Claims
- 1. A computer storage medium containing a software routine that, when executed, causes a general purpose computer to control a deposition chamber using a layer deposition method, comprising:
positioning a substrate in a deposition chamber; providing a gas mixture to the deposition chamber, wherein the gas mixture comprises a silicon source, a carbon source, and a nitrogen source; reacting the gas mixture in the presence of an electric field to form a nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer on the substrate; and then
exposing the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer to a plasma by:
providing one or more inert gas to a process chamber having the substrate therein with the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer formed thereon; and applying an electric field to the one or more inert gas to generate a plasma in the process chamber.
- 2. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the silicon source and the carbon source comprise an organosilane compound having the general formula SixCyHz, wherein x has a range of 1 to 2, y has a range of 1 to 6, and z has a range of 4 to 18, and the nitrogen source is selected from the group consisting of ammonia (NH3), nitrogen (N2), and combinations thereof.
- 3. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the gas mixture further comprises an inert gas selected from the group consisting of helium (He), argon (Ar), neon (Ne), and combinations thereof.
- 4. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the ratio of the silicon source to the nitrogen source in the gas mixture has a range of about 1:1 to about 1:100, the substrate is heated to a temperature between about 150° C. to about 450° C., the deposition chamber is maintained at a pressure between about 1 torr to about 15 torr, either of the silicon source or the carbon source is provided to the deposition chamber at a flow rate in a range of about 10 sccm to about 4,000 sccm, and the nitrogen source is provided to the deposition chamber at a flow rate in a range of about 50 sccm to about 10,000 sccm.
- 5. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the electric field is generated from one or more radio frequency (RF) powers at a power level of about 1 watt/cm2 to about 10 watts/cm2.
- 6. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer has a dielectric constant less than about 5.5.
- 7. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer is an anti-reflective coating (ARC) at wavelengths less than about 250 nm.
- 8. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the exposing the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer to a plasma comprises selecting the one or more inert gas from the group consisting of helium (He), argon (Ar), neon (Ne), and combinations thereof, maintaining the process chamber at a pressure in a range of about 5 torr to about 10 torr, providing the one or more inert gas to the process chamber at a flow rate in a range of about 1,000 sccm to about 7,000 sccm, and applying the electric field by a radio frequency (RF) power level of about 1 watt/cm2 to about 10 watts/cm2.
- 9. A computer storage medium containing a software routine that, when executed, causes a general purpose computer to control a deposition chamber using a layer deposition method, comprising:
positioning a substrate in a deposition chamber; providing a gas mixture to the deposition chamber, wherein the gas mixture comprises a silicon source, a carbon source, and a nitrogen source; reacting the gas mixture in the presence of an electric field to form a nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer on the substrate; and forming a silicon carbide cap layer on the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer.
- 10. The computer storage medium of claim 9, wherein the forming the silicon carbide cap layer comprises terminating the nitrogen source in the gas mixture while providing a gas mixture comprising a silicon source and a carbon source.
- 11. The computer storage medium of claim 9, wherein the silicon source and the carbon source comprise an organosilane compound having the general formula SixCyHz, wherein x has a range of 1 to 2, y has a range of 1 to 6, and z has a range of 4 to 18, and the nitrogen source is selected from the group consisting of ammonia (NH3), nitrogen (N2), and combinations thereof.
- 12. The computer storage medium of claim 9, wherein the gas mixture further comprises an inert gas selected from the group consisting of helium (He), argon (Ar), neon (Ne), and combinations thereof.
- 13. The computer storage medium of claim 9, wherein the ratio of the silicon source to the nitrogen source in the gas mixture has a range of about 1:1 to about 1:100, the substrate is heated to a temperature in a range of about 150° C. to about 450° C., the deposition chamber is maintained at a pressure between about 1 torr to about 15 torr, either of the silicon source or the carbon source is provided to the deposition chamber at a flow rate in a range of about 10 sccm to about 4,000 sccm, and the nitrogen source is provided to the deposition chamber at a flow rate in a range of about 50 sccm to about 10,000 sccm.
- 14. The computer storage medium of claim 9, wherein the electric field is generated from one or more radio frequency (RF) powers with a power range of about 1 watt/cm2 to about 10 watts/cm2.
- 15. The computer storage medium of claim 9, wherein the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer has a dielectric constant less than about 5.5.
- 16. The computer storage medium of claim 9, wherein the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer is an anti-reflective coating (ARC) at wavelengths less than about 250 nm.
- 17. A computer storage medium containing a software routine that, when executed, causes a general purpose computer to control a deposition chamber using a layer deposition method, comprising:
providing a substrate having a metal layer thereon; forming a nitrogen-containing silicon carbide barrier layer on the metal layer, wherein the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide barrier layer is formed by reacting a gas mixture comprising a silicon source, a carbon source, and a nitrogen source in the presence of an electric field; forming a first dielectric layer on the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide barrier layer; forming a nitrogen-containing silicon carbide hard mask on the first dielectric layer, wherein the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide hard mask is formed by reacting a silicon source, a carbon source, and a nitrogen source in the presence of an electric field; patterning the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide hard mask to define vias therethrough; forming a second dielectric layer on the patterned nitrogen-containing silicon carbide hard mask; patterning the second dielectric layer to define interconnects therethrough, wherein the interconnects are positioned over the vias defined in the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide hard mask; transferring the via pattern through the first dielectric layer using the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide hard mask as a mask; and filling the vias and interconnects with a conductive material.
- 18. The computer storage medium of claim 17, further comprising forming a silicon carbide cap layer on the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide barrier layer, on the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide hard mask, or both.
- 19. The computer storage medium of claim 18, wherein the forming the silicon carbide cap layer comprises terminating the nitrogen source in the gas mixture while providing a gas mixture comprising a silicon source and a carbon source.
- 20. The computer storage medium of claim 17, wherein the forming the silicon carbide cap layer on the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide hard mask comprises terminating the nitrogen source in the gas mixture while providing a gas mixture comprising a silicon source and a carbon source.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/793,818, filed on Feb. 23, 2001, which is herein incorporated by reference.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09793818 |
Feb 2001 |
US |
Child |
10375793 |
Feb 2003 |
US |