Method of depositing titanium carbonitride films on semiconductor wafers

Claim 1

A chemical vapor deposition method of providing a conformal layer of titanium carbonitride atop a semiconductor wafer, the method comprising the following steps: prior to providing said titanium carbonitride conformal layer on a semiconductor wafer, pretreating internal sidewalls of a chemical vapor deposition reactor with an activated halogen species to cause such species to bind to the internal reactor sidewalls; providing a wafer within the chemical vapor deposition reactor; injecting quantities of a gaseous, carbon containing, titanium organometallic precursor and a carrier gas into the reactor having the semiconductor wafer positioned therein; and maintaining the reactor at a pressure of less than or equal to about 100 Torr and the semiconductor wafer at a temperature which in combination cause a reaction of the precursor to withdraw active halogenated species from the reactor sidewalls to bond carbon from the precursor with the withdrawn activated halogen species and to deposit a film on the semiconductor wafer which comprises titanium carbonitride, the deposited titanium carbnoitride film having less incorporated carbon than would otherwise be present were the activated halogen species not present in the chemical vapor deposition reactor during deposition.