Process Development of Atomic Layer Deposition Cobalt and Ruthenium Metal Films – Year two

Next-generation integrated circuits require the innovation of new interconnect materials in order to maintain the performance improvements of Moore’s Law scaling. Cobalt (Co) and ruthenium (Ru) are two specific metals that are garnering strong interest for use in the filling of interconnects because of their better electrical performance and reliability at the extremely scaled dimensions required by sub-10 nm technology nodes. Hence, through the collaboration between Synthergy and the University of Alberta, this research fellowship aims to exploit the high conformality and precise film thickness control capabilities of atomic layer deposition (ALD) to deposit thin Co and Ru metal films suitable for these semiconductor applications and Synthergy’s potential end customers. To that end, the main objectives will be to develop improved, robust ALD Co and Ru processes with an emphasis on realising thin metal films with high purity, good conformality, and low resistivity.

Faculty Supervisor:

Ken Cadien

Student:

Alex Munnlick Ma

Partner:

Synthergy Inc

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

University of Alberta