CVD of integrated Ta and TaNx films from tantalum halide precursors

[0002] The invention relates to the formation of integrated circuits, and specifically to chemical vapor deposition of integrated tantalum and tantalum nitride films deposited from tantalum halide precursors.

[0003] Integrated circuits (IC) provide the pathways for signal transport in an electrical device. An IC in a device is composed of a number of active transistors contained in a silicon base layer of a semiconductor substrate. To increase the capacity of an IC, large numbers of interconnections with metal “wires” are made between one active transistor in the silicon base of the substrate and another active transistor in the silicon base of the substrate. The interconnections, collectively known as the metal interconnection of a circuit, are made through holes, vias or trenches that are cut into a substrate. The particular point of the metal interconnection which actually makes contact with the silicon base is known as the contact. The remainder of the hole, via or trench is filled with a conductive material, termed a contact plug. As transistor densities continue to increase, forming higher level integrated circuits, the diameter of the contact plug must decrease to allow for the increased number of interconnections, multilevel metalization structures and higher aspect ratio vias.

[0004] Aluminum has been the accepted standard for contacts and interconnections in integrated circuits. However, problems with its electromigration and its high electrical resistivity require new materials for newer structures with submicron dimensions. Copper holds promise as the interconnect material for the next generation of integrated circuits in ultra large scale integration (ULSI) circuitry, yet its formation of copper silicide (Cu—Si) compounds at low temperatures and its electromigration through a silicon oxide (SiO₂) are disadvantages to its use.

[0005] As the shift from aluminum to copper as an interconnect element of choice occurs, new materials are required to serve as a barrier, preventing copper diffusion into the underlying dielectric layers of the substrate and to form an effective “glue” layer for subsequent copper deposition. New materials are also required to serve as a liner, adhering subsequently deposited copper to the substrate. The liner must also provide a low electrical resistance interface between copper and the barrier material. Barrier layers that were previously used with aluminum, such as titanium (Ti) and titanium nitride (TiN) barrier layers deposited either by physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods such as sputtering and/or chemical vapor deposition (CVD), are ineffective as barriers to copper. In addition, Ti reacts with copper to form copper titanium (Cu—Ti) compounds at the relatively low temperatures used with PVD and/or CVD.

[0006] Sputtered tantalum (Ta) and reactive sputtered tantalum nitride (TaN) have been demonstrated to be good diffusion barriers between copper and a silicon substrate due to their high conductivity, high thermal stability and resistance to diffusion of foreign atoms. However, the deposited Ta and/or TaN film has inherently poor step coverage due to its shadowing effects. Thus the sputtering process is limited to relatively large feature sizes (>0.3 μm) and small aspect ratio contact vias. CVD offers the inherent advantage over PVD of better conformality, even in small structures (<0.25 μm) with high aspect ratios. However, CVD of Ta and TaN with metal-organic sources such as tertbutylimidotris(diethylamido) tantalum (TBTDET), pentakis(dimethylamino)tantalum (PDMAT) and pentakis(diethylamino) tantalum (PDEAT) yields mixed results. Additional problems with Ta and TaN are that all resulting films have relatively high concentrations of oxygen and carbon impurities and require the use of a carrier gas.

[0007] The need to use a carrier gas presents the disadvantage that the concentration of the precursor gas in the carrier is not precisely known. As a result, accurate metering of a mixture of a carrier gas and a precursor gas to the CVD reaction chamber does not insure accurate metering of the precursor gas alone to the reactor. This can cause the reactants in the CVD chamber to be either too rich or too lean. The use of a carrier gas also presents the disadvantage that particulates are frequently picked up by the flowing carrier gas and delivered as contaminants to the CVD reaction chamber. Particulates on the surface of a semiconductor wafer during processing can result in the production of defective semiconductor devices.

[0008] Thus, a process to deposit Ta/TaN integrated bilayers at low temperatures (<500° C.) implementing an inorganic source of tantalum, such as tantalum pentahalide, would provide an advantage in the formation of copper barriers in the next generation of IC. Ideally, the deposited film will have a high step coverage (the ratio of the coating thickness at the bottom of a feature to the thickness on the sides of a feature or on the top surface of the substrate or wafer adjacent the feature), good diffusion barrier properties, minimal impurities, low resistivity, good conformality (even coverage of complex topography of high aspect ratio features) and ideally the process will have a high deposition rate.

[0009] The invention is directed to a method of providing an integrated tantalum (Ta)/tantalum nitride (TaN_x) film from a tantalum halide precursor on a substrate by chemical vapor deposition. The tantalum halide precursor is delivered at a temperature sufficient to vaporize the precursor to provide a vaporization pressure to deliver the tantalum vapor to a reaction chamber containing the substrate. The vaporization pressure is greater than about 3 Torr. Ta is combined with a process gas and is deposited on the substrate by a plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD) process at a pressure in the range of 0.2-5.0 Torr. The vapor is then combined with a process gas containing nitrogen and TaN_xis deposited by either a PECVD or thermal CVD method. Both the Ta and TaN_xlayers are deposited in the same chamber, thus increasing the efficiency of the method. The tantalum halide precursor is tantalum fluoride (TaF), tantalum chloride (TaCl) or tantalum bromide (TaBr), preferably tantalum pentafluoride (TaF₅), tantalum pentachloride (TaCl₅) or tantalum pentabromide (TaBr₅). The substrate temperature is in the range of about 300° C.-500° C.

[0010] The invention is also directed to a method of depositing an integrated Ta/TaN_xfilm from a TaF₅or TaCl₅precursor on a substrate by elevating the precursor temperature sufficient to vaporize the precursor. The vapor is combined with a process gas and a Ta film is deposited by PECVD. The vapor is then combined with a process gas containing nitrogen and the TaN_xfilm is deposited by PECVD or thermal CVD.

[0011] The invention is further directed to method of depositing a Ta/TaN_xintegrated film from a TaBr₅precursor on a substrate without a carrier gas. The temperature of the precursor is elevated sufficient to produce a tantalum vapor. The vapor is combined with a process gas and Ta is deposited by PECVD then the vapor is combined with a process gas containing nitrogen and the TaN_xfilm is deposited on the substrate by PECVD or thermal CVD.

[0012] The invention is still further directed to a substrate integral with a copper (Cu) layer and an integrated Ta/TaN_xlayer in which diffusion of copper is prevented by the integrated Ta/TaN_xlayer.

[0013] The integrated Ta/TaN_xfilm deposited according to the invention has minimal impurities and low resistivity. The film provides good step coverage, good conformality even in small high aspect ratio features and is a good diffusion barrier to a copper film.

[0014] It will be appreciated that the disclosed method and substrates of the invention have an array of applications. These and other advantages will be further understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic of an apparatus for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD).

[0016] FIG. 2 is a graph of vapor pressure versus temperature for tantalum halides.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a photograph of a scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a tantalum nitride (TaN_x) film using a tantalum pentafluoride (TaF₅) precursor.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a photograph of a SEM of a TaN_xfilm using a tantalum pentachloride (TaCl₅) precursor.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a photograph of a SEM of a TaN_xfilm using a tantalum pentafluoride (TaF₅) precursor.

[0020] FIG. 6 is a photograph of a SEM of a TaCl₅based film stack.

[0021] FIG. 7 is a photograph of a SEM of a TaBr₅based film stack.

[0022] FIG. 8 is an Auger spectrum tracing of a TaN₅film using a TaBr₅precursor deposited on SiO₂.

[0023] FIG. 9 is an Auger spectrum tracing of a TaN_xfilm using a TaBr₅precursor deposited on a PECVD tantalum film.

[0024] Refractory transition metals such as tantalum (Ta) and their nitride films (TaN) are effective diffusion barriers to copper (Cu). Their effectiveness is due to their high thermal stability, high conductivity and resistance to diffusion of foreign elements or impurities. Ta and TaN are especially attractive due to their chemical inertness with Cu; no compounds form between Cu and Ta or Cu and N.

[0025] Tantalum halides provide a convenient inorganic source for Ta and TaN. Specifically, the inorganic precursor is a tantalum pentahalide (TaX₅) where X represents the halides fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl) and bromine (Br). Table 1 shows relevant thermodynamic properties of the tantalum halide precursors, specifically tantalum pentafluoride (TaF₅), tantalum pentachloride (TaCl₅) and tantalum bromide (TaBr₅), with tantalum pentaiodide (Tal₅) included for comparison. The TaF₅, TaCl₅and TaBr₅precursor materials are all solids at room temperature (18° C.-22° C.).

[0026] In chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes, gas precursors are activated using either thermal energy or electrical energy. Upon activation, the gas precursors react chemically to form a film. A preferred method of CVD is illustrated in FIG. 1 and is disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 09/300,669, now abandoned, entitled APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR DELIVERY OF VAPOR FROM SOLID SOURCES TO A CVD CHAMBER by Westendorp et al. filed on the same date as the present application and assigned to Tokyo Electron Limited and incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. A chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system 10 includes a CVD reaction chamber 11 and a precursor delivery system 12. In the reaction chamber 11, a reaction is carried out to convert a precursor gas of, for example, tantalum chloride (TaCl) or other tantalum halide compound, into a film such as a barrier layer film of tantalum (Ta) and/or tantalum nitride (TaN_x) The TaN film is not limited to any particular stoichiometry (TaN_x), since TaN can be continuously varied by changing the ratios of the gases in any given deposition. Thus, as used herein, TaN_xencompasses a tantalum nitride film of any stoichiometry.

[0027] The precursor delivery system 12 includes a source 13 of precursor gas having a gas outlet 14, which communicates through a metering system 15 with a gas inlet 16 to the CVD reaction chamber 11. The source 13 generates a precursor vapor, for example a tantalum halide vapor, from a tantalum halide compound. The compound is one that is in a solid state when at standard temperature and pressure. The precursor source is maintained, preferably by controlled heating, at a temperature that will produce a desired vapor pressure of precursor. Preferably, the vapor pressure is one that is itself sufficient to deliver the precursor vapor to the reaction chamber 11, preferably without the use of a carrier gas. The metering system 15 maintains a flow of the precursor gas vapor from the source 13 into the reaction chamber 11 at a rate that is sufficient to maintain a commercially viable CVD process in the reaction chamber 11.

[0028] The reaction chamber 11 is a generally conventional CVD reactor and includes a vacuum chamber 20 that is bounded by a vacuum tight chamber wall 21. In the chamber 20 is situated a substrate support or susceptor 22 on which a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer 23 is supported. The chamber 20 is maintained at a vacuum appropriate for the performance of a CVD reaction that will deposit a film such as a Ta/TaN_xbarrier layer on the semiconductor wafer substrate 23. A preferred pressure range for the CVD reaction chamber 11 is in the range of from 0.2-5.0 Torr. The vacuum is maintained by controlled operation of a vacuum pump 24 and of inlet gas sources 25 that include the delivery system 12 and may also include reducing gas sources 26 of, for example, hydrogen (H₂), nitrogen (N₂) or ammonia (NH₃) for use in carrying out a tantalum reduction reaction, and an inert gas source 27 for a gas such as argon (Ar) or helium (He). The gases from the sources 25 enter the chamber 20 through a showerhead 28 that is situated at one end of the chamber 20 opposite the substrate 23, generally parallel to and facing the substrate 23.

[0029] The precursor gas source 13 includes a sealed evaporator 30 that includes a cylindrical evaporation vessel 31 having a vertically oriented axis 32. The vessel 31 is bounded by a cylindrical wall 33 formed of a high temperature tolerant and non-corrosive material such as the alloy INCONEL 600, the inside surface 34 of which is highly polished and smooth. The wall 33 has a flat circular closed bottom 35 and an open top, which is sealed by a cover 36 of the same heat tolerant and non-corrosive material as the wall 33. The outlet 14 of the source 13 is situated in the cover 36. When high temperatures are used, such as with Til₄or TaBr₅, the cover 36 is sealed to a flange ring 37 that is integral to the top of the wall 33 by a high temperature tolerant vacuum compatible metal seal 38 such as a HELICOFLEX seal, which is formed of a C-shaped nickel tube surrounding an INCONEL coil spring. With materials requiring lower temperatures, such as TaCl₅and TaF₅, a conventional elastomeric O-ring seal 38 may be used,to seal the cover.

[0030] Connected to the vessel 31 through the cover 36 is a source 39 of a carrier gas, which is preferably an inert gas such as He or Ar. The source 13 includes a mass of precursor material such as tantalum fluoride, chloride or bromide (TaX), preferably as the pentahalide (Tax₅), at the bottom of the vessel 31, which is loaded into the vessel 31 at standard temperature and pressure in a solid state. The vessel 31 is filled with tantalum halide vapor by sealing the chamber with the solid mass of TaX therein. The halide is supplied as a precursor mass 40 that is placed at the bottom of the vessel 31, where it is heated, preferably to a liquid state as long as the resulting vapor pressure is in an acceptable range. Purge gas and TaX vapors are, however, first evacuated from the vessel 31 with a vacuum pump 41. Where the mass 40 is liquid, the vapor lies above the level of the liquid mass 40. Because wall 33 is a vertical cylinder, the surface area of TaX mass 40, if a liquid, remains constant regardless of the level of depletion of the TaX.

[0031] The delivery system 12 is not limited to direct delivery of a precursor 40 but can be used in the alternative for delivery of precursor 40 along with a carrier gas, which can be introduced into the vessel 31 from gas source 39. Such a gas may be hydrogen (H₂) or an inert gas such as helium (He) or argon (Ar). Where a carrier gas is used, it may be introduced into the vessel 31 so as to distribute across the top surface of the precursor mass 40 or may be introduced into the vessel 31 so as to percolate through the mass 40 from the bottom 35 of the vessel 31 with upward diffusion in order to achieve maximum surface area exposure of the mass 40 to the carrier gas. Yet another alternative is to vaporize a liquid that is in the vessel 31. However, such alternatives add undesired particulates and do not provide the controlled delivery rate achieved by the direct delivery of the precursor, that is, delivery without the use of a carrier gas. Therefore, direct delivery of the precursor is preferred.

[0032] To maintain the temperature of the precursor 40 in the vessel 31, the bottom 35 of the wall 33 is maintained in thermal communication with a heater 44, which maintains the precursor 40 at a controlled temperature, preferably above its melting point, that will produce a vapor pressure of greater than about 3 Torr in the absence of a carrier gas (i.e., a direct delivery system), and a lower vapor pressure such as about 1 Torr when a carrier gas is used. The exact vapor pressure depends upon other variables such as the quantity of carrier gas, the surface area of the substrate 23, and so on. In a direct delivery system for tantalum, a vapor pressure can be maintained at the preferred pressure of 5 Torr or above by heating the tantalum halide precursor in the 95° C. to 205° C. range as shown in FIG. 2. For TaX₅the desired temperature is at least about 95° C. for TaF₅, the desired temperature is at least about 145° C. for TaCl₅, and the desired temperature is at least about 205° C. for TaBr₅. The melting points of the respective fluoride, chloride and bromide tantalum pentahalide compounds are in the 97° C. to 265° C. range. A much higher temperature is required for tantalum pentaiodide (Tal₅) to produce a sufficient vapor pressure in the vessel 31. Temperatures should not be so high as to cause premature reaction of the gases in the showerhead 28 or otherwise before contacting the wafer 23.

[0033] For purposes of example, a temperature of 180° C. is assumed to be the control temperature for the heating of the bottom 35 of the vessel 31. This temperature is appropriate for producing a desired vapor pressure with a titanium tetraiodide (Til₄) precursor. Given this temperature at the bottom 35 of the vessel 31, to prevent condensation of the precursor vapor on the walls 33 and cover 36 of the vessel 31, the cover is maintained at a higher temperature than the heater 44 at the bottom 35 of the wall 33 of, for example, 190° C., by a separately controlled heater 45 that is in thermal contact with the outside of the cover 36. The sides of the vessel wall 33 are surrounded by an annular trapped air space 46, which is contained between the vessel wall 33 and a surrounding concentric outer aluminum wall or can 47. The can 47 is further surrounded by an annular layer of silicon foam insulation 48. This temperature maintaining arrangement maintains the vapor in a volume of the vessel 31 bounded by the cover 36, the sides of the walls 33 and the surface 42 of the precursor mass 40 in the desired example temperature range of between 180° C. and 190° C. and the pressure greater than about 3 Torr, preferably at greater than 5 Torr. The temperature that is appropriate to maintain the desired pressure will vary with the precursor material, which is primarily contemplated as a being a tantalum or titanium halide compound.

[0034] The vapor flow metering system 15 includes a delivery tube 50 of at least ½ inch in diameter, or at least 10 millimeters inside diameter, and preferably larger so as to provide no appreciable pressure drop at the flow rate desired, which is at least approximately 2 to 40 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm). The tube 50 extends from the precursor gas source 13 to which it connects at its upstream end to the outlet 14, to the reaction chamber 11 to which it connects at its downstream end to the inlet 16. The entire length of the tube 50 from the evaporator outlet 14 to the reactor inlet 16 and the showerhead 28 of the reaction chamber 11 are also preferably heated to above the evaporation temperature of the precursor material 40, for example, to 195° C.

[0035] In the tube 50 is provided baffle plate 51 in which is centered a circular orifice 52, which preferably has a diameter of approximately 0.089 inches. The pressure drop from gauge 156 to gauge 257 is regulated by control valve 53. This pressure drop after control valve 53 through orifice 52 and into reaction chamber 11 is greater than about 10 milliTorr and will be proportional to the flow rate. A shut-off valve 54 is provided in the line 50 between the outlet 14 of the evaporator 13 and the control valve 53 to close the vessel 31 of the evaporator 13.

[0036] Pressure sensors 55-58 are provided in the system 10 to provide information to a controller 60 for use in controlling the system 10, including controlling the flow rate of precursor gas from the delivery system 15 into the chamber 20 of the CVD reaction chamber 11. The pressure sensors include sensor 55 connected to the tube 50 between the outlet 14 of the evaporator 13 and the shut-off valve 54 to monitor the pressure in the evaporation vessel 31. A pressure sensor 56 is connected to the tube 50 between the control valve 53 and the baffle 51 to monitor the pressure upstream of the orifice 52, while a pressure sensor 57 is connected to the tube 50 between the baffle 51 and the reactor inlet 16 to monitor the pressure downstream of the orifice 52. A further pressure sensor 58 is connected to the chamber 20 of the reaction chamber 11 to monitor the pressure in the CVD chamber 20.

[0037] Control of the flow of precursor vapor into the CVD chamber 20 of the reaction chamber 11 is achieved by the controller 60 in response to the pressures sensed by the sensors 55-58, particularly the sensors 56 and 57 which determine the pressure drop across the orifice 52. When the conditions are such that the flow of precursor vapor through the orifice 52 is unchoked flow, the actual flow of precursor vapor through the tube 52 is a function of the pressures monitored by pressure sensors 56 and 57, and can be determined from the ratio of the pressure measured by sensor 56 on the upstream side of the orifice 52, to the pressure measured by sensor 57 on the downstream side of the orifice 52.

[0038] When the conditions are such that the flow of precursor vapor through the orifice 52 is choked flow, the actual flow of precursor vapor through the tube 52 is a function of only the pressure monitored by pressure sensor 57. In either case, the existence of choked or unchoked flow can be determined by the controller 60 by interpreting the process conditions. When the determination is made by the controller 60, the flow rate of precursor gas can be determined by the controller 60 through calculation.

[0039] Preferably, accurate determination of the actual flow rate of precursor gas is calculated by retrieving flow rate data from lookup or multiplier tables stored in a non-volatile memory 61 accessible by the controller 60. When the actual flow rate of the precursor vapor is determined, the desired flow rate can be maintained by a closed loop feedback control of one or more of the variable orifice control valve 53, the CVD chamber pressure through evacuation pump 24 or control of reducing or inert gases from sources 26 and 27, or by control of the temperature and vapor pressure of the precursor gas in vessel 31 by control of heaters 44, 45.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 1, the solid TaF₅, TaCl₅and TaBr₅precursor material 40 is sealed in a cylindrical corrosion resistant metal vessel 31 that maximizes the available surface area of the precursor material. Vapor from either TaF₅, TaCl₅or TaBr₅was delivered directly, that is, without the use of a carrier gas, by a high conductance delivery system into a reaction chamber 11. The reaction chamber 11 was heated to a temperature of at least about 100° C. to prevent condensation of vapor or deposition by-products.

[0041] The controlled direct delivery of tantalum halide vapor into the reaction chamber 11 was accomplished by heating the solid tantalum halide precursor 40 to a temperature in the range of about 95° C.-205° C., the choice depending upon the particular precursor. The temperature was sufficient to vaporize the precursor 40 to provide a vapor pressure to deliver the tantalum halide vapor to the reaction chamber 11. Thus, a carrier gas was not necessary. A sufficient vapor pressure was greater than about 3 Torr. This pressure was required to maintain a constant pressure drop across a defined orifice in a high conductance delivery system while delivering up to about 50 sccm tantalum halide precursor to a reaction chamber 11 operating in the range of about 0.1-2.0 Torr. The temperatures to obtain the desired pressures were in the range of about 83° C.-95° C. and preferably about 95° C. with TaF₅, in the range of about 130° C.-150° C. and preferably about 145° C. with TaCl₅, and in the range of about 202° C.-218° C. and preferably about 205° C. with TaBr₅. Under these conditions, TaF₅is a liquid while TaCl₅and TaBr₅remain solid.

[0042] FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the measured vapor pressure and temperature for the precursors TaF₅, TaCl₅and TaBr₅, with Tal₅included for comparison. As previously stated, the desired pressure was greater than about 3 Torr and preferably greater than 5 Torr. Also as previously stated, the vapor pressure for TaF₅, TaCl₅and TaBr₅was desirably low enough to be able to deposit tantalum in the absence of a carrier gas but yet sufficient to maintain a constant pressure drop across a defined orifice in a high conductance delivery system and still be able to deliver up to 50 sscm TaX₅to a reaction chamber 11 operating at 0.1-2.0 Torr. The vapor pressure for Tal₅was determined to be too low for practical implementation in the described apparatus. For TaBr₅the open circles represent published values, while closed squares for TaBr₅, TaF₅, TaCl₅and Tal₅represent the inventors' experimental data.

[0043] A parallel plate RF discharge was used where the driven electrode was the gas delivery showerhead and the susceptor 22 or stage for the wafer or substrate 23 was the RF ground. The selected TaX₅vapor was combined with other process gases such as H₂above the substrate, which had been heated to a temperature between about 300° C.-500° C. Ar and He could also be used, either singularly or in combination, as process gases in addition to H₂.

[0044] Process conditions for deposition of good quality PECVD Ta films are given in Table 2, where slm is standard liters per minute and W/cm²is watts per centimeter squared.

[0045] The TaF₅, TaCl₅and TaBr₅based PECVD Ta film properties for process conditions using the method of the invention are given in Table 3. Representative values were selected from among PECVD of Ta from a TaX₅precursor (TaF₅number of experiments (n)=15, TaCl₅n=8, TaBr₅n=8) on 200 mm Si and SiO₂substrates.

[0046] Process conditions for deposition of good quality PECVD TaN_xfilms are given in Table 4.

[0047] The TaF₅, TaCl₅and TaBr₅based PECVD TaN_xfilm properties for process conditions using the method of the invention are given in Table 5. Representative values were selected from among PECVD of TaN_xfrom a TaX₅precursor (TaF₅number of experiments (n)=15, TaCl₅n=8, TaBr₅n=8) on 200 mm Si and SiO₂substrates.

[0048] Process conditions for deposition of good quality thermal CVD TaN_xfilms are given in Table 6.

[0049] The TaF₅and TaBr₅based thermal CVD TaN_xfilm properties for process conditions using the method of the invention are given in Table 7. Representative values were selected from among the depositions of TaN_xfrom a TaX₅precursor (TaF₅n=10, TaBr₅n=22) on 200 mm silicon (Si) and silicon dioxide (SiO₂) substrates. In addition, Ta/TaN_xbilayers were also deposited (TaF₅n=3, TaBr₅n=1). The properties of the deposited tantalum films as listed in Table 7 were uniform within plus or minus 20% across the wafer.

[0050] The TaF₅, TaCl₅and TaBr₅based Ta/TaN_xbilayer film properties for process conditions using the method of the invention are given in Table 8. All films were PECVD Ta and PECVD TaN_x.

[0051] The integrated films deposited by the method of the invention display characteristics important to the formation of an IC. There is a good smooth interface and good adhesion between the Ta and TaN_xlayers. The film is in the range of low enough electrical resistivity for low interconnect impedances (less than 1000 μΩcm and preferably less than 500 μΩcm), and the film has good conformality and good step coverage (greater than 0.3). In addition, the level of impurities are low (less than 2 atomic percent). Also, the deposition rates are sufficient for throughput considerations (greater than 100 Å/min) and the process uses a low wafer temperature (less than 450° C.) and thus is compatible with other thin film materials used within the device including materials with dielectric constants lower than that of SiO₂.

[0052] The dependence of the film resistivities on the deposition temperature differed among the three precursors. For Ta/TaN_xintegrated films deposited by PECVD Ta and PECVD TaN_xfilms using TaF₅precursors, at a temperature of 430° C. and at a N₂flow of 0.5 slm, the film had a resistivity of about 115 μΩcm. At a temperature of 350° C. and a N₂flow of 0.5 slm, the film resistivity decreased to 85 μΩcm. When the N₂flow rate was increased to 2.5 slm with a temperature of 400° C., the resistivity increased to 211 μΩcm. For Ta/TaN_xfilms using TaCl₅as the precursor, at a temperature of 400° C. a N₂flow rate of 2.5 slm, the resistivity was 1995 μΩcm. For Ta/TaN_xfilms deposited using TaBr₅as the precursor, at a temperature of 430° C. and a N₂flow of 0.5 slm, the resistivity was 645 μΩcm. Thus, for all three precursors, the resistivity of the Ta/TaN_xfilm was high when the N₂flow in the gas mix was increased. The increased resistivity is assumed to be due to the increase of nitrogen concentration in the film. This is consistent with previous results from Ta/TaN_xfilms deposited either by PVD methods such as sputtering, or by organic-metal CVD (OMCVD), where increasing the ratio of nitrogen to tantalum dramatically increased the resistivity of the Ta/TaN_xfilm.

[0053] Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of Ta/TaN_xbilayer films deposited by PECVD according to the invention were obtained and are shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. FIG. 3 is a SEM of a Ta/TaN_xbilayer film using TaF₅as the precursor, and FIG. 4 is a SEM of a Ta/TaN_xbilayer film using TaBr₅as the precursor. The TaBr₅based PECVD Ta/TaN_xbilayer films appear to have better step coverage than the TaF₅Ta/TaN_xfilms. It is hypothesized that TaCl₅based PECVD Ta/TaN_xbilayer films would also have better step coverage than the TaF₅Ta/TaN_xfilms.

[0054] FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show a substrate containing a feature with an aspect ratio structure with representative bottom step coverage and side wall coverage for each of the precursors. The step coverage represents the film thickness on the bottom of the feature divided by the film thickness on the surface of the substrate adjacent the feature, also called the field. An ideal step coverage is 1.0 or 100%, representing identical thickness on the bottom as on the field. The TaBr₅and TaCl₅based PECVD Ta/TaN_xfilms generally appeared to be smoother than the TaF₅based PECVD Ta/TaN_xfilm, which appeared the roughest. As shown in Table 8, for TaBr₅the step coverage was 0.37, for TaCl₅the step coverage was 0.19 and for TaF₅the step coverage in two integrated films was 0.5 and 0.19.

[0055] The compatibility of the Ta/TaN_xfilm process of the present invention with copper was determined. Since in practice the Ta/TaN_xfilm will be integral, that is, in direct contact with copper, little or no attack or etching of the copper should take place during Ta/TaN_xdeposition. Ta/TaN_xcompatibility with copper was tested by placing a Si wafer containing a 500 Å layer of TiN_xdeposited by PVD and a 2000 Å layer of copper deposited by PVD into the reaction chamber 11. A TaN_xfilm was deposited by PECVD on top of the copper layer using the process of the invention with either a TaF₅or TaCl₅precursor.

[0056] Photographs of SEM images of the resulting films are shown in FIGS. 5-7. FIG. 5 shows a TaF₅based PECVD Ta/TaN_xbilayer on a Cu film deposited by PVD. FIG. 6 shows a TaCl₅based PECVD Ta/TaN_xbilayer on a Cu film deposited by PVD. FIG. 7 shows a TaBr₅based PECVD Ta/TaN_xbilayer on a Cu film deposited by PVD. The Cu layers have the same thicknesses of about 2000 Å as they were deposited and in combination with the clean interface with the PECVD Ta/TaN_x. FIGS. 5-7 also indicate a clean and smooth interface between the Cu layer and the PECVD Ta/TaN_xbilayer. It can therefore be concluded that very little or no attack or etching occurs during PECVD of either TaF₅, TaCl₅or TaBr₅precursor-based PECVD Ta/TaN_xfilms.

[0057] Selected films were also evaluated by Auger electron spectroscopy and the results are shown in FIGS. 8-9. An Auger analysis spectrum with TaBr₅used as the precursor for depositing Ta/TaN_xon a SiO₂layer is shown in FIG. 8. An Auger analysis spectrum with TaBr₅used as the precursor for depositing Ta/TaN_xon the abovementioned Cu layer deposited by PVD is shown in FIG. 9. Analysis of the Auger spectra confirmed the clean interface between the TaN_xand other layers. The analysis also confirmed the low level of impurities present in the films. The figures indicate that the PECVD TaN_xfilms were nitrogen poor (x<1.0), which is consistent with the results shown in Table 2. These films were deposited with the low N₂:H₂ratio of 0.5:7, which was expected to result in a lower nitrogen-containing film. The normally exponentially rising electrical resistivity of TaN_xwhen x>1.0 is observed in TaN_xfilms deposited by both PVD and CVD. The figures show relatively sharp interfaces between all layers, which indicated very little Cu diffusion into the bilayer. The bromide concentration was determined to be less than 2 atomic percent.

[0058] Therefore, a method of producing high quality PECVD Ta/TaN_xbilayer films suitable for integration with IC interconnect elements that contain copper has been demonstrated. The method is based on the vapor delivery of either TaF₅, TaCl₅or TaBr₅precursors. All of the resulting Ta/TaN_xfilms from the three precursors demonstrated reasonable step coverage, low residual impurity concentrations, sufficiently high deposition rates and no signs of TaN_xetching of copper.

[0059] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present invention shown and described in the specification are only preferred embodiments of the inventors who are skilled in the art and are not limiting in any way. For example, Ta films may be deposited by PECVD, and TaN_xfilms may be deposited by thermal CVD, plasma treated thermal CVD, and PECVD as disclosed in, respectively, PECVD OF Ta FILMS FROM TANTALUM HALIDE PRECURSORS (Ser. No. 09/300,583), THERMAL CVD OF TaN FILMS FROM TANTALUM HALIDE PRECURSORS (Ser. No. 09/300,661), PLASMA TREATED THERMAL CVD) OF TaN FILMS FROM TANTALUM HALIDE PRECURSORS (U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,288), and PECVD OF TaN FILMS FROM TANTALUM HALIDE PRECURSORS (U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,311), all of which are invented by Hautala and Westendorp and assigned to Tokyo Electron Limited, are copending applications filed on the same date as the present application and which are expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. Furthermore, TaN_xmay be used for plug fill according to the invention as disclosed in CVD TaN_xPLUG FORMATION FROM TANTALUM HALIDE PRECURSORS (Ser. No. 09/300,647, now abandoned), invented by Hautala and Westendorp and assigned to Tokyo Electron Limited, which is a copending applications filed on the same date as the present application and which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Therefore, various changes, modifications or alterations to these embodiments may be made or resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims.