Method for chemical vapor deposition of copper, silver, and gold using a cyclopentadienyl metal complex

0001This invention relates to chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of group IB metals, and specifically Cu, Ag, and Au, and more particularly to an improved CVD method wherein films of very high quality can be formed at low temperatures, using either thermal or radiation beam-induced CVD.

0002The deposition of metals from the vapor phase is important in many industries, and in particular in the electronics industry. In this industry, metallic depositions are often undertaken, involving metals such as copper, silver, gold, tungsten, etc. In particular, these metals are often used for interconnection lines and in packaging for semiconductor chips, circuits, and packages. Another application of these metals is their deposition into vias, trenches, and other recesses or stepped structures. Such requirements and uses are apparent in the semiconductor industry and in packaging where multilevel interconnections through openings in insulating layers have to be provided.

0003In the environment of microelectronic circuitry and packaging, it is often the situation that low temperature processes are required in order to preserve the necessary characteristics of underlying layers. For example, most photosensitive resists cannot be subjected to temperatures above about 175°C without losing their ability to be exposed, developed, and patterned. As another example, most polymer layers, such as polyimide, require processing temperatures less than the glass transition temperature of the polymer in order to maintain the desired properties of the polymer. Thus, it is important to provide a technique for depositing metal lines at temperatures which are sufficiently low that the technique can be used in the presence of other layers having temperature-sensitive properties.

0004In the microelectronics industry, as well as in other industries, it is also the situation that the deposition must occur onto substrates which have irregular topography. For example, in semiconductor structures, interconnection lines must often be provided over nonplanar surfaces, including those having steps defining an irregular surface. A technique providing conformal deposition, i.e., deposition of continuous layers over irregular substrates, is a necessity. In this type of an environment where conformal deposition is required, techniques such as evaporation and sputtering (which are line-of-sight techniques) cannot be used. For this purpose, CVD techniques are preferred. However, CVD of metals, while being generally known, has not been extensively practiced due to the following reasons, among others: poor film quality, requirement of high processing temperatures; incorporation of impurities and other defects in the deposited film; the inability to transport vapors of the metal complex without decomposition of the vapors, and the instability of the precursors used in the deposition systems. Most generally, it is desired to deposit films having excellent electrical conductivity, which means that the films must have minimal carbon and oxygen contamination. Presently known CVD techniques have not been successful, particularly with respect to providing films of very high quality.

0005Both thermal and laser-induced deposition of metals from the gas phase has been attempted in the art. Published studies have generally described metals and elements whose volatile precursors are readily available from commercial sources, usually metal alkyls or metal carbonyls. For example, chromium has been deposited from chromium carbonyl and cadmium has been deposited from dimethyl cadmium. These materials, and others, have been used for maskless writing of metals, microelectronic circuit fabrication, metal line repair, and metal mask repair. A metal of considerable importance and one which has not heretofore been successfully deposited by CVD is copper. One reason may be the lack of a suitable precursor since copper carbonyl does not exist for practical purposes and copper alkyls are polymeric and nonvolatile. F.A. Houle et al, Appl. Phys. Lett. <u style="single">46</u> begin (2), Jan. 1985, at page 204 describes laser-induced CVD of copper using a volatile copper coordination complex. The precursor was bis-(1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedionate) copper(II), CuHF. This same compound was also used to make copper films by thermal CVD using a low pressure system as noted by Houle et al.

0006Thermal CVD of copper has previously been reported from other precursors such as CuCl₂ and Cu(C₅H₇O₂)₂. The copper chloride system requires the addition of hydrogen as a reductant, and operates at temperatures of 400-1200°C. The products of the reaction are copper and hydrogen chloride, and a reasonable mechanism for this reaction probably involves disassociative chemisorption of both reactants followed by a surface reaction to make HCl which then desorbs. When copper is deposited from copper acetylacetonates, hydrogen is also required in most cases. Generally, the formation of copper from these sources produces poor material of high resistivity.

0007Another reference generally describing techniques for forming metals on glass surfaces is U.S. Patent 4,321,073. This reference mentions laser beam dissociation of metal-containing compounds on a glass fiber in order to coat the fiber with the metal. Many classes of organo-transition metal complexes, coordination complexes and metal halides are mentioned in this reference, which is directed to the use of a radiant energy beam to heat the glass substrate in order to dissociate the metal-containing compound.

0008Other references generally describing the coating of the metal by heating a metal-containing compound include U.S. Patents 3,438,805; 4,478,890; and 4,574,095. In the first of these, a metal such as copper is coated by heating a metal salt/phosphine complex in the presence of this substrate. The second reference describes the deposition of nickel using a Ni-olefin-trifluorophosphine complex which is decomposed. The last of these references describes Cu deposition using Pd seeds where a Pd-containing compound vapor is irradiated with laser light or exposed to a laser-heated substrate in order to reduce the compound vapor to Pd.

0009While the prior art generally recognizes the desirability of CVD of metals such as copper, the precursors and techniques previously tried have not been successful, for reasons such as those described hereinabove. In particular, these prior techniques require either unrealistically high processing temperatures or produce films that are contaminated with carbon and/or oxygen. The use of chloride precursors in particular has required high processing temperatures while the use of acetylacetonate precursors has led to the deposition of films with high levels of carbon and/or oxygen.

0010Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved technique for CVD of copper and other group IB metals wherein films of high quality can be deposited at low temperatures.

0011It is another object of this invention to provide improved CVD processes for the deposition of Cu, Ag, and Au films of high quality and good surface morphology.

0012The low temperature requirement for the deposition of transition metals is most easily met by the decomposition of an organometallic compound. However, for certain metals such as copper, this is made difficult by the instability of organocopper compounds and their tendency to form nonvolatile oligimers and polymers. For example, binary alkyl copper complexes undergo autocatalytic decomposition to alkanes or alkenes and copper metal at temperatures too low for the compounds to have sufficient volatility. This means that very little precursor will arrive at the substrate and large amounts of the reactants will be lost. In the case of binary arylcopper complexes, these materials are more stable but their oligomeric structure lowers their volatility to the point that decomposition occurs before transport. Again, this means that insufficient quantities of reactants will be delivered to the substrate.

0013It is another object of this invention to provide a class of precursor compounds which can be used in thermal CVD and laser induced CVD processes without the problems described in the previous paragraph.

0014It is another object of this invention to provide a unique class of precursor compounds which can be utilized in thermal and radiation beam-induced CVD to deposit copper and group IB metals of high quality at low temperatures.

0015It is another object of this invention to provide a class of improved precursors for thermal and light-induced CVD of Cu, Ag, and Au.

0016It is a further object of this invention to provide thermal and radiation beam-induced CVD of Cu, Ag, and Au layers on substrates wherein the layers that are deposited exhibit high quality and good surface morphology, and are continuous.

0017It is another object of this invention to provide an improved technique for the deposition of Cu, Ag, Au films onto substrates of different shapes, the process providing high quality conformal deposition onto the substrates.

0018It is another object of this invention to provide an improved thermal and radiation beam-induced CVD process for depositing Cu, Ag, and Au, where the technique is directly applicable to the manufacture and processing of semiconductor devices and structures, being suitable for applications such as chip metallization and repair of conducting lines.

0019It is another object of this invention to provide an improved technique for thermal and radiation beam-induced CVD of Cu, Ag, and Au where the temperature used in the deposition can be tailored to be sufficiently low that these films can be deposited on substrates whose properties are very temperature-sensitive.

0020This invention broadly describes thermal and radiation beam-induced CVD processes for depositing high quality metals from group IB of the periodic table, and specifically Cu, Ag, and Au at low temperature on all types of substrates (see claims 1 and 16). The invention also comprises a thermal or radiation beam-induced CVD process for simultaneously depositing these metals, in particular Cu and Al, on a substrate (see claim 18). Broadly, thermal CVD includes any type of apparatus in which the substrate and/or the gaseous precursor is heated and could include standard thermal reactors such as cold wall, hot substrate reactors, as well as radiation beam reactors where a beam (such as a laser beam) is used to heat the substrate and/or gaseous precursor. However, in the art it is common to refer to these techniques separately so that thermal CVD implies the use of thermal reactor (FIG. 1) while radiation beam-induced CVD implies the use of a beam apparatus such as that shown in FIG. 2.

0021The deposition techniques of this invention are based on the discovery of the applicability of molecules which can be used as a precursor for the deposition of these group IB metals. The invention is also based on the discovery that the quality of the metal film which is deposited depends on the oxidation state of the metal in the precursor molecule complex. Thus, the oxidation state of the metal in the precursor complex is +1, which is a distinction over the usual oxidation state (+2) used in prior art precursors.

0022In these CVD processes, the precursor is a compound containing a cyclopentadienyl ring, a neutral 2 electron donor ligand, and the group IB metal (Cu, Ag, Au) in a +1 oxidation state. The 2 electron donor ligand is selected from the group consisting of trivalent phosphines, amines, and arsines. The cyclopentadienyl ring can be replaced by a derivative of this ring, where the substituents on the ring would include those chosen from alkyl, halide, and pseudo halide groups. Thus, the precursor for thermal or radiation beam-induced CVD is a group IB metal cyclopentadienyl complex coordinated by a 2 electron donor ligand, such as a phosphine ligand. As an example of a suitable precursor complex for the deposition of copper, trialkylphosphine (cyclopentadienyl copper I) complexes have been successfully used to deposit analytically pure copper at temperatures between about 120 and 220°C.

0023In a typical CVD process, the substrate on which deposition is to occur is placed in a reactor and is heated to a temperature sufficient to cause the decomposition of vapors of the precursor complex. When these vapors are introduced into the reactor and transport to the vicinity of the substrate, they will decompose thereat to deposit the group IB metal. It is believed that the decomposition includes the initial dissociation of the 2 electron donor phosphine ligand, followed by the reduction of the group IB metal by the cyclopentadienyl ligand. The cyclopentadienyl ligand yields one electron to the group IB metal causing it to deposit onto the substrate. During this process, the cyclopentadienyl ligand is eliminated by dimerizing to a stable, volatile molecule that takes the carbon atoms with it.

0024No other precursors are known which will provide high quality, substantially pure copper deposits on a plurality of substrates at low temperatures. All previously known precursors for copper deposition do not yield analytically pure copper, but instead yield copper having ligands, carbon, and oxygen in the deposited metals. Additionally, no phosphorous, or insubstantial amounts, appear in the deposited copper film when this precursor is used. The low temperature chemistry of this decomposition reaction, the use of the metal to be deposited in the +1 oxidation state, and the chemistry wherein the cyclopentadienyl ring dimerizes to produce a stable and volatile molecule allowing the deposition of a clean metal, are all features which are not taught or suggested by the art, and have been discovered only through applicants' experimentation.

0025Any type of substrate can be used, including metals, semiconductors, insulators, polymers, ceramics etc. In a thermal reactor CVD system, it is preferable that the decomposition reaction occur at the substrate, and for this reason it is preferable to heat the substrate to a temperature in excess of the decomposition temperature of the precursor complex. In a radiation beam-induced CVD technique, the radiation (such as a laser beam) is preferably used to heat the substrate so that the decomposition of the precursor occurs at the substrate. If the radiation wavelength is such that it is absorbed via an electronic transition by the precursor molecule to cause a photochemical change that alters the decomposition process, it has been found that the quality of the deposited film may not be as good as that of the films formed when the radiation is instead only used to heat the substrate and/or gaseous precursor (i.e., when no photochemical change occurs).

0026These CVD processes can be used to provide blanket deposition of Cu, Ag, and Au on substrates, as well as to provide deposition of these metals on selected areas of the substrate, or deposition through a masking material, such as a resist material. Further, these processes provide conformal deposition so that the metals can be deposited as continuous layers into recesses, trenches, and vias, and over stepped surfaces.

0027These and other objects, features, and advantages will be apparent from the following more particular description of the preferred embodiments. <dl id="dl0001"><dt>FIG. 1</dt><dd>schematically represents one of many different types of apparatus that can be used for thermal CVD in accordance with the principles of the present invention.</dd><dt>FIG. 2</dt><dd>schematically represents one of many different types of apparatus that can be used to accomplish radiation beam-induced CVD in accordance with the principles of the present invention.</dd></dl>

Description of the Preferred Embodiments

0028This invention broadly relates to CVD of Cu and group IB metals such as Ag and Au onto substrates, where the CVD process can be either thermally driven or radiation beam-induced. Generally, the substrate onto which deposition is to occur is heated in order to have the decomposition reaction occur at the substrate. As noted, if the gaseous precursor is photochemically decomposed by UV radiation in the gas phase, the quality of the deposited film may not be as high as when the decomposition reaction occurs thermally at either the substrate surface or in the gas phase. Generally, if the decomposition reaction is as noted, the purity of the deposited film will be excellent.

0029In a suitable thermal CVD process, the apparatus is generally a cold wall, hot substrate apparatus in which vapors of the precursor complex travel to the substrate and decompose thereat in order to deposit the metal. In a radiation beam-induced process in accordance with this invention, the radiation is preferably directed to the substrate surface in order to heat the surface. If the radiation is absorbed by the gaseous precursor and causes photochemical changes therein, impurities may be found in the deposited film and its quality will not be as high. The term "radiation beam-induced" refers to any type of radiation which can be used to heat the substrate and/or gas precursor and includes, for example, both light and electron beam radiation. Thus, radiation can be used to provide thermal CVD, as for example when IR radiation is used to heat the gaseous precursor. If the wavelength of the radiation is such that a photochemical change occurs in the precursor, a nonthermal effect will be present that may alter the products of decomposition and render the film less pure. In a preferred embodiment, the light is produced by a laser which is focused and directed to a substrate in order to heat the substrate to a temperature sufficient to decompose the gaseous precursor.

0030For deposition in accordance with this invention, a unique precursor complex is used. This complex includes a cyclopentadienyl ring, a 2 electron donor ligand, and the group IB transition metal which is in a +1 oxidation state. Derivatives of the cyclopentadienyl ring include substituents selected from the class including alkyl groups, halide groups, and pseudo halide groups. As known by those of skill in the art, the alkyl groups include, for example, methyl (CH₃), ethyl (C₂H₅), propyl (C₃H₇), butyl (C₄H₉), etc. groups. The 2 electron donor ligand gives stability to the cyclopentadienyl metal complex in order to allow it to be transportable without decomposition, and is a ligand selected from the group consisting of trivalent phosphines, amines, and arsines. As an example, a precursor for the chemical vapor deposition of high quality copper films is triethylphosphine cyclopentadienyl copper (I). This complex was first prepared by Wilkinson in 1956 as reported in G. Wilkinson et al, J. Inorganic Nuclear Chemistry, 2, 32, (1956).

0031A systematic procedure for the synthesis of compounds of the formula C₅H₅CuL, where L is a 2 electron donor ligand, was developed by Marks and Cotton in 1970, as explained by F.A. Cotton and T.J. Marks, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 92, 5114 (1970). In their paper, Marks and Cotton report that the cyclopentadienyl copper complexes of carbon monoxide and methyl isocyanide deposit metallic copper from solution on standing at room temperatures, and that the trimethylphosphite complex slowly deposits copper from the solid at room temperature. No mention was made of the decomposition products of phosphine complexes.

0032The order of stability appears to correlate strongly with the sigma donor abilities of the ligand. This implies that the rate limiting step in these decomposition reactions is the dissociation of the two electron donor ligand. As will be seen further, cyclopentadienyl copper adducts of triethylphosphine, trimethylphosphine, and tributylphosphine have been used to deposit copper films of high purity by chemical vapor deposition. All of these compounds will deposit copper in the 150-220°C range and all have sufficient vapor pressure to transport in a vacuum system without decomposition. As noted, these adducts of cyclopentadienyl copper (I) can be prepared by the technique by Cotton and Marks. The previously unreported trimethylphosphine derivative is prepared by a modification of this procedure in which the solvent and the phosphine are changed. The solvent is changed from hexane to diethyl ether while the phosphine is changed from triethylphosphine to trimethylphosphine. The rest of the procedure is exactly that described by Cotton and Marks.

0033These compounds all have a "half-sandwich" structure with a pentahapto-cyclopentadienyl ring (all five carbon atoms bound to the transition metal). The structure of a triethylphosphine derivative of the cyclopentadienyl copper I) complex is shown below: <chemistry id="chem0001" num="0001"><img file="EP0297348B1_D0001.tif" /></chemistry>

0034In the following discussion concerning the decomposition of these precursors, it will be assumed that the metal to be deposited is Cu. A similar decomposition process would occur if the metal were another group IB metal such as Ag and Au. Thus, it is proposed that the mechanism of decomposition of all C₅H₅CuL compounds is loss of the ligand L as the rate determining step, followed by the formation of an unstable cyclopentadienyl copper species which decomposes by a homolytic cleavage of the copper-carbon bond. The order of stability of the precursor appears to correlate strongly with the sigma donor abilities of the two electron donor ligand. After dissociation of the donor ligand, a rapid decomposition of the 16 electron C₅H₅Cu fragments results. The Cu⁺¹ is converted to Cu⁰ by the addition of an electron from the cyclopentadienyl ring after which the cyclopentadienyl ligand is eliminated by dimerization to a stable, volatile molecule that takes the carbon atoms with it. The stability trend and evidence suggests that the organic product of the decomposition is 9, 10-dihydrofulvalene. This further suggests that the mechanism for the decomposition of the alkyl phosphine cyclopentadienyl copper complexes is the surface adsorption and dissociation of the molecules to give free alkylphosphine and unstable adsorbed cyclopentadienyl copper. This is followed by coupling of the organic radical fragments which then desorb, leaving a pure copper film. As noted, these groups IB metals can be deposited on many different types of substrates, including metal, semiconductors such as silicon, insulators such as SiO₂, and polymers. Generally, transition metal surfaces catalyze the deposition of other metals thereon, and require less heating in order to have the decomposition reaction occur.

0035Although the decomposition of the precursor begins somewhat at about 70°C, a somewhat higher temperature (at least about 120°C) is generally required to have a sufficiently high growth rate at the substrate. Temperatures up to about 250°C have been used for the deposition of copper from trialkylphosphine (cyclopentadienyl) copper I complexes. If the temperature is too great, there could be adverse decomposition of the precursor in the gaseous phase, causing impurities in the deposited film. These higher temperatures would cause secondary decomposition of phosphine and hydrocarbons would appear in the deposited film. Further, the low growth temperatures (120-250°C) are sufficiently low that growth onto most polymer substrates can be undertaken since these temperatures are less than the glass transition temperature of most polymers. Still further, a temperature of 120-150°C is less than the temperatures (about 175°C) at which resist materials are altered.

0036Generally, vacuum systems are used for CVD of these metals. There is no criticality with respect to the pressure in the system, operating pressures of 13.3 - 133 µbar having been used. These pressures are determined by the vapor pressure of the precursor complex, and inert carrier gasses can be added to increase the total pressure. However, there is no need to do so.

0037As will be seen from the examples to follow, high quality metal films can be deposited with thicknesses dependent upon the time and temperature of deposition. Continuous films have been deposited from about 50 nm to about 4.5 microns. The electrical conductivity of these films generally increases as the thickness increases due to the reduction of electron scattering in the grain boundaries, which is a property of the metals. Thus, films having a thickness of about 100 nm and more are most suitable for device purposes.

0038Representative apparatus for CVD of group IB metals such as Cu, Ag and Au are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 1, a CVD reactor 10 is shown which is suitable for thermal CVD of these metals. Reactor 10 is comprised of a vacuum chamber 12, a support holder 14 separated therefrom by the sealing 0-rings 16, and a pumping apparatus 18 including the valve 20 and pumps (not shown) for providing different levels of vacuum in the chamber 12. A substrate holder 22, such as a copper block, holds the substrate 24. Holder 22 is heated, as by resistive heating, using the heater 26. Thermocouple wires 28 are provided to holder 22 in order to measure the temperature of the substrate holder, and therefore the approximate temperature of the substrate 24. The compound 30 which (sublimes) at a slightly elevated temperature to produce the gaseous precursor containing the metal to be deposited is located at the bottom of chamber 12. This type of apparatus is well known in the art, and is representative of many different structures that can be used in the practice of thermal CVD in accordance with the present invention.

0039In operation, the compound 30 is loaded into the reactor chamber 12, and a vacuum of about 1.33 µbar is applied to clean the reactor chamber. After this, the pressure is raised to about 133 µbar which is a suitable deposition pressure. As noted previously, the pressure in the system is not critical. The compound 30 is a solid at room temperature and has a vapor pressure in the µbar range at room temperature. These compounds are somewhat air-stable and do not need to be loaded into the chamber 12 under an inert atmosphere. In order to obtain reasonable transport rates, the exterior walls of the reactor 12 are generally heated to about 70°C. The reactor can be evacuated with a trapped diffusion pump vacuum system and the substrate then heated to the desired temperature (about 150-220°C). The compound 30 then sublimes and the vapors are transported to the vicinity of the heated substrate 24. This initiates decomposition of the gaseous precursor and deposition of the metal onto the substrate 24. Deposition generally continues until all of the precursor complex is transported, which can be typically 15-30 minutes. Unreacted precursor complex will condense in the lines between the reactor and the pump, while more volatile products can be trapped in a liquid nitrogen trap in order to allow subsequent analysis.

0040FIG. 2 shows a radiation beam-induced deposition system in which the radiation source is chosen to be a laser. In more detail, the reaction chamber 32 includes a window 34 through which the beam 36 from the laser 38 enters chamber 32. The laser output is focussed by lens 40 and is directed to the substrate 42 on which deposition is to occur. A boat 44 contains the solid compound 46 which sublimes to produce the gaseous precursor indicated by the particles 48.

0041In operation, the focussed laser beam 36 heats the surface of the substrate 42 on which it is incident, in order to raise the temperature of the substrate sufficiently that decomposition of the gaseous precursor will be produced at the substrate surface. The wavelength of the laser radiation is generally chosen to be in the range where it would be absorbed by the substrate in order to heat the substrate. It is preferable that the wavelength of the radiation not be so short that the gaseous precursor will decompose in the gaseous state. This generally means that the laser wavelength should be in the visible or infrared range, and should not be in the ultraviolet range, as UV wavelengths are sufficiently short that they will be absorbed in these gaseous precursor molecules. As will be seen from the examples to follow, wavelengths in the range of about infrared-350 nm are generally used.

0042In operation, chamber 32 is evacuated by the pumping system (not shown) and the walls of the chamber are heated somewhat to increase the transport rate of the vapors 48. When the laser is turned on, the surface of substrate 42 will be heated and the gaseous precursor will decompose at that location, depositing the metal thereon. The pumping system can be used to remove gaseous byproducts to give high purity deposition.

EXAMPLES

0043The following examples illustrate the deposition of copper onto various substrates using both thermal reactor CVD and radiation beam-induced CVD. The same general principles and results would follow if the deposited metal were Ag or Au.

EXAMPLE I

0044A 50 nm Cr film was evaporated onto a 2.54 cm diameter (1") Si wafer, and this wafer was attached to the substrate holder 22 of the reactor shown in FIG. 1. The reactor was charged with 200 mg of triethylphosphine (cyclopentadienyl) copper(I) in air. The reactor was sealed, and a water-ice bath was placed around the outside of the reactor. The reactor was evacuated to a pressure of 1.33 µbar and the substrate holder 22 was heated to a temperature of 215°C. The water-ice bath was replaced by a 70°C water bath. This temperature change increased the pressure in the reactor to between 13,3 and 133 µbar and copper deposition was observed almost immediately. After 30 minutes all of the precursor compound had transported. The apparatus was filled with gaseous N₂, and allowed to cool to room temperature. The resulting Cu film was 4.4 microns thick, showed no impurities detectable by Auger spectroscopy, and had a resistivity (measured with a four-point probe), of 2.02 ± 0.05 micro ohm-cm. (The bulk resistivity of Cu is 1.70 micro ohm-cm.)

EXAMPLE II

0045A Si wafer was thermally oxidized and subsequently patterned into a series of trenches of varying width. A 20 nm barrier layer was sputtered onto the wafer. Following the general procedure of Example I, a 1.3 µm Cu film was deposited on a substrate heated to a temperature of 175°C. After deposition, the wafer was cleaved and a scanning electron micrograph was taken. This micrograph clearly showed a continuous polycrystalline Cu film, and excellent conformal deposition into a 1 x 2 µm trench. The resistivity of the film was 2.1 micro ohm-cm.

EXAMPLE III

0046A 50 nm Cr layer was deposited on a Si wafer, and a 5.5 µm polyimide layer was deposited on top of the Cr layer. The polyimide layer was patterned to expose the Cr layer at the bottom of 5 µm wide trenches. The general procedure of Example I was followed again using the apparatus of FIG. 1, except that the substrate temperature was 150°C. A 200 to 300 nm Cu layer deposited on the Cr layer without appreciable deposition on the polyimide, indicating a thermal barrier to nucleation on polyimide. (If the substrate temperature were increased, deposition onto the all laser-induce polyimide would occur.)

EXAMPLE IV

0047Twenty milligrams of triethylphosphine(cyclopentadienyl)copper (I) was sealed in an evacuated cell 32 (FIG. 2) equipped with a transparent window 34. The cell was evacuated and a silicon wafer 42 contained in the cell was irradiated with an Ar-CW (514 nm) laser for a period of five minutes. Copper colored spots were observed on the wafer and on the window. The thickness of the spots was about 1.5 µm, with a diameter of about 300 µm. The laser power was estimated to be 5 x 10³ watts/cm². Auger analysis indicated that the spots were copper, with no detectable impurities. Similar results were obtained on SiO₂ substrates. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using this Cu source for circuitry repair.

EXAMPLE V

0048Following the general procedure of Example IV, except that the cell 32 was heated to 70°C to increase the deposition rate, copper lines were "written" onto a polyimide covered silicon wafer by translating the cell under a narrow fixed laser beam 36. The lines were typically 10 µm wide and 1 µm thick. Auger analysis indicated no detectable impurities in the copper lines. These results indicate that the higher temperatures of laser deposition overcome the surface selectivity described in Example III, and demonstrate the feasibility of using this compound to "write" electronic circuitry onto thermally sensitive substrates.

EXAMPLE VI

0049Previous examples (IV, V) described photothermal deposition of Cu from the precursor complex triethylphosphine (cyclopentadienyl)copper(I) using laser wavelengths (such as 514 nm) that are absorbed by the substrates but not by the precursor. In the present example UV laser wavelengths (248, 308 nm) are used that are strongly absorbed by the precursor and which can photochemically decompose the precursor. In all laser-induced photochemical deposition examples, the chamber 32 was heated to 70°C to increase the deposition rate by increasing the vapor pressure of the precursor. While UV laser pulses can produce Cu deposition, the resulting films are not of as high purity as those deposited by either thermal CVD or photo thermal processes.

0050Patterned copper lines were deposited on Si wafers by mask projection techniques using an excimer laser operating at 248 nm, where this precursor absorbs strongly. Typical conditions were 500 pulses at 5 Hz with a power density of ≃150 mJ/cm², producing films ≃150 nm high, which are made of uniformly distributed 50-100 nm size particles. The thickness of the copper deposition from the 248 nm excimer light did not appear to be self-limiting. Features two µm high were produced with 2500 laser pulses. The thin deposits of copper were shiny copper colored, but as the thickness increased with prolonged exposure, the film became noticeably roughened and darker. The morphology of the 2 µm feature is dominated by 500 nm sized particles which are slightly fused together to form a several µm scale surface roughness. The fusing together of the grains could be indicative of high peak temperatures and slight flowing during the intense excimer laser pulse. This structure is to be contrasted with the open stacked structure of the thermally deposited material using a laser wavelength (514 nm) which is not absorbed by the precursor vapor. Auger depth profiles indicate that the deposit is a uniform, even mixture of copper and carbon, with no detectable phosphorous. A plausible explanation for the observed metal quality is clean liberation of the phosphine ligand, but either entrapment or laser fragmentation of the cyclopentadienyl ligand. This explanation agrees with the proposed route for the thermal decomposition involving initial dissociation of the phosphine ligand, followed by reduction of the copper with elimination of the cyclopentadienyl ligand. It was not determined whether the carbon impurities are in the form of incorporated amorphous carbon or intact cyclopentadiene complexes.

0051The average growth rate for the 2 µm high feature is 0.8 nm per laser pulse, but there appears to be an induction period or a period of slow growth at the onset of decomposition. Making the assumption that growth is occurring only during the 30 nsec width of the laser pulse, several monolayers of material growth per laser pulse corresponds to an average growth rate approaching 3 x 10⁴ µm/sec. This is probably an upper bound on the growth rate since any photothermal process would necessarily exhibit material growth over a "cooling" time longer than the excimer laser pulse width. These results are not sufficient to determine whether decomposition is occuring in the gas phase or in an adsorbed layer since the observed growth rate of several monolayers per laser pulse could be obtainable in either case. The collision rate expected at the operating pressure of several hundred µbar, although insufficient to supply adsorbed precursor during the laser pulse (5-10 µsec/monolayer), is probably sufficient to saturate any surface adsorbed phase in the time between laser pulses. It is also noted that there are ≃ 100 incident photons per deposited molecule making a gas phase percursor possible. The moderate degree of spatial resolution achieved during the projection deposition would indicate a significant contribution of growth from decomposition at or near the surface as opposed to gas phase dissociation far from the surface which would produce only broad featureless deposits.

0052To see if the excimer induced deposition could be due to laser light absorption in the substrate followed by thermal decomposition, the experiment was repeated with a XeCl excimer laser operating at 308 nm, where copper and silicon still absorb strongly, but where the laser absorption by the precursor vapor has decreased by an order of magnitude. Films with a limiting thickness of ≃ 100 nm were grown on silicon or on 200 nm SiO₂ on silicon with a power density of 200 mJ/cm². The compositions of the copper films as determined by Auger spectroscopy were ≃65% carbon, ≃35% copper with no detectable phosphorus or oxygen. There were clear indications that deposition occurred with 308 nm irradiation only after an initial damaging of the Si or SiO₂ surface. In contrast, the 248 nm excimer irradiation produced copper films without apparent damage to the silicon surface. It is not possible to say whether the absorption at 248 nm is occurring entirely in the organometallic precursor, or if absorption in the contaminated copper film (which may contain large amounts of hydrocarbon) plays an important role.

0053Both thermal (including photothermal) and U.V. laser induced laser deposition of copper was demonstrated for the first time from triethylphosphine(cyclopentadienyl)copper(I). This volatile organometallic compound, which decomposes cleanly to copper at 150°C, can be used for metallization of thermally sensitive materials.

0054The copper films deposited by thermal CVD were characterized by Auger spectroscopy, electrical resistivity measurements, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). After sputtering the first approximately 20 nm, more of the Auger spectra showed any impurity in the copper films. The resistivity of six films of between 4.4 and 0.3 µm thickness was measured with a four-point resistivity tester. The average resistivity of these films was 2.05 ± .05 micro-ohm-cm, a value only slightly higher than that of bulk copper (1.7 micro-ohm-cm). For a representative film deposited at 165°C, the grains are tightly packed and the grain boundaries are free of precipitates. The average grain size is 0.8 µm, which is comparable to that of sputtered film deposited at 300-400°C.

0055The primary reason for deposition of metals by CVD as opposed to evaporation or sputtering is the ability of CVD to conformally cover all surfaces, including via holes which may be of submicron dimension. As a test of conformality, an oxidized Si wafer which had been patterned in a series of trenches of varying dimension was sputtered with a thin seed layer of TiN, and 1.3 µm of Cu was deposited by thermal CVD at 180°C. The wafer was then cleaved to expose the trenches, and scanning electron micrographs (SEM) were obtained. These showed a 5 µm wide by 2 µm deep trench with excellent step coverage, as well as a 1 µm wide by 2 µm deep trench which had been completely "plugged", with very good conformality. The surface roughness was on the order 200-300 nm.

0056While it will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that thermal CVD and photothermal deposition of copper produces the highest quality films, plasma induced deposition can also be used with these gaseous precursors. However, the quality of the films deposited using plasma induced techniques is not expected to be as favorable.

0057It will also be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the metals which are deposited by the improved processes of this invention can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, they can be used for interconnect wiring, repair of circuits, deposition of contacts, etc. Further, since sources now exist for the chemical vapor deposition of aluminum, it is possible to produce copper-doped aluminum conductors in order to improve the electromigration properties of CVD aluminum films. It appears that the precursors used for aluminum CVD and the precursors described in the present invention are compatible with one another in order to allow simultaneous deposition of Cu and Al. As an example of a process for depositing aluminum by CVD, reference is made to U.S. Patent 3,375,129 wherein a thermally decomposable vapor of an amine complex of aluminum hydride is described. As an alternative separate layers of Al and Cu can be deposited, then annealed to form a Cu-Al conductor.

0058In the practice of the present invention, thermal reactor CVD as well as photothermal and photochemical CVD techniques were described for the deposition of Cu and other group IB metals onto many different types of substrates. In particular, different types of apparatus are suitable for the deposition of these metals, specific examples being shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for the deposition of Cu, Ag, and Au. While temperatures less than about 250°C have been mentioned, these temperatures can be raised if desired. However, no grain growth has been observed during the deposition of these metal films at temperatures below 500°C, and therefore there appears to be no reason to use higher substrate temperatures for the deposition. One advantage of a low temperature process is that deposition can occur onto thermally sensitive substrates and the chance for secondary decomposition of the gaseous precursor is minimized, thereby allowing the deposition of high purity films. However, it is recognized that operating parameters such as temperature, pressure, the use of inert gases, flow rate, etc. can be varied within the scope of this invention. Further, it is noted that other substituents may be usable on the cyclopentadienyl ring, as for example aryl groups or H substitutes for an alkyl fragment.