Novel barrier dielectric liner prepared by liquid-phase deposition and NH3-plasma annealing

A novel barrier dielectric liner prepared by liquid-phase deposition and post-deposition NH3-plasma annealing is proposed as a capping layer to be used on damascene trenches of low-permittivity dielectric. The liner technology meets the essential requirements such as (1) thin and conformal deposition, (2) a low leakage current level, and (3) effective blocking of Cu penetration. With this barrier dielectric liner, Cu damascene interconnection is expected to have a low leakage current and high resistance to Cu penetration into the low-permittivity dielectrics even if the barrier metal fails locally.