Ultrathin integrated ion metal plasma titanium and metallorganic titanium nitride liners for sub 0.18 μm W based metallization schemes for >500 MHz microprocessors

While it is believed that Copper Metallization will emerge as a mainstream interconnect scheme for sub 0.18 μm technology node, a significant number of leading semiconductor manufacturers have extended W based Interconnect schemes to sub 0.18 μm technology node. This extension of W based interconnects has placed a significant emphasis on the development of ultra-thin, low resistivity, conformal Titanium and Titanium Nitride liners. Furthermore, these conformal liners need to be deposited at low temperatures in order to integrate with a variety of promising low-k dielectric materials. While numerous deposition technologies (Ion Metal Plasma, Longthrow, Hollow Cathode sputtering) have been investigated for depositing Titanium and Titanium Nitride liners, integrated Ion Metal Plasma (IMP) Titanium and Metallorganic CVD (MOCVD) TiN has emerged as the most promising technology for depositing these ultra thin conformal liners. This study will specifically address the results of integrating IMP Ti and MOCVD TiN on a high vacuum system. Results of design of experiments (DOEs) used for process characterization and optimizing device parametric such as contact and via resistance will be discussed, in particular with respect to unlanded via schemes. Finally, Cost of Ownership (COO) calculations will be presented in comparison to conventional PVD technologies. In , the integration of IMP Ti and MOCVD TiN enables the deposition of a highly cost effective, low resistivity, ultra-thin, and low-temperature liners for sub 0.18 μm technology node thereby enabling > 500 MHz microprocessor technology.