Device and method for protecting against oxidation of a conductive layer in said device
AssigneeMicron Technology, Inc.
InventorVishnu K. Agarwal
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In a semiconductor device including a first conductive layer, the first conductive layer is treated with a nitrogen/hydrogen plasma before an additional layer is deposited thereover. The treatment stuffs the surface with nitrogen, thereby preventing oxygen from being adsorbed onto the surface of the first conductive layer. In one embodiment, a second conductive layer is deposited onto the first conductive layer, and the plasma treatment lessens if not eliminates an oxide formed between the two layers as a result of subsequent thermal treatments. In another embodiment, a dielectric layer is deposited onto the first conductive layer, and the plasma treatment lessens if not eliminates the ability of the first conductive layer to incorporate oxygen from the dielectric.
Claims6
A method of affecting a surface of a tungsten nitride layer included as part of a capacitor plate that further includes a polysilicon layer on the tungsten nitride layer, comprising:
- providing the tungsten nitride layer;
- placing the tungsten nitride in direct contact with a material selected from the group consisting of diborane, phosphine, and a carbon-silicon compound to passivate a surface of the tungsten nitride layer prior to formation of the polysilicon layer on the tungsten nitride layer;
- and
- providing the polysilicon layer on the tungsten nitride layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.