Superfilling CVD of copper using a catalytic surfactant

Abstract

Chemical vapor deposition of copper using iodine as catalytic surfactant fills sub-micron holes and trenches in bottom-up fashion and results a leveled film surface. Accelerated film growth in holes and trenches seems due to the accumulation of the catalytic surfactant at the bottom of the holes and trenches caused by the reduction of surface area during the film growth. High growth rate and good filling and leveling capability make this deposition method a strong candidate for manufacturing metal interconnect of next-generation microelectronic devices. It suggests that use of surfactants may enable other applications previously considered not viable in vacuum deposition.

Selective Filling and Sintering of Copper Nanoclusters for Interconnect

“…Hence, the purity of the Cu clusters which can in principle be at least as good as in iPVD processes, is in strong contrast with the significant level of impurities that are incorporated into interconnect structures by ECD processes [19]. Although selective filling has been demonstrated in electro-deposition and a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process [20], this is the first time it has been achieved with a technique which intrinsically produced high purity metal.…”