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US 9,514,983 B2Granted
Cobalt based interconnects and methods of fabrication thereof
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorsChristopher J. Jezewski, James S. Clarke, Tejaswi K. Indukuri, Florian Gstrein, Daniel J. Zierath
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Abstract
A metal interconnect comprising cobalt and method of forming a metal interconnect comprising cobalt are described. In an embodiment, a metal interconnect comprising cobalt includes a dielectric layer disposed on a substrate, an opening formed in the dielectric layer such that the substrate is exposed. The embodiment further includes a seed layer disposed over the substrate and a fill material comprising cobalt formed within the opening and on a surface of the seed layer.
Claims19
A method of forming a metal interconnect structure, comprising:
- forming an opening in a dielectric layer disposed on a substrate, wherein the opening exposes a conductive region of the substrate, wherein the conductive region is a semiconductor diffusion region;
- forming a seed layer directly on the dielectric layer in the opening, over the conductive region of the substrate, and by a first method comprising a first set of parameters, the seed layer comprising at least 50 atomic % cobalt and having a first grain structure;
- forming a fill material on a surface of the seed layer by a second method comprising a second set of parameters, wherein the first set of parameters is different than the second set of parameters, and wherein the fill material comprises 0.25-5 atomic % of a non-cobalt element with the remainder approximately 95+ atomic % cobalt, the fill material having a second grain structure larger than the first grain structure and having a composition different from the seed layer, wherein grain boundaries within the cobalt of the fill material are filled by the non-cobalt element;
- and
- removing portions of the fill material and the seed layer disposed above an upper surface of the dielectric layer.
2 more elements
A metal interconnect structure, comprising:
- a dielectric layer disposed on a substrate;
- an opening disposed in the dielectric layer and exposing a conductive region in the substrate, the opening having a lower portion and an upper portion, the upper portion wider than the lower portion;
- a plug disposed in the lower portion of the opening the plug filling the lower portion of the opening, the plug comprising at least 50 atomic % cobalt and having a first grain structure;
- and
- a fill material disposed on the plug and in the upper portion of the opening, the fill material comprising 0.25-5 atomic % of a non-cobalt element with the remainder approximately 95+ atomic % cobalt, and the fill material having a second grain structure larger than the first grain structure and having a composition different from the plug, wherein grain boundaries within the cobalt of the fill material are filled by the non-cobalt element.
2 more elements
A method of forming a metal interconnect structure, comprising:
- forming an opening in a dielectric layer disposed on a substrate, exposing a conductive region in the substrate, the opening having an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion wider than the lower portion;
- forming a plug over the conductive region of the substrate and within at least the lower portion of the opening by a first method comprising a first set of parameters, the plug material filling the lower portion of the opening, and the plug comprising at least 50 atomic % cobalt and having a first grain structure;
- forming a fill material over the plug, the dielectric layer, and within at least the upper portion of the opening by a second method comprising a second set of parameters, wherein the first set of parameters is different than the second set of parameters, the fill material comprising 0.25-5 atomic % of a non-cobalt element with the remainder approximately 95+ atomic % cobalt, the fill material having a second grain structure larger than the first grain structure and having a composition different from the plug, wherein grain boundaries within the cobalt of the fill material are filled by the non-cobalt element;
- and
- removing portions of the fill material disposed above an upper surface of the dielectric layer.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.