CVD of integrated Ta and TaNx films from tantalum halide precursors

Claim 1

A method of depositing a tantalum (Ta) barrier film and a tantalum nitride (TaN x ) barrier film on a semiconductor device substrate having a temperature in the range of about 300° C.-500° C., the method comprising depositing said Ta film by a plasma enhanced CVD process including providing a vapor of a tantalum pentachloride precursor to a reaction chamber containing said substrate by heating said precursor to a temperature sufficient to vaporize said precursor and combining said vapor in said reaction chamber with a process gas consisting essentially of hydrogen and optionally one or more of argon and helium, and generating a plasma in said combined vapor and process gas and reacting said combined vapor and process gas in the presence of said plasma to deposit said Ta, and depositing said TaN x film by a CVD process selected from the group consisting of: (a) thermal CVD including combining said vapor above said substrate with a process gas consisting essentially of nitrogen and hydrogen and optionally one or more of argon and helium by providing said process gas to said reaction chamber concurrently with providing said vapor to said reaction chamber to deposit said TaN x , and (b) plasma enhanced CVD including combining said vapor above said substrate with a process gas consisting essentially of N 2 and H 2 and optional inert gases to deposit said TaN x wherein the deposit Ta and TaN x films each contain less than 2 atomic percent chlorine.

Claim 2

A method of depositing a tantalum (Ta) barrier film and a tantalum nitride (TaN x ) barrier film on a semiconductor device substrate having a temperature in the range of about 300° C.-500° C., the method comprising depositing said Ta film by a plasma enhanced CVD process including providing a vapor of a tantalum pentachloride precursor to a reaction chamber containing said substrate by heating said precursor to a temperature sufficient to vaporize said precursor and combining said vapor in said reaction chamber with a process gas consisting essentially of hydrogen and optionally one or more of argon and helium, and generating a plasma in said combined vapor and process gas and reacting said combined vapor and process gas in the presence of said plasma to deposit said Ta, and depositing said TaN x film by a CVD process selected from the group consisting of: (a) thermal CVD including combining said vapor above said substrate with a process gas consisting essentially of nitrogen and hydrogen and optionally one or more of argon and helium by providing said process gas to said reaction chamber concurrently with providing said vapor to said reaction chamber to deposit said TaN x , and (b) plasma enhanced CVD including combining said vapor above said substrate with a process gas consisting essentially of N 2 and H 2 and optional inert gases to deposit said TaN x wherein the deposit Ta and TaN x films each contain less than 2 atomic percent chlorine.

Claim 18

A method of depositing a Ta/TaN x bilayer barrier film on a semiconductor device substrate having a temperature in the range of about 300° C.-500° C., the method comprising delivering a tantalum pentachloride precursor to a reaction chamber containing said substrate without a carrier gas by elevating a temperature of said precursor sufficient to produce a vapor of said precursor to provide a pressure of at least about 3 Torr to deliver said vapor of said precursor, depositing said Ta film by plasma enhanced CVD by combining said vapor in said reaction chamber with a first process gas consisting essentially of hydrogen and argon, and generating a plasma in said combined vapor and first process gas and reacting said combined vapor and first process gas in the presence of said plasma, and then depositing said TaN x film by a CVD process selected from the group consisting of: (a) thermal CVD by combining said vapor above said substrate with a second process gas consisting essentially of hydrogen and nitrogen by providing said second process gas to said reaction chamber concurrently with providing said vapor to said reaction chamber and (b) plasma enhanced CVD by combining said vapor above said substrate with a third process gas consisting essentially of N 2 and H 2 wherein the deposited Ta and TaN x films each contain less than 2 atomic percent chlorine.

Claim 19

A method of depositing a Ta/TaN x bilayer barrier film on a semiconductor device substrate having a temperature in the range of about 300° C.-500° C., the method comprising delivering a tantalum pentachloride precursor to a reaction chamber containing said substrate without a carrier gas by elevating a temperature of said precursor sufficient to produce a vapor of said precursor to provide a pressure of at least about 3 Torr to deliver said vapor of said precursor, depositing said Ta film by plasma enhanced CVD by combining said vapor in said reaction chamber with a first process gas consisting essentially of hydrogen and argon, and generating a plasma in said combined vapor and first process gas and reacting said combined vapor and first process gas in the presence of said plasma, and then depositing said TaN x film by a CVD process selected from the group consisting of: (a) thermal CVD by combining said vapor above said substrate with a second process gas consisting essentially of hydrogen and nitrogen by providing said second process gas to said reaction chamber concurrently with providing said vapor to said reaction chamber and (b) plasma enhanced CVD by combining said vapor above said substrate with a third process gas consisting essentially of N 2 and H 2 wherein the deposited Ta and TaN x films each contain less than 2 atomic percent chlorine.