Title :
Designing particles out of the deposition process-titanium nitride films
Author :
Dharmadhikari, V.S. ; Brennan, W. ; Diebold, Alain C. ; Schlueter, J. ; Blake, J.
Author_Institution :
SEMATECH, Austin, TX, USA
Abstract :
A reactive sputtering process for deposition of high-quality TiN films was demonstrated. Continuous process/hardware improvement has enabled achievement of a robust TiN production process in VLSI manufacturing. The source of the particles produced during reactive sputtering has been identified. Analysis of the results indicates that the particles are produced at the target surface and are a strong function of the process parameters. By optimizing the process parameters the particle density on the TiN films has been reduced by a factor of 16, from a previous average of >2.3 particles/cm2 to ⩽0.15 particles/cm2 for particles 0.5 μm and over. A brief discussion on particle measurement gauge capability and caution in interpretation of the particle data on TiN films is also presented
Keywords :
VLSI; integrated circuit manufacture; semiconductor technology; sputter deposition; titanium compounds; 0.5 micron; TiN films; VLSI manufacturing; deposition process; diffusion barriers; particle density; particle measurement; process parameters; reactive sputtering process; robust TiN production process; Contamination; Design optimization; Manufacturing; Particle measurements; Semiconductor films; Sputtering; Temperature sensors; Tin; Titanium; Very large scale integration;
Conference_Titel :
Semiconductor Manufacturing Science Symposium, 1991. ISMSS 1991., IEEE/SEMI International
Conference_Location :
Burlingame, CA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-0027-0
DOI :
10.1109/ISMSS.1991.146280
