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AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorsZheng Xu, John Forster, Tse-Yong Yao
Estimating the term…
The present invention pertains to a carrier layer and a contact enabled by the carrier layer which enables the fabrication of aluminum (including aluminum alloys and other conductive materials having a similar melting point) electrical contacts in multilayer integrated circuit vias, through holes, or trenches having an aspect ratio greater than one. In fact, the structure has been shown to enable such contact fabrication in vias, through holes, and trenches having aspect ratios as high as at least 5:1, and should be capable of filing apertures having aspect ratios up to about 12:1. The carrier layer, in addition to permitting the formation of a conductive contact at high aspect ratio, provides a diffusion barrier which prevents the aluminum from migrating into surrounding substrate material which operates in conjunction with the electrical contact. The carrier layer preferably comprises a layer formed by ionizing the flux of sputter deposition maternal partially reacting the flux with a gas, and depositing the resulting material on a substrate.
An electrical contact structure in a multilayer integrated circuit, wherein an aspect ratio of an aperture within which said electrical contact is formed exceeds 1:1, and wherein a width dimension of said aperture is approxinately 0.5.mu. or smaller, said electrical contact structure comprising:
A carrier layer on the surface of an aperture sidewall which enables the fabrication of an electrical contact in said aperture, wherein an aspect ratio of said electrical contact exceeds 1:1 and a feature size of said contact is about 0.5.mu. or less, said carrier layer comprising at least one layer of a sputtered deposit, comprising a refractory metal, a first component of which has been ionized, at least in part, prior to deposition thereof on a surface of said sidewall and a second component which is the reaction product of said first component and a gas.
An electrical contact structure in a multilayered integrated circuit, wherein an aspect ratio of said electrical contact structure exceeds 1:1 and a width dimension of said structure on which said aspect ratio is based is about 0.5.mu. or smaller, said electrical contact structure comprising:
An electrical contact structure in a multilayered integrated circuit, wherein an aspect ratio of said electrical contact structure exceeds 1:1, and a width dimension of said structure on which said aspect ratio is based is about 0.5.mu. or smaller, said electrical contact structure comprising:
A basic carrier layer deposited on a sidewall of an electrical contact stricture and having a surface roughness of less than about 40 .ANG., wherein the aspect ratio of the electrical contact structure exceeds 1:1 and wherein a contact structure width dimension on which said aspect ratio is based is 0.5.mu. or smaller, said carrier layer including at least one layer deposited from a sputtered refractory metal, at least about 10% by weight of which is ionized prior to the deposition on said sidewall.
A carrier layer on the surface of an aperture sidewall which enables the fabrication of an electrical contact in a multilayer integrated circuit, wherein an aspect ratio of said electrical contact exceeds 1:1 and a feature size of said contact is about 0.5.mu. or less, said carrier layer comprising at least one layer which is a deposit of sputtered refractory-metal-comprising material ionized in an amount ranging from greater than about 10% up to 100% by weight prior to deposition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.