Plasma-damage optimization of the liner-removal process for 300 mm 0.13 μm copper dual-damascene BEOL manufacturing

In this paper, an approach for optimizing plasma-charging damage of liner-removal process for 300 mm copper dual-damascene BEOL manufacturing is described. A specially designed cathode was first used to screen the process parameter response on damage performance. Real-time monitoring of etcher parameters during the process provided fast feedback about any plasma transient instability. Implementation of match tune and load preset methodology further improved the plasma transient uniformity to ensure an acceptable plasma-damage performance window from antenna MOS transistor parametric test results.