Barrier studies on porous silk semiconductor dielectric

Barrier integrity of Ta-films deposited using the enhanced coverage by re-sputtering (EnCoRe) barrier was investigated on untreated surfaces of blanket porous SiLK semiconductor dielectric (developmental version 7, hereinafter v7). Barrier integrity of a bi-layer EnCoRe Ta(N)/Ta film was studied on single damascene lines using v7 and porous SiLK semiconductor dielectric (developmental version 9, hereinafter v9). On blanket wafers more than 30 nm barrier thickness is necessary to achieve complete pore sealing. Analysis of the sheet resistance showed that when tantalum is deposited, a low resistivity α-phase is nucleated on the low-k surface. When deposited onto single damascene structures, EnCoRe Ta(N)/Ta is successful in providing a continuous metallic barrier layer over v7 and v9 semiconductor dielectric lines.