Fabrication of Low Temperature Carbon Nanotube Vertical Interconnects Compatible with Semiconductor Technology

Summary

A method for the growth of low temperature vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes, and the subsequent fabrication of vertical interconnect electrical test structures using semiconductor fabrication is presented.

Abstract

We demonstrate a method for the low temperature growth (350 °C) of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes (CNT) bundles on electrically conductive thin-films. Due to the low growth temperature, the process allows integration with modern low-κ dielectrics and some flexible substrates. The process is compatible with standard semiconductor fabrication, and a method for the fabrication of electrical 4-point probe test structures for vertical interconnect test structures is presented. Using scanning electron microscopy the morphology of the CNT bundles is investigated, which demonstrates vertical alignment of the CNT and can be used to tune the CNT growth time. With Raman spectroscopy the crystallinity of the CNT is investigated. It was found that the CNT have many defects, due to the low growth temperature. The electrical current-voltage measurements of the test vertical interconnects displays a linear response, indicating good ohmic contact was achieved between the CNT bundle and the top and bottom metal electrodes. The obtained resistivities of the CNT bundle are among the average values in the literature, while a record-low CNT growth temperature was used.

Introduction

Copper and tungsten, the metals which are currently used for the interconnects in state-of-the-art very-large-scale integration (VLSI) technology, are approaching their physical limits in terms of reliability and electrical conductivity¹. While down-scaling transistors generally improves their performance, it actually increases the resistance and current density of the interconnects. This resulted in interconnects dominating the integrated circuit (IC) performance in terms of delay and power consumption².

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) have been suggested as alternative for Cu and W metallization, especially for vertical inter....

Protocol

Caution: Please consult all relevant material safety data sheets (MSDS) before use. Several of the chemicals used in this fabrication process are acutely toxic and carcinogenic. Nanomaterials may have additional hazards compared to their bulk counterpart. Please use all appropriate safety practices when working with equipment, chemicals or nanomaterials, including the use of engineering controls (fume hood) and personal protective equipment (safety glasses, gloves, cleanroom clothes).

1. Alignment Marker Definition for Lithography

1. Start with single-sided polished industrial grade Si(100) wafers with either n or p-type doping.

Results

The design of the measurement structure used in this work can be found in Figure 1. By employing such a structure the measurement of the CNT bundle resistance and the metal-CNT contact resistances can be determined accurately, as probe and wire resistances are circumvented. The resistance of the bundle is a measure for the quality and density of the CNT bundle. In order to determine the contact resistance bundles of different lengths should be measured.

A typical SEM image of .......

Discussion

Figure 1 displays a schematic overview of the structure fabricated in this work, and which was used for the 4-point probe measurements. As the potential is measured through probes carrying no current, the exact potential drop (V_H-V_L) over the central CNT bundle and its contacts to the metal can be measured. Bigger diameter CNT bundles are used to contact the bottom TiN layer from the contact pads, in order to reduce the total resistance for the current forcing probes and maximize th.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Si (100) wafer 4"	International Wafer Service		Resisitivity: 2-5 mΩ-cm, thickness: 525 µm
Ti-sputter target (99.995% purity)	Praxair
Al (1% Si)-sputter target (99.999% purity)	Praxair
Co (99.95% purity)	Kurt J. Lesker
SPR3012 positive photoresist	Dow Electronic Materials
MF-322 developer	Dow Electronic Materials
HNO3 (99.9%)	KMG Ultra Pure Chemicals
HNO3 (69.5%)	KMG Ultra Pure Chemicals
HF 0.55%	Honeywell
Tetrahydrofuran	JT Baker
Acetone	Sigma-Aldrich
ECI3027 positive photoresist	AZ
Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS)	Praxair
N2 (99.9990%)	Praxair
O2 (99.9999%)	Praxair
CF4 (99.9970%)	Praxair
Cl2 (99.9900%)	Praxair
HBr (99.9950%)	Praxair
Ar (99.9990%)	Praxair
C2F6 (99.9990%)	Praxair
CHF3 (99.9950%)	Praxair
H2 (99.9950%)	Praxair
C2H2 (99.6000%)	Praxair
EVG 120 coater/developer	EVG
ASML PAS5500/80 waferstepper	ASML
SPTS Ωmega 201 plasma etcher	SPTS		Used for Si and metal etching
SPTS Σigma sputter coater	SPTS
Novellus Concept One PECVD	LAM
Drytek 384T plasma etcher	LAM		Used for oxide etching
CHA Solution e-beam evaporator	CHA
AIXTRON BlackMagic Pro CVD tool	AIXTRON		Carbon nanotube growth
Philips XL50 scanning electron microscope	FEI
Tepla 300	PVA TePla		Resist plasma stripper
Avenger rinser dryer	Microporcess Technologies
Leitz MPV-SP reflecometer	Leitz
Renishaw inVia Raman spectroscope	Renishaw
Agilent 4156C parameter spectrum analyzer	Agilent
Cascade Microtech probe station	Cascade Microtech