Model based ionized PVD source scaling and performance

Summary form only given. The IPVD has been utilized in semiconductor processing for metallization and is promising to extend performance up to sub-mum technology. The plasma fluid model was developed for an ionized physical vapor deposition (IPVD) source and used to study impact of the geometry and characteristics of the inductively coupled plasma source, DC magnetron and RF biased substrate holder on metallization process performance in scaled up IPVD system. The model is comprised of a 2D equipment simulation considering a gas heating and rarefaction effect. A variable ion mobility approach has been implemented to achieve self-consistency of the model solutions. Mechanism of a thermalization of a sputtered metal from the conical annular target was estimated by an analytical approach. Deposited RF power distribution from scaled antenna into plasma was simulated by commercial EM software. The initial simulation results were validated and calibrated through experimental measurements of the plasma characteristics in baseline IPVD system. The model outputs were related to process variables to characterize deposition/etching rates at the 300 mm wafers, and it was used to study the effect of various IPVD process parameters such as ICP antenna power and geometry, target power, wafer bias power on Cu deposition characteristics across the wafer diameter, In order to aid HW and process development and address extendibility of IPVD technology to future nanoscale fabrication, the results of model were coupled to simple surface profile evolution model and results compared with analytical prediction of feature coverage in advanced IPVD tool