Graphene-clad metal interconnect
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsJian-Hong LIN, Yinlung LU, Jun HE, An Shun TENG, Chun-Wei CHANG
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Abstract
A graphene-clad metal interconnect extends material properties of graphene to both damascene and patterned interconnect structures at lower metal layers, leading to significant reductions in resistance. Graphene cladding can be used with or without a metal barrier/liner. Presence of a barrier/liner can serve to catalyze growth of an overlying graphene layer. Graphene may also be selectively grown on barrier surfaces. Fully integrated structures and process flows for integrated circuits with graphene-clad metallization are described.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- forming a transistor structure on a semiconductor substrate;
- forming a contact layer for contacts to source, drain, and gate terminals of the transistor structure;
- and
- forming a graphene-clad metal interconnect, comprising:
- depositing a first inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer over the contact layer;
- forming, in the first ILD layer, a metal layer that comprises:
- a first graphene cladding on sidewalls and a lower surface of the metal layer;
- and
- a first graphene cap;
- depositing a second ILD layer over the metal layer;
- etching an opening in the second ILD layer;
- and
- filling the opening with:
- a second graphene cladding on sidewall and horizontal surfaces of the opening;
- a metal fill on the second graphene cladding;
- and
- a second graphene cap over the metal fill.
A method, comprising:
- forming a transistor on a semiconductor substrate;
- coupling a contact layer to the transistor;
- and
- coupling a patterned metal interconnect to the contact layer, wherein the patterned metal interconnect comprises:
- first and second graphene-clad metal lines;
- and
- a via coupling the first and second graphene-clad metal lines to each other.
A structure, comprising:
- a transistor structure;
- an interconnect structure coupled to the transistor structure, the interconnect structure comprising
- a graphene-clad metal line;
- an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer on the graphene-clad metal line;
- and
- a graphene-clad via, in the ILD layer, coupled to the graphene-clad metal line.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.