EP0045405A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Method of forming aluminum/copper alloy conductors
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1981-07-14
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2001-07-14
Abstract
Abstract The aluminum/copper alloy conductors are made by forming a patterned layer of copper (21) on a layer of aluminum (15) applied to a substrate (11). The portion of the aluminum layer (15) which is not protected by the copper layer (21) is removed by reactive ion etching without heating substrate (11) and the resulting structure is then heated to cause the copper (21) to diffuse into, and alloy with the aluminum layer (15). <??>The method can in particular be used to form aluminum/copper alloy conductor lands in integrated circuit manufacture.
Inventors
- 👤 George Tein-Chu Chiu
- 👤 Robert Roderick Joseph
- 👤 Gunars Miervaldis Ozols
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 15:40
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10W; H10W20/00; H10W20/01; H10W20/031; H10W20/064; H10P; H10P14/00; H10P14/40; H10P14/412; H10P50/00; H10P50/20; H10P50/26; H10P50/262; H10P50/264; H10P50/266; H10P50/267; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S438/00; Y10S438/927
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
79 words
A method for forming aluminum/copper alloy conductors on a substrate (1.1) characterized in that a layer of aluminum (15) and on top of it layer of copper (21) are applied to substrate (11), that in the copper layer (27) a pattern is produced corresponding to the desired conductor pattern, that the exposed aluminum (15) is removed by reactive ion etching, and that the structure is heated to cause copper (21) to diffuse into an alloy with aluminum layer (15).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
16 words
Method according to claim wherein the layer of aluminum (15) is etched in a chlorine-containing atmosphere.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
Method according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the layer of aluminum (15) is formed by evaporation on a semiconductor substrate (11) containing semiconductor devices.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
Method according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the patterned layer of copper (21) is formed by a subtractive etch process.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the patterned layer of copper (21) is formed on the aluminum layer (15) by a lift-off process..
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
39 words
Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the copper layer (21) is of a thickness to provide an aluminum/copper alloy containing 1-8 percent by weight copper when it is diffused into the aluminum layer (15).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
Method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the aluminum (75) is reactive ion etched by placing the substrate (11) on a cathode which is at ambient temperature.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
27 words
Method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the aluminum (15) is post reaction ion etch cleaned in a glow discharge of inert gas.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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