# US 8,541,307 B2 · Treatment method for reducing particles in dual damascene silicon nitride process

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- Number: US 8,541,307 B2
- Document ID: US8541307B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 13/339,400
- Filed: 2011-12-29
- Published: 2013-04-04
- Granted: 2013-09-24
- Earliest claimed: 2011-09-29
- Assignees: Shanghai Huali Microelectronics Corporation
- Applicants: Meimei Gu; Duoyuan Hou; Jun Xu; Ke Wang
- Inventors: Meimei Gu; Duoyuan Hou; Jun Xu; Ke Wang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8541307B2

## CPC

- H10W 20/056: {by filling conductive material into holes, grooves or trenches}
- H10P 14/6504: {In-situ cleaning}
- H10P 14/6514: {by exposure to a plasma}
- H10P 14/69433: {the material being a silicon nitride not containing oxygen, e.g. SixNy or SixByNz}
- H10P 70/277: {the processing being a planarisation of conductive layers}
- H10W 20/077: {on sidewalls or on top surfaces of conductors (H10W20/076 takes precedence)}
- H10W: GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

A treatment method for reducing particles in a Dual Damascene Silicon Nitride (DDSN) process, including the following steps: forming a seed layer of copper on a silicon wafer; depositing a deposition layer of copper to cover the seed layer of copper; planarizing the deposition layer of copper; providing the silicon wafer into a reaction chamber and performing a pre-treatment on a surface of the deposition layer of copper using NH3 gas under a plasma condition so as to reduce copper oxide (CuO) to copper (Cu) formed on the deposition layer of copper; in the reaction chamber, generating an etching block layer on the deposition layer of copper using a DDSN deposition process; cleaning the reaction chamber using NF3 gas; and directing N2O gas into the reaction chamber and removing the remaining hydrogen (H) and fluorine (F) in the reaction chamber using the N2O gas under the plasma condition.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A treatment method for reducing particles in a Dual Damascene Silicon Nitride (DDSN) process, characterized by comprising steps of:
Step A: forming a seed layer of copper on a silicon wafer;
Step B: depositing a deposition layer of copper to cover the seed layer of copper;
Step C: planarizing the deposition layer of copper;
Step D: providing the silicon wafer into a reaction chamber and performing a pre-treatment on a surface of the deposition layer of copper using NH3 gas under a plasma condition so as to remove oxides of copper formed on the deposition layer of copper;
Step E: in the reaction chamber, generating an etching blocking layer on the deposition layer of copper using a DDSN deposition process;
Step F: cleaning the reaction chamber using NF3 gas; and
Step G: directing N2O gas into the reaction chamber and removing remaining hydrogen and fluorine in the reaction chamber using the N2O gas under the plasma condition.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The treatment method for reducing particles in a DDSN process according to claim 1, characterized in that, under the plasma condition, an atmospheric pressure in the reaction chamber is a deposition atmospheric pressure of the DDSN deposition process, spacing from showerhead of the reaction chamber to the silicon wafer is 450-600 mils, power of radio frequency for generating plasma is 0-2000 W, and a gas flow rate of the N2O gas is 3000-7000 sccm.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The treatment method for reducing particles in a DDSN process according to claim 2, characterized in that N2 gas is also directed into the reaction chamber while the N2O gas is directed into the reaction chamber, and a flow rate of the N2 gas is 3000-7000 sccm.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The treatment method for reducing particles in a DDSN process according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising a step of growing an oxide layer on the etching block layer.