Characterization of “Ultrathin-Cu”/Ru(Ta)/TaN Liner Stack for Copper Interconnects

Yang, Chih‐Chao; Cohen, S.; Shaw, T. M.; Wang, P.-C; Nogami, Takeshi; Edelstein, D.

doi:10.1109/led.2010.2047934

Cited by 84 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…12 Hence, it was proposed that a thin TaN barrier layer (∼2-3 nm) be first deposited followed by a ∼1-2 nm thick Ru liner, alleviating the need for a Cu seed layer. 13,14 However, the higher resistivity of TaN (∼200 μ cm) is still a concern.…”

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Potassium Permanganate-Based Slurry to Reduce the Galvanic Corrosion of the Cu/Ru/TiN Barrier Liner Stack during CMP in the BEOL Interconnects

Sagi

Amanapu

Alety

et al. 2016

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

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Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) behavior of Cu/Ru/TiN barrier liner stack was investigated with a slurry comprising of silica abrasives, potassium permanganate (KMnO 4 ) , guanidine carbonate (GC) and benzotriazole (BTA) in the alkaline region. The corrosion and polishing behavior of the Cu, Ru and TiN films in the solution consisting of the above additives were characterized by open circuit potential and potentiodynamic measurements, polishing rates, dissolution rates and contact angle measurements. A slurry comprising of 10 mM KMnO 4 , 1 wt% GC and 5 wt% Silica at pH 10 has shown adequate polish rates as well as low individual film corrosion. However, 1 mM BTA was needed to maintain the E CORR of both the Cu/Ru and Ru/TiN couples at <20 mV essential to inhibit any galvanic corrosion while still maintaining low corrosion rates for Cu, Ru and TiN films. The removal rate ratio of Ru:Cu with the optimized slurry was ∼0.8, minimizing the possibility of dishing. As the scaling of trenches and vias continue, making high volume manufacturing of 14 nm devices feasible, deposition of defect free Cu seed layer upon the TaN/Ta barrier liner 1,2 used in earlier generation Cu interconnects has become a challenge. At the reduced trench widths of ∼50 nm or less associated with these devices, it is not possible to deposit a conformal Cu seed layer without voids.3-6 Also, as the TaN/Ta barrier liner is scaled to ∼5 nm or less in thickness, its increased electrical resistance causes the resistance-capacitance delay to increase. Hence, the advantages of replacing it with several other barrier and barrier liner candidate materials and have been investigated by various authors.7-9 These include Ru, Co and Mn and their alloys.Among these, Ru has good barrier properties with a high melting point of 2310• C. 7 Due to its low resistivity (∼7 μ cm) and excellent wettability characteristics with Cu, direct electroplating of Cu is possible eliminating the need for a seed layer.7 However, it was found that atomic layer deposited (ALD) Ru alone is not a good diffusion barrier due to its columnar growth structure that provides diffusion paths for Cu at the grain boundaries 10,11 and poor adherence to underlying dielectric.12 Hence, it was proposed that a thin TaN barrier layer (∼2-3 nm) be first deposited followed by a ∼1-2 nm thick Ru liner, alleviating the need for a Cu seed layer. 13,14 However, the higher resistivity of TaN (∼200 μ cm) is still a concern.Recently, Amanapu et al. 15 showed that Ru films deposited on TiN, another commonly used barrier layer 16,17 with a lower resistivity of ∼130 μ cm, have higher removal rates (RRs) compared to those deposited on TaN due to the difference in the crystalline orientation of the Ru films deposited on these two materials. Hence, a thin Ru liner (∼2 nm) over a thin TiN barrier layer (∼2 nm), both deposited by ALD, has been proposed as a promising barrier liner for future Cu interconnects.In these structures, since Ru is in contact with both TiN and Cu (Figure 1), there is a possibility of g...

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confidence: 99%

Potassium Permanganate-Based Slurry to Reduce the Galvanic Corrosion of the Cu/Ru/TiN Barrier Liner Stack during CMP in the BEOL Interconnects

Sagi

Amanapu

Alety

et al. 2016

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

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“…Ru-Ta alloy has been investigated and the evaluation results of film property such as wettability and barrier property have been reported. [27][28][29][30] However, the filling property of Cu electroplating and the reliability performance z E-mail: torazawa.naoki@jp.panasonic.com with Ru-Ta alloy and RuTa(N) film which is doped with N in RuTa using fine Cu damascene structure have not been reported.In this paper, Ru-Ta alloy was applied as the diffusion barrier layer in fine Cu dual damascene interconnects, and the film property, filling property of Cu electroplating and reliability performances were investigated. The film which Nitrogen (N) was incorporated into Ru-Ta film was also evaluated, and the barrier structure for Ru-Ta alloy was considered on the basis of the film properties.…”

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The Development of Cu Filling and Reliability Performance with Ru-Ta Alloy Barrier for Cu Interconnects

Torazawa

Hirao

Kanayama

et al. 2016

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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Ru-Ta alloy was investigated as the diffusion barrier layer in Cu dual damascene interconnects, and Cu filling property and reliability performances with RuTa/RuTa(N) stacked barrier structure were mainly evaluated. RuTa strongly orientated to Ru(002) and the lattice misfit between Ru(002) and Cu(111) was lower than that between Ta(110) and Cu(111). The wettability of Cu seed on RuTa was much better than that on Ta. The barrier property against Cu diffusion of RuTa/RuTa(N) stacked barrier structure kept the equivalent barrier property of conventional Ta/TaN one. Filling property of Cu electroplating was improved by using Ru-Ta alloy barrier, and trenches of 45 nm in width could be filled successfully due to the suppression of the agglomeration of Cu seed on the sidewall of trench. Via resistance with RuTa/RuTa(N) barrier was much lower than that with Ta/TaN one due to its low resistivity. The estimated life time of via electromigration with RuTa/RuTa(N) barrier was longer than that with Ta/TaN one because of the good wettability and filling property inside via. Consequently, Cu filling property and reliability performance can be improved with RuTa/RuTa(N) stacked barrier structure in Cu interconnects. Copper (Cu) interconnects have been applied to ultra large scale integrated circuits (ULSIs) to reduce the resistance of wiring and resistive-capacitive (RC) delay since the introduction of 130 nm complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOSs). As the feature size of trench and via continues to shrink, filling the gaps with Cu electroplating becomes more difficult. For perfectly gap filling, the opening of trench and via after the deposition of barrier and Cu seed have to be kept enough by thinning barrier and/or Cu seed. However, thinning Cu seed leads to Cu being agglomerated on the sidewall of both trench and via where Cu seed is too thin due to its poor coverage, resulting in the formation of voids inside trench and via. Therefore, one challenging issue for Cu interconnects is to fill trench and via completely without the agglomeration of Cu seed on the diffusion barrier layer.New barrier metals that have better wettability with Cu than conventional Tantalum (Ta) have been studied to achieve continuous and smooth Cu film on them.1-26 Among them, Cobalt (Co) and Ruthenium (Ru) have been most frequently suggested for suppressing the agglomeration of Cu seed. Co is known to have the good film properties such as the low resistivity, the high melting point and the good adhesion with Cu. However, Co has the serious problems with chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process and wet etching process. Co is corroded readily during CMP process and wet etching process, and the slits are occurred between Cu wiring and the interlayer dielectric. It results in the degradation of the device yield and reliability performance. As for Ru, the barrier property against Cu diffusion is not enough, and CMP process for Ru is a difficult technology and the scratch occurred during CMP process leads to the degradation of the device yie...

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“…This electroless plating approach also adds processing steps, for example pre-and postcleans, and increases wafer cost. It has been reported that neither Co nor Ru is a good oxidation barrier [6], [7]. A passivated Cu interconnect surface with either material could get oxidized after exposing to the atmosphere.…”

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confidence: 99%

Characterization of Copper Electromigration Dependence on Selective Chemical Vapor Deposited Cobalt Capping Layer Thickness

Yang

Baumann

et al. 2011

IEEE Electron Device Lett.

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Co films with various thicknesses were selectively deposited as Cu capping layers by chemical-vapor-deposition technique. Selectivity of the Co deposition between Cu and dielectric surfaces was improved by raising the deposition pressure. Degree of electromigration (EM) resistance enhancement was observed to be dependent on the deposited Co thickness. Compared to the no-Co control, significant EM lifetime enhancement was observed when the Co cap is thicker than 6 nm.

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Characterization of “Ultrathin-Cu”/Ru(Ta)/TaN Liner Stack for Copper Interconnects

Cited by 84 publications

References 6 publications

Potassium Permanganate-Based Slurry to Reduce the Galvanic Corrosion of the Cu/Ru/TiN Barrier Liner Stack during CMP in the BEOL Interconnects

Potassium Permanganate-Based Slurry to Reduce the Galvanic Corrosion of the Cu/Ru/TiN Barrier Liner Stack during CMP in the BEOL Interconnects

The Development of Cu Filling and Reliability Performance with Ru-Ta Alloy Barrier for Cu Interconnects

Characterization of Copper Electromigration Dependence on Selective Chemical Vapor Deposited Cobalt Capping Layer Thickness

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