Systems and methods of forming tantalum silicide layers

Abstract

A method of forming (and apparatus for forming) tantalum silicide layers (including tantalum silicon nitride layers), which are typically useful as diffusion barrier layers, on a substrate by using a vapor deposition process with a tantalum halide precursor compound, a silicon precursor compound, and an optional nitrogen precursor compound.

Description

[0001] This is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 229,813, filed Aug. 28, 2002, (pending), which is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to methods of forming tantalum layers containing silicon (suicide layers) and optionally nitrogen (silicon-nitride layers) on substrates using a vapor deposition process. The formed tantalum-containing layers are particularly useful as diffusion barriers for polysilicon substrates to reduce diffusion of oxygen, copper, or silicon. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] In very-large-scale integration (VLSI) technology, tantalum suicide has been proposed to be useful in a variety of applications. These include: policide gate metallization (i.e., the use of tantalum silicide in combination with a doped polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) underlayer as a low resistive gate metallization layer); silicide gate (i.e., the use of tantalum silicide as a directly deposited layer on a gate oxide to ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0017]“Barrier layer” as used herein refers to a conductive, interfacial layer that can reduce diffusion of ambient oxygen through a dielectric layer into a semiconductor substrate (typically a polysilicon substrate) or can reduce diffusion of one layer into another, such as a copper conductive layer into a semiconductor substrate (typically a polysilicon substrate). For this invention, the barrier layer is a tantalum silicide or tantalum silicon nitride layer.

[0021]“Atomic layer deposition” (ALD) as used herein refers to a vapor deposition process in which numerous consecutive deposition cycles are conducted in a deposition chamber. Typically, during each cycle the metal precursor is chemisorbed to the substrate surface; excess precursor is purged out; a subsequent precursor and / or reaction gas is introduced to react with the chemisorbed layer; and excess reaction gas (if used) and by-products are removed. As compared to the one cycle chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, the longer duration multi-cycle ALD process allows for improved control of layer thickness by self-limiting layer growth and minimizing detrimental gas phase reactions by separation of the reaction components. The term “atomic layer deposition” as used herein is also meant to include the related terms “atomic layer epitaxy” (ALE) (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,244 (Ackerman)), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), gas source MBE, organometallic MBE, and chemical beam epitaxy when performed with alternating pulses of precursor compound(s), reaction gas and purge (i.e., inert carrier) gas.

Problems solved by technology

However, when PVD methods are used, the stoichiometric composition of the formed metal silicon nitride barrier layers such as Ta—Si—N can be non-uniform across the substrate surface due to different sputter yields of Ta, Si, and N. Due to the resulting poor layer conformality, defects such as pinholes often occur in such layers creating pathways to diffusion.

Images