In situ plasma pre-deposition wafer treatment in chemical vapor deposition technology for semiconductor integrated circuit applications
AssigneeMicron Technology, Inc.
InventorWeimin Li
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of de-oxidizing a surface onto which a refractory metal or molecule which contains a refractory metal atom will be adhered. The method utilizes a plasma which includes a gas such as argon, nitrogen, helium or hydrogen, or a mixture of any of the foregoing, to remove oxygen molecules from the surface to which adherence of the refractory metal is desired. Radicals in the plasma coat the surface to prevent further oxidation thereof. The method also includes techniques for depositing refractory metals onto a surface such as a substrate or layer of semiconductor material on which integrated circuitry has been fabricated.
Claims37
A method for metallizing at least a portion of a surface of a semiconductor substrate, comprising:
- providing a substrate including semiconductor material;
- de-oxidizing at least a portion of a surface of said semiconductor material with a plasma;
- disposing at least a first layer of base material over at least said portion of said surface;
- and
- depositing a metal over at least said first layer.
A method for metallizing at least a portion of a surface of a semiconductor structure, comprising:
- disposing at least one layer of base material over at least the portion of the surface;
- exposing said at least one layer of base material to a plasma to deoxidize said base material;
- and
- depositing a refractory metal selected from the group consisting essentially of tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, and titanium over said at least one layer.
A method for metallizing at least a portion of a surface of a semiconductor structure, comprising:
- providing a semiconductor structure;
- de-oxidizing at least a portion of a surface of the semiconductor structure with a plasma;
- forming at least one nucleation site on said surface;
- and
- growing said at least one nucleation site to form a layer of metal over said surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.