32/28NM BEOL CU GAP-FILL CHALLENGES FOR METAL FILM

Xuezhen Jing*, Jingjing Tan, Jiquan Liu,

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC)
18, Zhangjiang Road, Pudong New Area, 201203 Shanghai, P. R. China
*Correspondent Author E-mail: Jennifer_Jing@smics.com

ABSTRACT At 32/28nm technology node, all the companies have

With the logic device size shrinking to 32/28nm and selected PVD TiN MHM film and metal first & via last
beyond, ultra- low k has been introduced to Cu interconnect, integration scheme to reduce ULK damage during resist
which makes Cu gap-fill very challenging. This paper has ashing. Conventional TiN film shows high compressive
summarized metal hard mask, Ta(N) barrier, Cu seed and stress (l.5�2.0GPa). But ULK film's mechanical property
electroplating (ECP) challenges for 28nm BEOL Cu is poor, so deformation of the dielectrics pattern has often
gap-fill. Metal hard mask thickness and stress greatly been found during wafer processing (Fig.l.(a)), which
impact gap fill performance and need to be optimized. would subsequently lead to Cu trench voids (Fig.l.(b)) and
Thinner barrier helps meet gap-fill and Via Rc early failures during interconnect test.
requirements, but it may compromise its reliability
robustness. In order to have good Cu gap-fill at both trench
and via, Cu seed needs to be optimized at top overhang and
sidewall step coverage, or it requires a fair balance between
the two tuning knobs. ECP chemical selection, additive
concentration, and entry also show their critical roles in the
gap-fill performance.

INTRODUCTION
With the device shrinking to 32/28nm technology node, (a) (b)
it has become increasingly challenging to minimize RC
delays and crosstalk in interconnects with shrinking
line-width and spacing. If Cu keeps intact, ultra-low k
(ULK) dielectric introduction is the only way to alleviate 0.35 nm

this issue. 0.21 nm

From 32nm/28nm, almost all the companies have 0.07 nm

introduced porous low k (k<=2.55) for this purpose. But -0.07 nm

-0.21 nm
the damage to ULK during resist ashing has been mainly
-0.35 nm
concerned. Metal hard mask (MHM) scheme can protect
ULK from being exposed to ashing, because trench etch (c)
Fig.l. (a) Cross-sectional TEM image of the fine trench; (b)
can be performed without a photoresist mask [1, 2]. At the
top view SEM image after Cu_CMP; (c) simulation result
same time, due to its poor hardness and modulus properties,
of the trench deformation due to the residual compressive
ULK introduction will also make Cu gap fill more
stress in TiN [3}
challenging because of the pattern deformation after etch
[3]. And porous ULK property will make water or polymer
Stress simulation data also confirms that the
easier to be absorbed on the wafer before barrier and seed
deformation is the result of the MHM film intrinsic stresses
deposition, which will make Cu gap fill more complex.
(Fig. I. (c) ) [3]. Effective methods should be taken to
TaN/Ta film stack still be extended to this generation.
control the residual stress in TIN hard mask film to prevent
But good balances among gap fill, via Rc and reliability
the deformation and ensure the maximum top opening after
need to be considered. CVD based Co seed enhance layer
etch. The first method is to use film with low stress that can
(for gap fill) still has not been adopted for this generation,
be achieved by the process tuning, and the other one is to
which will make seed that is marginal on 40/45nm more
use the thinner hard mask film. For the first approach, lower
challenging on 32/28nm. For Cu electroplating (ECP),
film stress means more grain boundary and lower density,
different companies selected different ECP process based
which will impact via etch selectivity. Hard mask scheme
on their different integration scheme.
still needs consider etch selectivity to ULK film, because
higher etch selectivity means minor facet of the trench top
METAL HARD MASK (MHM) FILM comers, thereby protecting the CD space. Currently,
different companies have selected different MHM TiN film
stress and thicknesses based on which via scheme (punches
through via or self-aligned via) they have used.
At last, because MHM fihn stress is a very key factor to
trench deformation, film property u% should be carefully
controlled to get uniform top opening after etch.
BARRIER FILM
To 32/28nm, TaN/Ta stack layer can still be extended
for Cu diffusion barrier and seed wetting. CVD based seed
wetting enhance layer has not been adopted at this
technology node.
But for 32/28nm, thermal based ALD TaN has been
introduced, but it has not been used for all 32/28nm
products. ALD TaN was only used for some products that
has special via Rc requirements. ALD TaN introduction has
no obvious impacts on Cu gap fill and it may have adhesion
issues due to its high impurity. And ALD TaN still needs
combine with the subsequent PVD Ta to meet reliability
requirements. So even to 32/28nm, industry still prefer
extending PVD TaN to this generation and just refming
PVD TaN process to meet via Rc and reliability
requirements.
To 32/28nm, strong re-sputtering is not accepted in
barrier deposition for ULK damage consideration. So
barrier thickness has to be reduced to meet via Rc
requirements. This will benefit top opening after barrier
and seed deposition, but will degrade EM performance.
Soft re-sputtering can be used to balance via Rc, gap fill
and reliability.
Ta is used for Cu wetting, and its good sidewall step
coverage is very helpful to get a smooth and continuous
seed layer. This is important for final Cu gap fill. If both
EM and via Rc permit, TaN thickness should be kept as thin
as possible and Ta sidewall film thickness as thick as
possible.
SEED FILM
With the introduction of ULK, pattern deformation is
easier to occur to form re-entrant profile, and meanwhile
PVD Ta as wetting layer is more preferentially to deposit
near top of the recessed features, leading to a bottle neck
shape before seed deposition. This will make it difficult to
form a continuous seed on the recessed area, thus leading to
gap fill voids. CVD Co based wetting layer has not been
used in this generation, which will make seed deposition is
more challenging.
Re-sputtering method is still kept for 32/28nm seed
deposition for better sidewall step coverage. And
self-ionized Cu+ has replaced conventional Ar+ for
re-sputtering process [4]. So additional flush is not needed
due to existing Cu deposition on re-sputtering step. Cu ion
re-sputtering will be helpful for good side wall step
coverage, and at the same time not degrade Cu bottom
coverage (Fig. 2.). Seed process should be refined for good
gap fill. On one hand, deposition and re-sputtering ratio
need to be optimized to get the maximum top opening after
seed deposition and leave more margins for subsequent
ECP gap fill. In general, 11 12nm trench top opening is
�
needed for good gap fill. On the other hand, the seed layer
should be thick enough to ensure continuous seed on the
sidewall, especially on the structure with re-entrants.
Re-sputtering ratio is a key factor for deposition and
re-sputtering step process tuning. In addition, a new
collimator design is also used for seed deposition chamber
to prevent the atoms with large incident angle from
depositing on the top of features and then reducing
overhang [4].
Cu Deposition Process
(a) (b)
(c)
Fig. 2. (a) Pure Cu deposition; (b) conventional Ar+
re-sputtering; (c) Cu+ re-sputtering with new tool. (AMAT
training material)
Seed contamination is another important factor for
final Cu gap fill, which will induce yield killers if
contamination occurs at via bottoms. And this phenomenon
becomes worse with the introduction of ULK because of its
porous film property. Proper methods must be taken to
solve the contamination issue before barrier and seed
deposition.
Cu seed layer with doping species has been adopted for
reliability improvement. Different doping species (as AI,
and Mn) and doping concentrations have been tried [5]. But
no obvious gap fill difference has been found for Cu seed
with different doping species.
COPPER ELECTROPLATING
ECP process will become very difficult with CD
shrinking, and ULK introduction will make the gap fill
become even more complex and challenging. And gap fill
challenge is different for different integration schemes that
come from ULK film quality, film stack and contamination
level. So different companies select different ECP process:
different chemical, additive concentrations and waveform
to achieve void free gap fill.
 TABLE I
Film impurities for different chemical additives
Impurity/ppm C CI
Extreme plus II 50
Vertical A 3 0.5
Chemical is very critical for ECP gap fill. In this
generation, there is no change for VMS solution, but some
companies have selected more advanced additives to
improve their gap fill margins. Currently, Enthone Extreme
plus and Moses lake vertical A have been selected for
32/2Snm ECP process. Vertical A shows better gap fill
performance (Fig. 4.) and lower impurity (TABLE I) than
Extreme plus. Because ECP bottom up fill is achieved by
non-equilibrium distribution of current accelerating and
suppressing between the feature base and the field [6, 7],
additive concentration should be optimized to balance the
current distribution to achieve bottom up fill. In addition,
high CI concentration can also be tried to improve
suppressor absorption.
As we have discussed in above, seed layer is easier to
be discontinuous due to poor wetting layer step coverage
S 0 total and pattern deformation at 32/2Snm. So at 2Snm, seed
10 40 III protection and conformal seed enhancement at entry and
0.1 4 7.6 initial stage of ECP is needed. Because high applied entry
voltage or current can reduce the voltage differences
among seed with different sizes and protect thin or
marginal seeds from corrosion during immersion. High
entry voltage or new multi-wave entry [S] (Fig. 4) can be
used to improve the seed continuity then to eliminate the Cu
voids.
CONCLUSIONS
This paper has smnmarized metal hard mask, Ta(N)
barrier, Cu seed and ECP challenges for 2Snm BEOL Cu
gap-fill after the introduction of ULK. Metal hard mask
thickness and stress need to be optimized to maximize top
opening. Industry still prefers to extend PVD barrier for
2Snm. Seed deposition and re-sputtering ratio should be
optimized to achieve void free gap fill. And ECP process is
different based on gap fill difficulty: aspect ratio, pattern
deformation and contamination extent.

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank our metal team, PIE
and YE team for data collection and thanks AMAT and
LAM's help in technical discussion.

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Fig. 3. Post Cu CMP defect map (b)
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