Integrated copper fill process

An integrated copper fill process performed upon a substrate having a conductive feature formed at a surface adjacent a first layer, a dielectric layer formed over said first layer, a hole formed through said dielectric layer over said conductive feature, and a barrier layer is coated onto a bottom and sidewalls of said hole, comprising the steps of:

• removing said barrier layer from said bottom of said hole, wherein said removing is performed in a copper plasma sputtering chamber;
• depositing a copper layer onto said sidewalls over said barrier layer and onto said bottom of said hole, wherein said depositing step is performed in said copper plasma sputtering chamber;
• and
• then filling copper into said hole.

A method of removing a barrier layer formed at a bottom of a hole overlying a conductive feature in a first dielectric layer and formed in a second dielectric layer overlying said first dielectric layer, comprising the steps of:

• supporting said substrate on a pedestal electrode in a plasma sputter reactor having a metal sputter target in opposition to said pedestal electrode;
• admitting argon into said reactor;
• applying RF bias to said pedestal electrode;
• and
• applying DC power to said target to excite said argon into a plasma, thereby effecting a process to remove at least a portion of said barrier layer at the bottom of said hole.