liquid before applying etchant at the edge bevel region of the wafer. The etchant is less diluted and diffuses faster through a thinned layer of rinsing liquid. An edge bevel removal embodiment involving that is particularly effective at reducing process time, narrowing the…
Capping before barrier-removal IC fabrication method
Granted: April 9, 2013
Patent Number:
8415261
Methods of forming a capping layer on conductive lines in a semiconductor device may be characterized by the following operations: (a) providing a semiconductor substrate comprising a dielectric layer having (i) exposed conductive lines (e.g., copper lines) disposed therein, and (ii) an exposed barrier layer disposed thereon; and (b) depositing a capping layer material on at least the exposed conductive lines of the semiconductor substrate. In certain embodiments, the method may also…
Method for depositing thin tungsten film with low resistivity and robust micro-adhesion characteristics
Granted: April 2, 2013
Patent Number:
8409987
Methods of forming low resistivity tungsten films with good uniformity and good adhesion to the underlying layer are provided. The methods involve forming a tungsten nucleation layer using a pulsed nucleation layer process at low temperature and then treating the deposited nucleation layer prior to depositing the bulk tungsten fill. The treatment operation lowers resistivity of the deposited tungsten film. In certain embodiments, the depositing the nucleation layer involves a boron-based…
Methods for growing low-resistivity tungsten for high aspect ratio and small features
Granted: April 2, 2013
Patent Number:
8409985
The present invention addresses this need by providing methods for depositing low resistivity tungsten films in small features and features having high aspect ratios. The methods involve depositing very thin tungsten nucleation layers by pulsed nucleation layer (PNL) processes and then using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to deposit a tungsten layer to fill the feature. Depositing the tungsten nucleation layer involves exposing the substrate to alternating pulses of a boron-containing…
Rapidly cleanable electroplating cup seal
Granted: March 19, 2013
Patent Number:
8398831
Embodiments of a closed-contact electroplating cup assembly that may be rapidly cleaned while an electroplating system is on-line are disclosed. One disclosed embodiment comprises a cup assembly and a cone assembly, wherein the cup assembly comprises a cup bottom comprising an opening, a seal surrounding the opening, an electrical contact structure comprising a plurality of electrical contacts disposed around the opening, and an interior cup side that is tapered inwardly in along an…
Method and apparatuses for reducing porogen accumulation from a UV-cure chamber
Granted: March 19, 2013
Patent Number:
8398816
Porogen accumulation in a UV-cure chamber is reduced by removing outgassed porogen through a heated outlet while purge gas is flowed across a window through which a wafer is exposed to UV light. A purge ring having specific major and minor exhaust to inlet area ratios may be partially made of flame polished quartz to improve flow dynamics. The reduction in porogen accumulation allows more wafers to be processed between chamber cleans, thus improving throughput and cost.
Methods and apparatus for depositing copper on tungsten
Granted: February 19, 2013
Patent Number:
8377824
Apparatus and methods for depositing copper on tungsten are presented. The invention finds particular use in the semiconductor industry for depositing copper seed layers onto fields or through silicon vias having tungsten barrier layers, both reducing cost and complexity of existing methods.
Electroplating cup assembly
Granted: February 19, 2013
Patent Number:
8377268
Embodiments of a closed-contact electroplating cup are disclosed. One embodiment comprises a cup bottom comprising an opening, and a seal disposed on the cup bottom around the opening. The seal comprises a wafer-contacting peak located substantially at an inner edge of the seal. The embodiment also comprises an electrical contact structure disposed over a portion of the seal, wherein the electrical contact structure comprises an outer ring and a plurality of contacts extending inwardly…
Wet etching methods for copper removal and planarization in semiconductor processing
Granted: February 12, 2013
Patent Number:
8372757
Exposed copper regions on a semiconductor substrate can be etched by a wet etching solution comprising (i) one or more complexing agents selected from the group consisting of bidentate, tridentate, and quadridentate complexing agents; and (ii) an oxidizer, at a pH of between about 5 and 12. In many embodiments, the etching is substantially isotropic and occurs without visible formation of insoluble species on the surface of copper. The etching is useful in a number of processes in…
Monitoring of electroplating additives
Granted: February 12, 2013
Patent Number:
8372258
The working electrode in the flow channel of a flow-through electrolytic detection cell is preconditioned by flowing a preconditioning electroplating solution with preconditioner species through the flow channel while applying a negative potential. Flow of liquid through the flow channel is rapidly switched from preconditioning solution to a target solution containing an organic target solute to be measured. The transient response of the system resulting from exposure of the working…
Pedestal covers
Granted: February 12, 2013
Patent Number:
8371567
Examples of novel semiconductor processing pedestals, and apparatuses including such pedestals, are described. These pedestals are specifically configured to provide uniform heat transfer to semiconductor substrates and to reduce maintenance complexity and/or frequency. Specifically, a pedestal may include a removable cover positioned over a metal platen of the pedestal. The removable cover is configured to maintain a consistent and uniform temperature profile of its substrate-facing…
Methods for forming all tungsten contacts and lines
Granted: February 5, 2013
Patent Number:
8367546
Novel low-resistivity tungsten film stack schemes and methods for depositing them are provided. The film stacks include a mixed tungsten/tungsten-containing compound (e.g., WC) layer as a base for deposition of tungsten nucleation and/or bulk layers. According to various embodiments, these tungsten rich layers may be used as barrier and/or adhesion layers in tungsten contact metallization and bitlines. Deposition of the tungsten-rich layers involves exposing the substrate to a…
High compressive stress carbon liners for MOS devices
Granted: January 29, 2013
Patent Number:
8362571
Transistor architectures and fabrication processes generate channel strain without adversely impacting the efficiency of the transistor fabrication process while preserving the material quality and enhancing the performance of the resulting transistor. Transistor strain is generated is PMOS devices using a highly compressive post-salicide amorphous carbon capping layer applied as a blanket over on at least the source and drain regions. The stress from this capping layer is uniaxially…
Magnetic lensing to improve deposition uniformity in a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process
Granted: January 1, 2013
Patent Number:
8343318
A physical vapor deposition (PVD) system includes a chamber and a plurality of electromagnetic coils arranged around the chamber. First and second annular bands of permanent magnets are arranged around the chamber with poles oriented perpendicular to a magnetic field imposed by the electromagnetic coils. Each of the permanent magnets in the first annular band is arranged with poles having a first polarity closest to a central axis of the chamber. Each of the permanent magnets in the…
Method for improving uniformity and adhesion of low resistivity tungsten film
Granted: December 11, 2012
Patent Number:
8329576
Methods of improving the uniformity and adhesion of low resistivity tungsten films are provided. Low resistivity tungsten films are formed by exposing the tungsten nucleation layer to a reducing agent in a series of pulses before depositing the tungsten bulk layer. According to various embodiments, the methods involve reducing agent pulses with different flow rates, different pulse times and different interval times.
Pedestal cover
Granted: December 4, 2012
Patent Number:
D671901
Adjustable chemical vapor deposition showerhead assembly
Granted: December 4, 2012
Patent Number:
D672010
Protective self-aligned buffer layers for damascene interconnects
Granted: November 27, 2012
Patent Number:
8317923
Protective self aligned buffer (PSAB) layers are layers of material that are selectively formed at the surface of metal layers in a partially fabricated semiconductor device. In a Damascene interconnect, PSAB layer typically resides at an interface between the metal layer and a dielectric diffusion barrier layer. PSAB layers promote improved adhesion between a metal layer and an adjacent dielectric diffusion barrier layer. Further, PSAB layers can protect metal surfaces from inadvertent…
Method and apparatus for electroplating
Granted: November 13, 2012
Patent Number:
8308931
An apparatus for electroplating a layer of metal on the surface of a wafer includes an ionically resistive ionically permeable element located in close proximity of the wafer (preferably within 5 mm of the wafer surface) which serves to modulate ionic current at the wafer surface, and a second cathode configured to divert a portion of current from the wafer surface. The ionically resistive ionically permeable element in a preferred embodiment is a disk made of a resistive material having…
Method for purifying acetylene gas for use in semiconductor processes
Granted: November 13, 2012
Patent Number:
8309473
Acetylene is treated to remove some residual storage solvent that may be present with the acetylene in a source of acetylene such as a container. Such treatment may be performed prior to supplying the acetylene to a deposition chamber or other reactor where acetylene is a reactant. After treatment, the acetylene gas stream has a relatively constant concentration of storage solvent, regardless of how much acetylene has been released from the acetylene source. The treatment may involve…
