Claims
- 1. A method of thin film deposition, 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.
- 2. The method of claim 1, 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.
- 3. The method 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.
- 4. The method 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.
- 5. The method 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 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.
- 6. The method of claim 1, 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.
- 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer has a dielectric constant less than about 5.5.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer is an anti-reflective coating (ARC) at wavelengths less than about 250 nm.
- 9. A method of thin film deposition, 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; forming a silicon carbide cap layer on the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer; defining a pattern in at least one region of the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer and silicon carbide cap layer; and transferring the pattern defined in the at least one region of the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer and silicon carbide cap layer into the substrate using the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer and silicon carbide cap layer as a mask.
- 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising removing the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer and silicon carbide cap layer from the substrate.
- 11. The method of claim 9, wherein definition of the pattern in the at least one region of the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer and silicon carbide cap layer, comprises:
forming a layer of energy sensitive resist material on the silicon carbide cap layer; introducing an image of the pattern into the layer of energy sensitive resist material by exposing the energy sensitive resist material to patterned radiation; developing the image of the pattern introduced into the layer of energy sensitive resist material; and transferring the pattern through the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer and silicon carbide cap layer using the layer of energy sensitive resist material as a mask.
- 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
forming an intermediate layer on the silicon carbide cap layer prior to forming the layer of energy sensitive resist material thereon, introducing the image of the pattern to the intermediate layer, and developing the pattern; transferring the image of the pattern developed in the layer of energy sensitive resist material through the intermediate layer using the layer energy sensitive resist material as a mask; and transferring the pattern through the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer and silicon carbide cap layer using the intermediate layer as a mask.
- 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the intermediate layer is an oxide selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide and fluorosilicate glass (FSG).
- 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer and silicon carbide cap layer is removed from the substrate using a fluorine-based compound selected from the group consisting of carbon tetrafluoride (CF4) and trifluoromethane (CF3H).
- 15. The method of claim 9, wherein the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer is an anti-reflective coating (ARC) at wavelengths less than about 250 nm (nanometers).
- 16. The method of claim 9, wherein the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide layer has an absorption coefficient (κ) within a range of about 0.1 to about 0.6 at wavelengths less than about 250 nm and an index of refraction within a range of about 1.6 to about 2.2.
- 17. A method of fabricating a metal interconnect structure, 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 silicon carbide cap layer on the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide barrier layer; 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 method of claim 17, wherein the forming the silicon carbide cap layer on the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide barrier layer comprises terminating the nitrogen source in the gas mixture while providing a gas mixture comprising a silicon source and a carbon source.
- 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising forming a silicon carbide cap layer on the nitrogen-containing silicon carbide hard mask.
- 20. The method of claim 19, 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 continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/793,818, filed on Feb. 23, 2001, which is herein incorporated by reference.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09793818 |
Feb 2001 |
US |
Child |
10375853 |
Feb 2003 |
US |