Substrate Dosing with TiCl4 as a Surface Pretreatment for CVD and ALD of Al for Future IC Interconnects

Abstract

Titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) dosing was evaluated as an in situ surface pretreatment step prior to the CVD and ALD of Al for applications as a potential replacement for copper in nanoscale interconnects. It was found that the dosing step had significant impacts on the subsequent Al nucleation behavior on both insulating and conductive substrates, and could be used to decrease the nucleation temperature on SiO2 surfaces. This dosing step increases the utility of aluminum as a potential nanoscale interconnect material.