Feature fill with multi-stage nucleation inhibition
US10580654B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 13, 2018 |
| Grant date | Mar 3, 2020 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 13, 2038 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH10B43/27
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Described herein are methods of filling features with tungsten, and related systems and apparatus, involving inhibition of tungsten nucleation. In some embodiments, the methods involve selective inhibition along a feature profile. Methods of selectively inhibiting tungsten nucleation can include exposing the feature to a direct or remote plasma. The methods include performing multi-stage inhibition treatments including intervals between stages. One or more of plasma source power, substrate bias power, or treatment gas flow may be reduced or turned off during an interval. The methods described herein can be used to fill vertical features, such as in tungsten vias, and horizontal features, such as vertical NAND (VNAND) wordlines. The methods may be used for both conformal fill and bottom-up/inside-out fill. Examples of applications include logic and memory contact fill, DRAM buried wordline fill, vertically integrated memory gate and wordline fill, and 3-D integration using through-silicon vias.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.