Method of forming a conductive contact

A method of forming a conductive contact, comprising the steps of:

• depositing a source gas comprising a chlorine-containing precursor onto a substrate to form a fill having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater within an opening in the substrate;
• removing excess material from the substrate to form the conductive contact in the opening, the conductive contact having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• and
• heating the conductive contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to decrease chlorine throughout the thickness of the conductive contact by at least about 50% by wt. without forming substantial cracks within the conductive contact.

A method of forming a conductive contact, comprising the steps of:

• depositing a source gas comprising a titanium and chlorine-containing precursor onto a substrate to form a conductive contact within an opening in the substrate, the conductive contact having a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms;
• removing excess material from the substrate such that the conductive contact has a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• and
• heating the conductive contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to decrease chlorine through out the thickness of the conductive contact without forming substantial cracks within the conductive contact.

A method of forming a conductive contact, comprising the steps of:

• depositing a source gas onto a substrate to form a fill having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater within a contact hole in the substrate;
• the source gas comprising TiCl4;
• removing excess material from the substrate to form the conductive contact in the contact hole, the conductive contact having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• and
• thermally annealing the conductive contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to decrease chlorine through the thickness of the conductive contact without forming substantial cracks within the conductive contact;
• the nitrogen-containing gas comprising ammonia.

A method of forming a conductive contact, comprising the steps of:

• forming a titanium silicide layer over a substrate and within a contact hole;
• depositing a titanium nitride layer onto the titanium silicide layer to form a fill within the contact hole by combining a titanium and chlorine-containing precursor with a nitrogen-containing precursor to form a titanium nitride fill having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• removing excess material from the substrate to form the conductive contact in the contact hole, the conductive contact having a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms and comprising an amount of chlorine;
• and
• thermally annealing the conductive contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to decrease the amount of chlorine throughout the thickness without forming substantial cracks within the conductive contact.

A method of forming a conductive contact, comprising the steps of:

• forming a titanium silicide layer over a substrate and within an opening in the substrate;
• depositing a boron-doped titanium nitride material onto the titanium silicide layer to fill the opening by combining a titanium and chlorine-containing precursor with a nitrogen-containing precursor and a borane precursor to form a boron-doped titanium nitride fill having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater and comprising an amount of chlorine;
• removing excess material from the substrate to form the conductive contact in the opening, the conductive contact having a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms;
• and thermally annealing the conductive contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to decrease the amount of chlorine throughout the thickness of the conductive contact without forming substantial cracks within the conductive contact.

A method of forming a conductive contact within an opening through an insulative layer, the opening having sidewalls and extending to an underlying silicon-comprising substrate, the method comprising the steps of:

• forming a titanium silicide layer over the insulative layer within the opening;
• depositing a source gas over the titanium silicide layer to form a fill comprising titanium nitride having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater within the opening;
• the source gas comprising a chlorine-containing precursor;
• removing excess of the titanium nitride layer to form the conductive contact within the opening;
• the contact having a concentration of chlorine and a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms;
• and
• subjecting the conductive contact to a heat treatment in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the concentration of chlorine throughout the thickness of the conductive contact without forming substantial cracks within the conductive contact.

A method of forming a conductive contact, comprising:

• depositing a first source gas comprising TiCl4, H2, and SiH4 precursors onto a substrate to form a titanium silicide layer in an opening;
• depositing a second source gas comprising TiCl4 and NH3 precursors onto the titanium silicide layer to form a titanium nitride layer having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater within the opening;
• removing excess of the titanium nitride layer by chemical mechanical polishing while maintaining the titanium nitride layer within the opening to form the conductive contact;
• the conductive contact having a concentration of chlorine and a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms;
• and
• exposing the conductive contact to a nitrogen-containing gas by thermal anneal at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the concentration of chlorine throughout the thickness of the conductive contact without forming substantial cracks within the conductive contact.

A method of forming a conductive contact, comprising:

• depositing a first source gas comprising TiCl4, H2, and SiN4 precursors onto a substrate to form a titanium silicide layer in an opening;
• depositing a second source gas comprising TiCl4, NH3, and B2H6 precursors onto the titanium silicide layer to form a boron-doped titanium nitride layer having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater within the opening;
• removing excess of the boron-doped titanium nitride layer by chemical mechanical polishing while maintaining the boron-doped titanium nitride layer within the opening to form the conductive contact;
• the conductive contact having a concentration of chlorine and a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• and
• exposing the conductive contact to a nitrogen-containing gas by thermal anneal at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the concentration of chlorine throughout the thickness of the conductive contact without forming substantial cracks within the contact.

A method of forming a conductive contact in an opening through an insulative layer, the opening having sidewalls and extending to an underlying silicon-comprising substrate, the method comprising the steps of:

• forming a layer comprising titanium silicide over the insulative layer and the substrate within the opening;
• depositing a layer of boron-doped titanium nitride over the titanium silicide layer from a titanium and chlorine-containing precursor to fill the opening, the boron-doped titanium nitride fill layer having a thickness of about 500 angstroms to greater;
• removing excess of the boron-doped titanium nitride fill layer overlying the insulative layer while leaving a portion of the boron-doped titanium nitride layer within the opening to farm the conductive contact having a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms;
• and
• heat treating the conductive contact at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to remove chlorine throughout the thickness of the conductive contact without forming substantial cracks therein.

A method of forming a conductive contact in an opening of a semiconductor substrate, the opening formed in an insulative layer and extending to an underlying silicon-comprising substrate, the opening defined by sidewalls and a bottom portion;

• the method comprising the steps of:
• forming a layer comprising titanium silicide aver the substrate and within the opening;
• and
• depositing a boron-doped titanium nitride material over the titanium silicide layer and into the opening to form a fill having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• removing excess material from the substrate while leaving the boron-doped titanium nitride fill in the opening to form the contact, wherein the contact has a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• and
• heating the contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the concentration of chlorine throughout the thickness of the contact to less than about 3% by wt. without farming substantial cracks within the contact;
• wherein the conductive contact comprises an amount of boron to substantially eliminate peeling of the contact from the sidewall of the opening and cracking of the insulative layer, and an amount of nitrogen to provide an effective amount of conductivity to an active area within the substrate.

A method of forming a conductive contact in a semiconductor device comprising an opening through an insulative layer, the opening having sidewalls and extending to an underlying silicon-comprising substrate, the method comprising the steps of:

• depositing a layer comprising titanium silicide over the insulative layer and the substrate within the opening;
• and
• forming a titanium nitride layer over the titanium silicide by depositing a layer of titanium nitride aver the titanium silicide layer;
• and sequentially depositing overlying layers of boron-doped titanium nitride and titanium nitride to fill the opening, wherein the boron-doped titanium nitride layer is interposed between two titanium nitride layers and the fill has a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• removing excess fill overlying the insulative layer while leaving the fill within the opening to form the contact;
• the contact having a concentration of chlorine and a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• and
• heating the contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the concentration of chlorine to less than about 3% by wt. without forming substantial cracks within the contact;
• wherein the contact comprises an amount of boron to substantially eliminate peeling of the contact from the sidewall of the opening and cracking of the insulative layer, and an amount of nitrogen to provide an effective amount of conductivity to an active area within the substrate.

A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of:

• forming an insulative layer over a silicon-comprising substrate comprising an active area;
• forming an opening in the insulative layer to expose the active area of the substrate, the opening having sidewalls;
• forming a seed layer comprising titanium silicide over the insulative layer and the substrate within the opening;
• and
• forming a layer comprising titanium nitride over the seed layer to form a fill within the opening having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• removing excess fill material overlying the insulative layer form a conductive contact within the opening;
• the contact having a concentration of chlorine and a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• and
• heating the conductive contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the concentration of chlorine to less than about 3% by wt. throughout the thickness of the contact and without forming substantial cracks within the contact.

A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of:

• forming an insulative layer over a silicon-comprising substrate comprising an active area;
• forming an opening in the insulative layer to expose the active area of the substrate, the opening having sidewalks;
• forming a seed layer comprising titanium silicide over the insulative layer and the substrate within the opening;
• and
• forming a layer comprising boron-doped titanium nitride over the seed layer to form a conductive fill within the opening;
• removing excess fill material overlying the insulative layer to form a conductive contact within the opening;
• the contact having a concentration of chlorine and a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• and
• heating the conductive contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the concentration of chlorine to less than about 3% by wt. without forming substantial cracks within the contact;
• whereby the conductive contact comprises an amount of boron effective to provide the contact with a level of adhesion to the insulative layer within the opening to substantially eliminate peeling of the contact from the sidewalks of the opening, and a level of thermal stress to substantially eliminate cracking of the insulative layer;
• and an amount of nitrogen effective to maintain the conductivity of the contact at a predetermined level for an effective electrical contact with the active area.

A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of:

• forming an insulative layer over a silicon-comprising substrate comprising a conductive area;
• forming an opening in the insulative layer to expose the conductive area of the substrate, the opening having sidewalls;
• forming a seed layer comprising titanium silicide over the insulative layer and the substrate within the opening;
• and
• filling the opening with alternating layers of titanium nitride and boron-doped titanium nitride material to form a fill having a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms within the opening;
• removing excess fill material overlying the insulative layer to form a conductive contact within the opening;
• the contact having a concentration of chlorine and a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• and
• heating the contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the concentration of chlorine throughout the thickness of the contact to less than about 3% by wt. without forming substantial cracks within the contact;
• wherein the boron-doped titanium nitride layer is interposed between two titanium nitride layers, and the boron-doped titanium nitride layer comprises an amount of boron effective to provide the conductive contact with a level of adhesion to the insulative layer within the opening to substantially eliminate peeling of the conductive contact from the sidewalls of the opening, and a level of thermal stress to substantially eliminate cracking of the insulative layer;
• and an amount of nitrogen effective to maintain the conductivity of the contact at a predetermined level for an effective electrical contact with the conductive area.

A method for filling high aspect ratio contact openings, comprising the steps of:

• providing a substrate having a silicon-comprising substrate and an insulative layer formed thereon, the insulative layer having a surface and at least one contact opening formed therein to the substrate;
• the contact opening having an aspect ratio of at least 3:1;
• forming a seed layer comprising titanium silicide over the insulative layer and the surface of the substrate within the contact opening;
• and
• forming a titanium nitride film over the seed layer to form a fill within the opening, the fill having a thickness of a least about 500 angstroms;
• removing excess material overlying the insulative layer while leaving the titanium nitride film within the opening to form a conductive contact;
• the contact having a thickness of about 500 angstrom or greater and a concentration of chlorine without substantial cracks;
• and
• heating the contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the concentration of chlorine throughout the thickness of the contact to less than about 3% by wt.

A method for filling high aspect ratio contact openings, comprising the steps of:

• providing a substrate having a silicon-comprising substrate and an insulative layer formed thereon, the insulative layer having a surface and at least one contact opening formed therein to the substrate;
• the contact opening having an aspect ratio of at least 3:1;
• forming a seed layer comprising titanium silicide over the insulative layer and the surface of the substrate within the contact opening;
• and
• forming a boron-doped titanium nitride film over the seed layer to form a fill within the opening having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or more;
• removing excess fill material overlying the insulative layer while leaving the contact within the opening;
• the contact having a concentration of chlorine, a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms, and substantially no cracks;
• and
• heating the contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the concentration of chlorine throughout the thickness of the contact to less than about 3% by wt.

A method for filling high aspect ratio contact openings, comprising the steps of:

• providing a substrate having a silicon-comprising substrate and an insulative layer formed thereon, the insulative layer having a surface and at least one contact opening formed therein to the substrate;
• the contact opening having an aspect ratio of at least 3:1;
• forming a seed layer comprising titanium silicide over the insulative layer and the surface of the substrate within the contact opening;
• and
• forming a multi-layered film over the seed layer to fill the opening, the film comprising a layer comprising boron-doped titanium nitride interposed between two layers comprising titanium nitride layer, and having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• removing excess of the film overlying the insulative layer while leaving the contact within the opening;
• the contact having a concentration of chlorine, a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms, and substantially no cracks;
• and
• heating the contact in a nitrogen-containing gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the concentration of chlorine throughout the thickness of the contact to less than about 3% by wt.

A method of forming a conductive contact in an opening in an insulative layer disposed on a substrate, comprising the steps of:

• forming a layer of titanium silicide on the substrate within the opening;
• filling the opening with a conductive material to form the conductive contact, the contact having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• and
• heating the contact in a reactive gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to remove from throughout the contact at least about 50% by wt. of a component capable of diffusing into and corroding an adjacent metal layer thereto without forming substantial cracks within the contact.

A method of forming a conductive contact man opening in an insulative layer overlying a substrate, the opening having insulative sidewalls;

• the method comprising the steps of:
• forming the conductive contact by depositing a gaseous mixture comprising titanium tetrachloride, ammonia and diborane into the opening, the conductive contact comprising a concentration of chlorine and having a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater;
• and
• heating the contact in a reactive gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the chlorine concentration throughout the contact without forming substantial cracks within the contact;
• wherein the contact comprises an amount of boron for effective adhesion of the contact to the insulative sidewalls of the opening to substantially eliminate peeling of the contact from the sidewalls and cracking of the insulative layer.

A method of forming a conductive contact in an opening in an insulative layer, comprising the steps of:

• depositing a gaseous mixture comprising titanium tetrachloride and ammonia within the opening to form a layer of titanium nitride;
• depositing a gaseous mixture comprising titanium tetrachloride, ammonia and diborane within the opening to form a layer of titanium boronitride over the titanium nitride layer;
• depositing a gaseous mixture comprising titanium tetrachloride and ammonia within the opening to form a layer of titanium nitride over the titanium boronitride layer;
• repeating the steps of depositing the gaseous mixtures to form sequential layers of titanium nitride and titanium boronitride to form the conductive contact to a thickness of about 500 angstroms or greater, the contact having a concentration of chlorine;
• and
• heating the contact in a reactive gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to reduce the chlorine concentration throughout the contact without forming substantial cracks within the contact.

A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of:

• forming a layer of titanium nitride over a substrate, the titanium nitride layer having a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms and a concentration of chlorine;
• heating the titanium nitride layer in a reactive gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to remove at least about 50% of the chlorine from throughout the titanium nitride layer without forming substantial cracks within the titanium nitride layer;
• and
• depositing a conductive layer over the titanium nitride layer.

A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of:

• depositing a gaseous nurture comprising titanium tetrachloride and ammonia on a substrate to form a layer of titanium nitride, the titanium nitride layer having a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms and a concentration of chlorine;
• heating the titanium nitride layer in a reactive gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to remove at least about 50% of the chlorine from throughout the titanium nitride layer without forming substantial cracks within the titanium nitride layer;
• and
• depositing a conductive layer over the titanium nitride layer.

A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of:

• forming a layer of titanium boronitride over a substrate, the titanium boronitride layer having a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms and a concentration of chlorine;
• and
• heating the titanium boronitride layer in a reactive gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to remove at least about 50% by wt. of the chlorine from throughout the titanium boronitride layer without forming substantial cracks within the titanium boronitride layer;
• and
• depositing a conductive layer over the titanium boronitride layer.

A method of forming a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of:

• depositing a gaseous mixture comprising titanium tetrachloride, ammonia and diborane on a substrate to form a layer of titanium boronitride having a thickness of at least about 500 angstroms and a concentration of chlorine;
• heating the titanium boronitride layer in a reactive gas at a temperature of about 700° C. or greater to remove at least about 500% by wt. of the chlorine from throughout the layer without forming substantial cracks within the titanium nitride layer;
• and
• depositing a conductive layer over the titanium boronitride layer.