The CVD growth of Cu films using H-2 as carrier gas

Abstract

Copper chemical vapor deposition from Cu(hexafluoroacetylacetonate)trimethyl-vinylsilane (Cu(hfac)TMVS) was studied using a low pressure chemical vapor deposition system of a cold wall vertical reactor. The Cu films deposited using H-2 as a carrier gas revealed no impurities in the films within the detection limits of Auger electron spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Using hydrogen as a carrier gas, the hydrogen not only acts as a reducing agent, but also reacts with the residual fragment of precursor. As a result, using H-2 as a carrier gas for Cu(hfac)TMVS resulted in Cu films of lower resistivity, denser microstructure and faster deposition rate than using Ar or N-2 as the carrier gas. Moreover, we found that N-2 plasma treatment on the substrate surface prior to Cu deposition increased the deposition rate of Cu films.