Patent US6475276B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6475276B1
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Production of elemental thin films using a boron-containing reducing agent
Assignee: ASM International NV
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Filing: 2000-10-13
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Granted: 2002-11-05
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Expires: 2020-10-13
Abstract
Abstract The present invention relates generally to depositing elemental thin films. In particular, the invention concerns a method of growing elemental metal thin films by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) using a boron compound as a reducing agent. In a preferred embodiment the method comprises introducing vapor phase pulses of at least one metal source compound and at least one boron source compound into a reaction space that contains a substrate on which the metal thin film is to be deposited. Preferably the boron compound is capable of reducing the adsorbed portion of the metal source compound into its elemental electrical state.
Inventors
- 👤 Kai-Erik Elers
- 👤 Ville Antero Saanila
- 👤 Sari Johanna Kaipio
- 👤 Pekka Juha Soininen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 01:43
CPC Classifications
C; C23; C23C; C23C16/00; C23C16/02; C23C16/0272; C23C16/04; C23C16/045; C23C16/06; C23C16/08; C23C16/14; C23C16/22; C23C16/30; C23C16/32; C23C16/34; C23C16/44; C23C16/4401; C23C16/455; C23C16/45523; C23C16/45525; C23C16/45527; C23C16/45536; C23C16/45542; C23C16/45553; C23C16/45555; C30; C30B; C30B25/00; C30B25/02; C30B25/14; C30B29/00; C30B29/02; C30B29/10; C30B29/36; C30B29/38; H; H10; H10P; H10P14/00; H10P14/40; H10P14/418; H10P14/42; H10P14/43; H10P14/432; H10W; H10W20/00; H10W20/01; H10W20/031; H10W20/032; H10W20/033; H10W20/042; H10W20/045; H10W20/056; H10W20/071; H10W20/081; H10W20/084; H10W20/40; H10W20/41; H10W20/42; H10W20/425; H10W20/44; H10W20/4403; H10W20/4421; H10W20/4432; H10W20/45; H10W20/47; H10W20/48
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 46
Claim 1
Independent Claim
53 words
A method of growing an elemental thin film on a substrate from vapor phase reactants, comprising alternately introducing vapor phase pulses of at least one elemental source compound and at least one boron source compound into a reaction space containing the substrate, wherein the boron source compound contains at least one carbon atom.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
53 words
A method of growing an elemental thin film on a substrate from vapor phase reactants, comprising alternately introducing vapor phase pulses of at least one elemental source compound and at least one boron source compound into a reaction space containing the substrate, wherein the boron source compound contains at least one carbon atom.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is an atomic layer deposition (ALD) type process.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
58 words
The method of claim 2 , wherein the vapor phase pulses are alternately introduced in a cycle comprising: introducing an elemental source compound into a reaction space containing a substrate; and removing any gaseous compounds from the reaction space; and introducing a boron source compound into the reaction space; and removing any gaseous compounds from the reaction space.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the elemental source compound reacts with the surface of the substrate, thereby producing a surface bound elemental complex.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein the boron source compound reduces the surface bound elemental complex into its elemental state.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 5 , wherein gaseous reaction byproducts are formed by the reduction of the surface bound elemental complex into it elemental state.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the elemental source compound and the boron source compound are fed into the reaction chamber with the aid of an inert carrier gas.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising feeding an inert gas pulse to the reaction chamber after each pulse of elemental source compound and boron source compound.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 8 , further comprising adding a mild reducing agent to the inert gas pulse.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 9 wherein the inert gas pulse comprises 0.5% to 1% of the mild reducing agent by volume.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 9 , wherein the mild reducing agent is hydrogen.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the elemental source compound comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ag, Au, Pd, Pt, Rh and Ir.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the boron source compound is selected from the group consisting of carboranes according to the formula C 2 B n H n+x , wherein n is an integer from 1 to 10 and x is an even integer.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method of claim 13 , wherein the boron source compound is selected from the group consisting of closo-carboranes of the formula C 2 B n H n+2 , nido-carboranes of the formula C 2 B n H n+4 and arachno-carboranes of the formula C 2 B n H n+6 , wherein n is an integer from 1 to 10.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the boron source compound is selected from the group consisting of amine-borane adducts according to the formula R 3 NBX 3 wherein R is linear or branched C1 to C10 or H and X is linear or branched C1 to C10, H or a halogen.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
53 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the boron source compound is selected from the group consisting of aminoboranes, wherein one or more of the substituents is an amino group according to the formula R 2 N, wherein R is linear or branched C1 to C10 or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the boron source compound is selected from the group consisting of alkyl borons and alkyl boranes, wherein the alkyl is a linear or branched C1 to C10 alkyl.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
71 words
A method of growing an elemental thin film on a substrate from vapor phase reactants, comprising alternately introducing vapor phase pulses of at least one elemental source compound and at least one boron source compound into a reaction space containing the substrate, wherein the boron source compound contains no carbon atoms and wherein the boron source compound is selected from the group consisting of boron halides, borane halides and complexes thereof.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
71 words
A method of growing an elemental thin film on a substrate from vapor phase reactants, comprising alternately introducing vapor phase pulses of at least one elemental source compound and at least one boron source compound into a reaction space containing the substrate, wherein the boron source compound contains no carbon atoms and wherein the boron source compound is selected from the group consisting of boron halides, borane halides and complexes thereof.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 18 , wherein the boron source compound is selected from the group consisting of boron halides having a boron/halide ratio between 0.5 and 1.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 19 , wherein the boron source compound is selected from the group consisting of B 2 F 4 , B 2 Cl 4 and B 2 Br 4 .
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
61 words
The method of claim 18 , wherein the boron source compound is selected from the group consisting of halogenoboranes of the formula B n X n , wherein X is Cl or Br and n is 4 or an integer from 8 to 12 when X is Cl or n is an integer from 7 to 10 when X is Br.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
51 words
A method of producing an electron conductor in an integrated circuit by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, comprising exposing an adsorbed metal complex on a substrate to a boron compound, thereby reducing the metal complex to its elemental metal state, wherein the boron compound contains at least one carbon atom.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
51 words
A method of producing an electron conductor in an integrated circuit by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, comprising exposing an adsorbed metal complex on a substrate to a boron compound, thereby reducing the metal complex to its elemental metal state, wherein the boron compound contains at least one carbon atom.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method of claim 22 , wherein vapor phase pulses are alternately introduced to the substrate in a cycle comprising: introducing a vapor-phase metal source compound into a reaction space containing the substrate; and removing any gaseous compounds from the reaction space; and introducing the boron compound into the reaction space; and removing any gaseous compounds from the reaction space.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 23 , wherein at least a portion of the metal source compound chemisorbs upon the substrate, thereby producing the adsorbed metal complex.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 22 , wherein the metal complex comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ag, Au, Pd, Pt, Rh and Ir.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
74 words
A method of producing an interconnect in an integrated circuit, the method comprising: introducing a metal source gas into a reaction space holding a substrate; removing any unreacted portion of the metal source gas and any gaseous reaction byproduct from the reaction space; introducing a vapor-phase organic boron source gas into the reaction space; and removing any unreacted portion of the organic boron source gas and any gaseous reaction byproduct from the reaction space.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
74 words
A method of producing an interconnect in an integrated circuit, the method comprising: introducing a metal source gas into a reaction space holding a substrate; removing any unreacted portion of the metal source gas and any gaseous reaction byproduct from the reaction space; introducing a vapor-phase organic boron source gas into the reaction space; and removing any unreacted portion of the organic boron source gas and any gaseous reaction byproduct from the reaction space.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 26 , wherein introducing the metal source gas comprises saturating the substrate with no more than a monolayer of an adsorbed metal complex.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 26 , wherein the metal source comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ag, Au, Pd, Pt, Rh and Ir.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
53 words
A method of growing a metal layer on a substrate by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, comprising adsorbing a metal complex upon the substrate and reducing the metal complex to its elemental state by exposing the substrate to a vapor-phase boron compound, wherein the boron compound contains at least one carbon atom.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
53 words
A method of growing a metal layer on a substrate by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, comprising adsorbing a metal complex upon the substrate and reducing the metal complex to its elemental state by exposing the substrate to a vapor-phase boron compound, wherein the boron compound contains at least one carbon atom.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 29 , wherein the metal complex comprises at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ag, Au, Pd, Pt, Rh and Ir.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 30 , wherein the boron compound is selected from the group consisting of carboranes according to the formula C 2 B n H n+x , wherein n is an integer from 1 to 10 and x is an even integer.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 30 , wherein the boron compound is selected from the group consisting of closo-carboranes of the formula C 2 B n H n+2 , nido-carboranes of the formula C 2 B n H n+4 and arachno-carboranes of the formula C 2 B n H n+6 , wherein n is an integer from 1 to 10.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 30 , wherein the boron compound is selected from the group consisting of amine-borane adducts according to the formula R 3 NBX 3 wherein R is linear or branched C1 to C10 or H and X is linear or branched C1 to C10, H or a halogen.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of claim 30 , wherein the boron compound is selected from the group consisting of aminoboranes, wherein one or more of the substituents is an amino group according to the formula R 2 N, wherein R is linear or branched C1 to C10 or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 30 , wherein the boron compound is selected from the group consisting of alkyl borons and alkyl boranes, wherein the alkyl is a linear or branched C1 to C10 alkyl.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 29 , wherein the metal layer comprises an electrodeposition seed layer in an integrated circuit metallization scheme.
Claim 42
Independent Claim
104 words
A method of growing a metal layer on a substrate by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, comprising adsorbing a metal complex upon the substrate and reducing the metal complex to its elemental state by exposing the substrate to a vapor-phase boron compound, wherein the boron compound does not contain a carbon atom and the metal complex comprises at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ag, Au, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ir, Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo and W, and wherein the boron compound is selected from the group consisting of boron halides, borane halides and complexes thereof.
Claim 43
Independent Claim
104 words
A method of growing a metal layer on a substrate by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, comprising adsorbing a metal complex upon the substrate and reducing the metal complex to its elemental state by exposing the substrate to a vapor-phase boron compound, wherein the boron compound does not contain a carbon atom and the metal complex comprises at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ag, Au, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ir, Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo and W, and wherein the boron compound is selected from the group consisting of boron halides, borane halides and complexes thereof.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 37 , wherein the boron compound is selected from the group consisting of boron halides having a boron/halide ratio between 0.5 and 1.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 38 , wherein the boron compound is selected from the group consisting of B 2 F 4 , B 2 Cl 4 and B 2 Br 4 .
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method of claim 37 , wherein the boron compound is selected from the group consisting of halogenoboranes of the formula B n X n , wherein X is Cl or Br and n is 4 or an integer from 8 to 12 when X is Cl or n is an integer from 7 to 10 when X is Br.
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| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-11-04 | 2006-05-06 | 2006-11-05 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-11-04 | 2010-05-06 | 2010-11-05 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-11-04 | 2014-05-06 | 2014-11-05 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |