Patent · US Expired

Method of eliminating metal voiding in a titanium nitride/aluminum processing

US5338423A · kind A · utility

13Cited by
3References
14Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 6, 1992
Grant dateAug 16, 1994
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 6, 2012

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01L21/76877
  • WIPO fieldSurface technology, coating
  • WIPO sectorChemistry

Abstract

The present invention concerns a method of preventing the staining and voiding in an aluminum layer. This staining and voiding was found to be caused by cross-contamination of nitrogen from other processing steps in a multi-chambered wafer processing device. The present invention avoids the staining and voiding by introducing a pumping-out step of an aluminum layer sputtering chamber to remove some of the nitrogen from the aluminum layer deposition chamber before sputtering the aluminum layer onto the silicon wafer. Alternately, the temperature of the aluminum layer deposition step can be reduced to 310.degree. C. or less to prevent the staining or voiding.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.