2-in-1 total process integration in MERIE etch chamber for Cu dual damascene applications

Advanced Cu-low K dual damascene becomes one of the most promising interconnection technologies for the new generation device back-end process. The keys for production-worthy solution lies in the integration of post main etch resist strip and nitride removal step without having process drift and particle generation. In this paper, we present a complete process integration to combine resist strip, chamber clean, nitride etch and ensure no residue left on the trenches and vias. Baseline performance, 1700 wafer cycling test, process window, mix-run and mix-mode test results will be discussed. The entire integration is being tested at customer site