Low-k Intermetal Dielectric Process

Novellus Systems Inc.stems Inc. has introduced a new intermetal (IMD) process for copper dual damascene devices that delivers a combined effective dielectric constant of less than 3.0. The company also announced that its CORAL low-k films have been successfully integrated into a multi-level copper dual damascene structure in pilot production at a major foundry.

The CORAL low-k process uses a unique silicon carbide copper barrier/etch stop film, which is the most advanced low-k film offered for this application.

As deposited with Novellus' multi-station sequential deposition architecture, this new film also offers copper blocking properties that are up to three times greater than competitive films deposited in a single wafer pass. This allows an ultra-thin barrier, which results in a lower dielectric constant, as well as leakage currents. This silicon carbide film, with a k-value of 4.3, reduces the dielectric constant by greater than 40 percent compared with previous generation nitride barrier films. The matching CORAL IMD film, with a dielectric constant of 2.7, offers ten times the hardness of spin-ons and twice the hardness of competitive CVD films, with better adhesion qualities, making film integration a significantly easier task. When integrated into a dielectric stack, the two CORAL films have an effective k-value of less than 3.0.

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