USE IN COBALT-CONTAINING FILM DEPOSITION

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 1 19(e) to U.S.

provisional application No. 61/759,138 filed January 31 , 2013, the entire contents of each being incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

Cobalt-containing compounds, their synthesis, and their use for the deposition of cobalt-containing films are disclosed.

Background

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) have been applied as main deposition techniques for producing thin films for

semiconductor devices. These methods enable the achievement of conformal films (metal, oxide, nitride, silicide, etc.) through fine tuning of parameters during the deposition processes. Mainly the film growth is controlled by chemical reactions of metal-containing compounds (precursors) and the development of optimum precursors is essential under prediction of their properties and reaction processes.

Films of metal and metal silicide, particularly manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, and ruthenium, are becoming important for a variety of electronics and

electrochemical applications. For example, cobalt thin films are of interest due to their high magnetic permittivity. There are many reports of using cobalt thin films to form cobalt disilicide (CoSi ₂ ) for Ohmic contacts owing to its low resistivity in front-end-of-the-line processing of semiconductor devices. Cobalt containing thin films were recently studied as Cu/low-k barriers, passivation layers, and capping layers for ultralarge scale integrated devices.

Synthesis methods of substituted silyl or halide cobalt tetracarbonyl complexes (R ₃ SiCo(CO) ₄ ) are known (Sisak et al., Formation and Multinuclear Magnetic Resonance Investigation of Silylammonium Tetracarbonylcobaltate Contact Ion Pairs, Central European Journal of Chemistry, 4(2) (2006) pp.

299-316; Begum et al. Synthesis, Reaction and Thermal Decomposition of a Silicon-Cobalt Bonded Compound, Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Vol. 17, No. 2 (1993) pp. 201 -205; Chatani et al., Cobalt Carbonyl Catalyzed

Reactions of Esters and Lactones with Hydrosilane and Carbon Monoxide. A Novel Synthetic Method for the Introduction of the Siloxymetahylidene Group, J. Am. Chem. Soc. (1986) 108, pp. 7361 -7373; Chatani et al., A New Entry to π-Allylcobalt Tricarbonyls Using (CH ₃ ) ₃ SiCo(CO) ₄ , Tetrahedron Letters, Vol. 24, No. 50 (1983) pp. 5649-5652; Reichel et al., Photochemistry of Cobalt Carbonyl Complexes

Having a Cobalt-Silicon Bond and Its Importance in Activation of Catalyis, Inorg. Chem. 19 (1980) pp. 3858-3860; Bradley et al., Reaction of Octacarbonyldicobalt with Organosilanes, -germanes, and -stannanes. Formation, Properties, and Vibrational Spectra of (Trimethylgermyl)tetracarbonylcobalt and Related

Complexes, Journal of the Chemical Society, Dalton Transactions: Inorganic Chemistry (1974) 3, pp. 264-9; Ingle et al., Cobalt to Oxygen Migration of the Trimethylsilyl Group in Trimethylsilylcobalt Tetracarbonyl, Journal of the Chemical Society, (1973) 14, pp. 497-498; Morrison et al., Trichloro-, Trimethyl-, and

Trifluorosilylcobalt Tetracarbonyl, Inorganic Synthesis, 13 (1971 ) pp. 65-73; Baay et al., Trimethyl- and Trichlorosilylcobalt Tetracarbonyls and the Hydrosilation of Ethylene, Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 8, No. 4 (April 1969) pp. 986-994; MacDiarmid et al., Properties of Silicon Derivates of Cobalt, Manganese, and Iron Carbonyls, Pure and Applied Chemistry (1969) Vol. 19, Issue 3, pp. 431 -438; Baay et al., Synthesis and Properties of Trimethylsilyl Cobalt Tetracarbonyl and Related Compounds, Inorg. Nucl. Chem. Letters, Vol. 3 (1967) pp. 159-161 ).

Silyl cobalt tetracarbonyl complexes (R3SiCo(CO) ₄ ), wherein R is an alkyl group or halogen, are also known as precursors for cobalt-containing films (Prokap et al., nm-Co2Si, CoSi, C0S12 silicide films from the single source precursor CoSiCI ₃ (CO) ₄ in the presence of SiH ₄ , Thin Solid Films, 359 (2000) pp. 39-45; Kodas et al., The Chemistry of Metal CVD, Wiley-VCH (1994) Section 9.2

Classification of Precursors; Aylett et al., Chemical Vapour Deposition of Transition-Metal Silicides by Pyrolysis of Silyl Transition-Metal Carbonyl

Compounds, J.C.S. Dalton (1977) pp. 2058-2061 ; Advances in Inorganic

Chemistry and Radiochemistry, (1982) pp.107-110).

A need remains for cobalt compounds suitable for deposition of

cobalt-containing films.

Notation and Nomenclature

Certain abbreviations, symbols, and terms are used throughout the following description and claims, and include:

As used herein, the indefinite article "a" or "an" means one or more.

As used herein, the term "alkyl group" refers to saturated functional groups containing exclusively carbon and hydrogen atoms. Further, the term "alkyl group" refers to linear, branched, or cyclic alkyl groups. Examples of linear alkyl groups include without limitation, methyl groups, ethyl groups, propyl groups, butyl groups, etc. Examples of branched alkyls groups include without limitation, t-butyl.

Examples of cyclic alkyl groups include without limitation, cyclopropyl groups, cyclopentyl groups, cyclohexyl groups, etc.

As used herein, the term "hydrocarbon" means a functional group

containing exclusively hydrogen and carbon atoms. The functional group may be saturated (containing only single bonds) or unsaturated (containing double or triple bonds).

As used herein, the abbreviation "Me" refers to a methyl group; the abbreviation "Et" refers to an ethyl group; the abbreviation "Pr" refers to any propyl group (i.e., n-propyl or isopropyl); the abbreviation "iPr" refers to an isopropyl group; the abbreviation "Bu" refers to any butyl group (n-butyl, iso-butyl, t-butyl, sec-butyl); the abbreviation "tBu" refers to a tert-butyl group; the abbreviation "sBu" refers to a sec-butyl group; the abbreviation "iBu" refers to an iso-butyl group; the abbreviation "ph" refers to a phenyl group; and the abbreviation "Cp" refers to cyclopentadienyl group.

The standard abbreviations of the elements from the periodic table of elements are used herein. It should be understood that elements may be referred to by these abbreviations (e.g., Co refers to cobalt, Si refers to silicon, C refers to carbon, etc.).

Summary

Compounds having one of the following formulae are disclosed:

R Si Co(CO) ₄ (OC) ₄ Co Si Co(CO) ₄

R ³ R ⁵

Formula I Formula II

wherein each of R ¹ , R ² , R ³ , R ⁴ , and R ⁵ is independently selected from the group consisting of Hydrogen; a halogen; linear, cyclic or branched hydrocarbons;

primary amino ligands (-NHR); and secondary amino ligands (-NRR'), with R and R' independently being H or a linear, cyclic or branched hydrocarbon, provided at least one of R ¹ , R ² , or R ³ in Formula I and R ⁴ or R ⁵ in Formula II is an amino ligand. The disclosed compounds may have one or more of the following aspects:

• the Formula I compound including one or two neutral adduct ligands

selected from the group consisting of NMe ₃ , NEt ₃ , NiPr ₃ , NMeEt ₂ , NC ₅ H ₅ , OC ₄ H ₈ , Me ₂ 0, and Et ₂ 0;

the compound having Formula I,

the compound being (NMe ₂ )3SiCo(CO) ₄ ,

the compound being SiH(NMe ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being SiH ₂ (NMe ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ ,

the compound being Si(NEt ₂ ) ₃ Co(CO) ₄ ,

the compound being SiH(NEt ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ ,

the compound being SiH ₂ (NEt ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ ,

the compound being Si(N-iPr ₂ ) ₃ Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being SiH(N-iPr ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ ,

the compound being SiH ₂ (N-iPr ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ ,

the compound being Si(NHtBu) ₃ Co(CO) ₄ , • the compound being SiH(NHtBu) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being SiH ₂ (NHtBu)Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being SiCI(NMe ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being SiMe(NMe ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CH ₂ =CH)Si(Me)(NMe ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CH ₂ =CH)Si(Me)(NEt ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CH ₂ =CH)Si(Me)(N-iPr ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CH ₂ =CH)Si(NEt ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (NHSiMe ₃ )Si(Me)(H)Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound having Formula II,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(NMe ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(NEt ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(N-iPr ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(NMe ₂ )(H)Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(NEt ₂ )(H)Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(N-iPr ₂ )(H)Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(NHtBu)(H)Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(NHSiMe ₃ )(Me)Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(NHSiMe ₃ )(Et)Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(NHSiMe ₃ )(iPr)Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(NHSiMe ₃ )(tBu)Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(CH=CH ₂ )(NMe ₂ )Co(CO) ₄

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(CH=CH ₂ )(NEt ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ ,

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(CH=CH ₂ )(N-iPr ₂ )Co(CO) ₄

• the compound being (CO) ₄ CoSi(CH=CH ₂ )(NHtBu)Co(CO)

Methods of depositing cobalt-containing films are also disclosed. One of the cobalt-containing compounds disclosed above is introduced into a reactor having a substrate disposed therein. At least part of the cobalt-containing compound is deposited onto the substrate to form the cobalt-containing film. The disclosed methods may have one or more of the following aspects:

• The depositing step being chemical vapor deposition (CVD); • The depositing step being atomic layer deposition (ALD);

• The depositing step being plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD);

• The depositing step being plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition

(PEALD);

• The depositing step being pulsed chemical vapor deposition (PCVD);

• The depositing step being low pressure chemical vapor deposition

(LPCVD);

• The depositing step being sub-atmospheric chemical vapor deposition (SACVD);

• The depositing step being atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD);

• The depositing step being spatial ALD;

• The depositing step being radicals incorporated deposition;

· The depositing step being super critical fluid deposition;

• The depositing step being a combination of two or more of CVD, ALD, PECVD, PEALD, PCVD, LPCVD, SACVD, APCVD, spatial ALD, radicals incorporated deposition, or super critical deposition;

• the method being performed at a temperature between about 20°C and about 800°C;

• the method being performed at a temperature between about 25°C and about 600°C;

• the reactor having a pressure between approximately 0.1 Pa and

approximately 10 ⁵ Pa;

· the reactor having a pressure between between approximately 2.5Pa and approximately 10 ³ Pa;

• the cobalt-containing film being pure cobalt;

• the cobalt-containing film being cobalt nitride (CoN);

• the cobalt-containing film being cobalt silicide (CoSi);

· the cobalt-containing film being cobalt silicide nitride (CoSiN);

• the cobalt-containing film being cobalt oxide (CoO); • introducing a reaction gas into the reactor at the same time or at an alternate time as the introduction of the cobalt-containing compound;

• the reaction gas being a reducing agent selected from the group consisting of N ₂ , H ₂ , NH ₃ , SiH ₄ , Si ₂ H ₆ , Si ₃ H ₈ , (Me) ₂ SiH ₂ , (C ₂ H ₅ ) ₂ SiH ₂ , (CH ₃ ) ₃ SiH, (C ₂ H ₅ ) ₃ SiH, [N(C ₂ H ₅ ) ₂ ] ₂ SiH ₂ , N(CH ₃ ) ₃ , N(C ₂ H ₅ ) ₃ , (SiMe ₃ ) ₂ NH, (CH ₃ )HNNH ₂ ,

(CH ₃ ) ₂ NNH ₂ , phenyl hydrazine, B ₂ H ₆ , (SiH ₃ ) ₃ N, radical species of these reducing agents, and mixtures of these reducing agents; and

• the reaction gas being an oxidizing reagent selected from the group

consisting of 0 ₂ , 0 ₃ , H ₂ 0, H ₂ 0 ₂ , NO, NO ₂ , acetic acid, radical species of these oxidizing agents, and mixtures of these oxidizing agents.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

Cobalt-containing compounds having one of the following formulae

Formula I Formula II

wherein each of R ¹ , R ² , R ³ , R ⁴ , and R ⁵ is independently selected from the group consisting of Hydrogen (H); a halogen (I, Br, CI, or F); linear, cyclic or branched hydrocarbons; primary amino ligands (-NHR); and secondary amino ligands (-NRR'), with R and R' independently being H or a linear, cyclic or branched hydrocarbon, provided at least one of R ¹ , R ² , or R ³ in Formula I and R ⁴ or R ⁵ in Formula II is an amino ligand. The compound of Formula I may alternatively be referred to as (NR' ₂ ) _x R _3- xSiCo(CO) ₄ compounds, wherein x=1 -3, each R is independently selected from Hydrogen; a halogen; or a linear, cyclic or branched hydrocarbons; and each R' is independently selected from Hydrogen or a linear, cyclic or branched hydrocarbon. The Formula I compound may include one or two neutral adduct ligands selected from the group consisting of NMe ₃ , NEt ₃ , NiPr ₃ , NMeEt ₂ , NC ₅ H ₅ , OC ₄ H ₈ , Me ₂ 0, and Et ₂ 0. Preferably, the ligand is NMe3 or NEt ₃ .

Exemplary compounds of Formula I include, but are not limited to,

(NMe ₂ ) ₃ SiCo(CO) ₄ , SiH(NMe ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ , SiH ₂ (NMe ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ , Si(NEt ₂ ) ₃ Co(CO) ₄ , SiH(NEt ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ , SiH ₂ (NEt ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ , Si(N-iPr ₂ ) ₃ Co(CO) ₄ , SiH(N-iPr ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ , SiH ₂ (N-iPr ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ , Si(NHtBu) ₃ Co(CO) ₄ , SiH(NHtBu) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ ,

SiH ₂ (NHtBu)Co(CO) ₄ ., SiCI(NMe ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ , SiMe(NMe ₂ ) ₂ CoC0 ₄ ,

(CH ₂ =CH)Si(Me)(NMe ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ , (CH ₂ =CH)Si(Me)(NEt ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ ,

(CH ₂ =CH)Si(Me)(NiPr ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ , (CH ₂ =CH)Si(NEt ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ , and

(NHSiMe ₃ )Si(Me)(H)Co(CO) ₄ , preferably Si(NMe ₂ ) ₃ Co(CO) ₄ or

SiH(NEt ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ .

Si(NMe ₂ ) ₃ Co(CO) ₄ , SiH(NEt ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ , SiH ₂ (N-iPr ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ , and

SiH(NHtBu) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ are illustrated below:

^NMe 2 NEt ₂ NiPr ₂ NHtBu

Me ₂ N Si Co(CO) _{4 H Si} Co(CO) ₄ H Si Co(CO) ₄ H Si Co(CO) ₄

^NMe 2 NEt ₂ H NHtBu

Exemplary compounds of Formula II include, but are not limited to, (CO) ₄ CoSi(NMe ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ , (CO) ₄ CoSi(NEt ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ ,

(CO) ₄ CoSi(N-iPr ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ , (CO) ₄ CoSi(NMe ₂ )(H)Co(CO) ₄ ,

(CO) ₄ CoSi(NEt ₂ )(H)Co(CO) ₄ , (CO) ₄ CoSi(N-iPr ₂ )(H)Co(CO) ₄ ,

(CO) ₄ CoSi(NHtBu)(H)Co(CO) ₄ , (CO) ₄ CoSi(NHSiMe ₃ )(Me)Co(CO) ₄ ,

(CO) ₄ CoSi(NHSiMe ₃ )(Et)Co(CO) ₄ , (CO) ₄ CoSi(NHSiMe ₃ )(iPr)Co(CO) ₄ ,

(CO) ₄ CoSi(NHSiMe ₃ )(tBu)Co(CO) ₄ , (CO) ₄ CoSi(CH=CH ₂ )(NMe ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ ,

(CO) ₄ CoSi(CH=CH ₂ )(NEt ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ , (CO) ₄ CoSi(CH=CH ₂ )(N-iPr ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ , and (CO) ₄ CoSi(CH=CH ₂ )(NHtBu)Co(CO) ₄ , preferably (CO) ₄ CoSi(NMe ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ or (CO) ₄ CoSi(NEt ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄ .

The cobalt-containing compounds may be synthesized by reacting

Co ₂ (CO)s with an excess amount of aminosilane at -78°C. These reactants are commercially available or may be synthesized by general methods known in the art using mono-, di-, or tri-chlorosilane and corresponding amine. The mixture, with stirring, is warmed to room temperature to complete the reaction. During the reaction, hydrogen generation is observed. After 1 hour of stirring, excess aminosilane is removed under vacuum at room temperature. The resulting dark color oil or solid is purified by vacuum distillation or sublimation.

The adduct may be synthesized by adding the cobalt-containing compound to a solvent, such as toluene or dichloromethane. The resulting mixture is cooled to approximately -15°C. The adduct ligand is slowly added to the cooled mixture. The cooled adduct mixture is allowed to warm to room temperature (approximately 20°C), with continuous stirring. Excess adduct ligand is removed under vacuum. The resulting adduct product may be purified by distillation or sublimation.

At least part of the disclosed cobalt-containing compounds may deposited onto a substrate to form the cobalt-containing films by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), or other types of depositions that are related to vapor coating such as a plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD), plasma enhanced

ALD (PEALD), pulsed CVD (PCVD), low pressure CVD (LPCVD), sub-atmospheric CVD (SACVD) or atmospheric pressure CVD (APCVD), hot-wire CVD (HWCVD, also known as catCVD, in which a hot wire seres as a catalyst for the deposition process), spatial ALD, hot-wire ALD (HWALD), radicals incorporated deposition, and super critical fluid deposition or combinations thereof. Preferably, the deposition method is CVD, ALD, or PE-ALD.

The disclosed methods may be useful in the manufacture of semiconductor, photovoltaic, LCD-TFT, or flat panel type devices. The method includes introducing the vapor of at least one Co-containing compound disclosed above into a reactor having at least one substrate disposed therein and depositing at least part of the cobalt-containing compound onto the at least one substrate to form a cobalt-containing layer using a vapor deposition process. The temperature and the pressure within the reactor and the temperature of the substrate are held at conditions suitable for formation of the Co-containing layer on at least one surface of the substrate. A reaction gas may also be used to help in formation of the Co-containing layer. The disclosed methods also may be used to form a two element-containing layer on a substrate using a vapor deposition process and, more particularly, for deposition of CoMO _x layers, wherein M is the second element and is selected from the group consisting of group 2, group 13, group 14, transition metal, lanthanides, and combinations thereof, and more preferably from Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Hf, Nb, Ta, Al, Si, Ge, Y, or lanthanides. The method includes: introducing at least one

Co-containing compound disclosed above into a reactor having at least one substrate disposed therein, introducing a second precursor into the reactor, and depositing at least part of the cobalt-containing compound and at least part of the second precursor onto the at least one substrate to form the two

element-containing layer using a vapor deposition process.

The reactor may be any enclosure or chamber of a device in which deposition methods take place, such as, without limitation, a parallel-plate type reactor, a cold-wall type reactor, a hot-wall type reactor, a single-wafer reactor, a multi-wafer reactor, or other such types of deposition systems. All of these exemplary reactors are capable of serving as an ALD or CVD reactor. The reactor may be maintained at a pressure ranging from about 0.5 mTorr to about 20 Torr. In addition, the temperature within the reactor may range from about room temperature (20°C) to about 600°C. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the temperature may be optimized through mere experimentation to achieve the desired result.

The temperature of the reactor may be controlled by either controlling the temperature of the substrate holder (called a cold wall reactor) or controlling the temperature of the reactor wall (called a hot wall reactor) or a combination of both methods. Devices used to heat the substrate are known in the art.

The reactor wall may be heated to a sufficient temperature to obtain the desired film at a sufficient growth rate and with desired physical state and composition. A non-limiting exemplary temperature range to which the reactor wall may be heated includes from approximately 20°C to approximately 600°C. When a plasma deposition process is utilized, the deposition temperature may range from approximately 20°C to approximately 550°C. Alternatively, when a thermal process is performed, the deposition temperature may range from approximately 100°C to approximately 600°C.

Alternatively, the substrate may be heated to a sufficient temperature to obtain the desired cobalt-containing layer at a sufficient growth rate and with desired physical state and composition. A non-limiting exemplary temperature range to which the substrate may be heated includes from 100°C to 600°C.

Preferably, the temperature of the substrate remains less than or equal to 500°C.

The type of substrate upon which the cobalt-containing layer will be deposited will vary depending on the final use intended. In some embodiments, the substrate may be chosen from oxides which are used as dielectric materials in MIM, DRAM, or FeRam technologies (for example, Zr02 based materials, Hf02 based materials, ΤΊΟ2 based materials, rare earth oxide based materials, ternary oxide based materials, etc.) or from nitride-based layers (for example, TaN) that are used as an oxygen barrier between copper and the low-k layer. Other substrates may be used in the manufacture of semiconductors, photovoltaics,

LCD-TFT, or flat panel devices. Examples of such substrates include, but are not limited to, solid substrates such as copper and copper based alloys like CuMn, metal nitride-containing substrates (for example, TaN, TiN, WN, TaCN, TiCN, TaSiN, and TiSiN); insulators (for example, SiO ₂ , Si ₃ N ₄ , SiON, HfO ₂ , Ta ₂ O ₅ , ZrO ₂ , T1O2, AI2O3, and barium strontium titanate); or other substrates that include any number of combinations of these materials. The actual substrate utilized may also depend upon the specific compound embodiment utilized. In many instances though, the preferred substrate utilized will be selected from Si and S1O2 substrates.

The disclosed cobalt-containing compounds may be supplied either in neat form or in a blend with a suitable solvent, such as ethyl benzene, xylene, mesitylene, decane, dodecane, to form a precursor mixture. The disclosed compounds may be present in varying concentrations in the solvent.

One or more of the neat compounds or precursor mixtures are introduced into a reactor in vapor form by conventional means, such as tubing and/or flow meters. The vapor form of the neat compound or precursor mixture may be produced by vaporizing the neat compound or precursor mixture through a conventional vaporization step such as direct vaporization, distillation, by bubbling, or by using a sublimator such as the one disclosed in PCT Publication

WO2009/087609 to Xu et al. The neat compound or precursor mixture may be fed in liquid state to a vaporizer where it is vaporized before it is introduced into the reactor. Alternatively, the neat compound or precursor mixture may be vaporized by passing a carrier gas into a container containing the neat compound or precursor mixture or by bubbling the carrier gas into the neat compound or precursor mixture. The carrier gas may include, but is not limited to, Ar, He, N ₂ ,and mixtures thereof. The carrier gas and compound are then introduced into the reactor as a vapor.

If necessary, the container of the neat compound or precursor mixture may be heated to a temperature that permits the neat compound or precursor mixture to be in its liquid phase and to have a sufficient vapor pressure. The container may be maintained at temperatures in the range of, for example, approximately 0°C to approximately 200°C. Those skilled in the art recognize that the temperature of the container may be adjusted in a known manner to control the amount of precursor vaporized.

In addition to the optional mixing of the cobalt-containing compound with solvents, second precursors, and stabilizers prior to introduction into the reactor, the cobalt-containing compound may be mixed with a reaction gas inside the reactor. Exemplary reaction gases include, without limitation, second precursors such as transition metal-containing precursors (eg. Niobium), rare earth-containing precursors, strontium-containing precursors, barium-containing precursors, aluminum-containing precursors such as TMA, and any combination thereof.

These or other second precursors may be incorporated into the resultant layer in small quantities, as a dopant, or as a second or third metal in the resulting layer, such as CoMOx.

The reaction gas may include a reducing reagent which is selected from, but not limited to, N ₂ , H ₂ , NH ₃ , SiH ₄ , Si ₂ H ₆ , Si ₃ H ₈ , (Me) ₂ SiH ₂ , (C ₂ H ₅ ) ₂ SiH ₂ , (CH ₃ ) ₃ SiH, (C ₂ H ₅ ) ₃ SiH, [N(C ₂ H ₅ ) ₂ ] ₂ SiH ₂ , N(CH ₃ ) ₃ , N(C ₂ H ₅ ) ₃ , (SiMe ₃ ) ₂ NH, (CH ₃ )HNNH ₂ , (CH ₃ ) ₂ NNH ₂ , phenyl hydrazine, B ₂ H ₆ , (SiH ₃ ) ₃ N, radical species of these reducing agents, and mixtures of these reducing agents. Preferably, when an ALD process is performed, the reducing reagent is H ₂ .

When the desired cobalt-containing layer also contains oxygen, such as, for example and without limitation, CoO _x and CoMO _x , the reaction gas may include an oxidizing reagent which is selected from, but not limited to, 0 ₂ , O3, H ₂ 0, H ₂ 0 ₂ , acetic acid, formalin, para-formaldehyde, radical species of these oxidizing agents, and mixtures of these oxidizing agents. Preferably, when an ALD process is performed, the oxidizing reagent is H ₂ 0.

The reaction gas may be treated by plasma in order to decompose the reaction gas into its radical form. The plasma may be generated or present within the reaction chamber itself. Alternatively, the plasma may generally be at a location removed from the reaction chamber, for instance, in a remotely located plasma system. One of skill in the art will recognize methods and apparatus suitable for such plasma treatment.

For example, the reaction gas may be introduced into a direct plasma reactor, which generates plasma in the reaction chamber, to produce the plasma-treated reaction gas in the reaction chamber. Exemplary direct plasma reactors include the Titan™ PECVD System produced by Trion Technologies. The reaction gas may be introduced and held in the reaction chamber prior to plasma processing. Alternatively, the plasma processing may occur

simultaneously with the introduction of the reaction gas. In-situ plasma is typically a 13.56 MHz RF capacitively coupled plasma that is generated between the showerhead and the substrate holder. The substrate or the showerhead may be the powered electrode depending on whether positive ion impact occurs. Typical applied powers in in-situ plasma generators are from approximately 50 W to approximately 1000 W. The disassociation of the reaction gas using in-situ plasma is typically less than achieved using a remote plasma source for the same power input and is therefore not as efficient in reaction gas disassociation as a remote plasma system, which may be beneficial for the deposition of

metal-nitride-containing films on substrates easily damaged by plasma. Alternatively, the plasma-treated reaction gas may be produced outside of the reaction chamber. The MKS lnstruments' ASTRON ^® i reactive gas generator may be used to treat the reaction gas prior to passage into the reaction chamber. Operated at 2.45 GHz, 7kW plasma power, and a pressure ranging from

approximately 3 Torr to approximately 10 Torr, the reaction gas O ₂ may be decomposed into two O ^" radicals. Preferably, the remote plasma may be generated with a power ranging from about 1 kW to about 10 kW, more preferably from about 2.5 kW to about 7.5 kW.

When the desired cobalt-containing layer also contains another element, such as, for example and without limitation, Nb, Sr, Ba, Al, Ta, Hf, Mg, Y, Ba, Ca, As, Sb, Bi, Sn, Pb, Mn, lanthanides (such as Er), or combinations thereof, the reaction gas may include a second precursor which is selected from, but not limited to, metal alkyls, such as (Me)3AI, metal amines, such as

Nb(Cp)(NtBu)(NMe ₂ )3, and any combination thereof.

The cobalt-containing compound and one or more reaction gases may be introduced into the reactor simultaneously (chemical vapor deposition),

sequentially (atomic layer deposition), or in other combinations. For example, the cobalt-containing compound may be introduced in one pulse and two additional precursors may be introduced together in a separate pulse [modified atomic layer deposition]. Alternatively, the reactor may already contain the reaction gas prior to introduction of the cobalt-containing compound. Alternatively, the

cobalt-containing compound may be introduced to the reactor continuously while other reaction gases are introduced by pulse (pulsed-chemical vapor deposition). The reaction gas may be passed through a plasma system localized or remotely from the reactor, and decomposed to radicals. In each example, a pulse may be followed by a purge or evacuation step to remove excess amounts of the component introduced. In each example, the pulse may last for a time period ranging from about 0.01 s to about 30 s, alternatively from about 0.3 s to about 3 s, alternatively from about 0.5 s to about 2 s. In another alternative, the

cobalt-containing compound and one or more reaction gases may be simultaneously sprayed from a shower head under which a susceptor holding several wafers is spun (spatial ALD).

In one non-limiting exemplary atomic layer deposition type process, the vapor phase of a cobalt-containing compound is introduced into the reactor, where it is contacted with a suitable substrate. Excess cobalt-containing compound may then be removed from the reactor by purging and/or evacuating the reactor. An oxidizing reagent is introduced into the reactor where it reacts with the absorbed cobalt-containing compound in a self-limiting manner. Any excess oxidizing reagent is removed from the reactor by purging and/or evacuating the reactor. If the desired layer is a cobalt oxide layer, this two-step process may provide the desired layer thickness or may be repeated until a layer having the necessary thickness has been obtained.

Alternatively, if the desired CoO layer contains a second element (i.e., CoMOx), the two-step process above may be followed by introduction of the vapor of a second precursor into the reactor. The second precursor will be selected based on the nature of the CoMO _x layer being deposited. After introduction into the reactor, the second precursor is contacted with the substrate. Any excess second precursor is removed from the reactor by purging and/or evacuating the reactor. Once again, an oxidizing reagent may be introduced into the reactor to react with the second precursor. Excess oxidizing reagent is removed from the reactor by purging and/or evacuating the reactor. If a desired layer thickness has been achieved, the process may be terminated. However, if a thicker layer is desired, the entire four-step process may be repeated. By alternating the provision of the cobalt-containing compound, second precursor, and oxidizing reagent, a CoMO _x layer of desired composition and thickness may be deposited.

Additionally, by varying the number of pulses, layers having a desired stoichiometric M:Co ratio may be obtained. For example, a C0MO ₂ layer may be obtained by having one pulse of the cobalt-containing compound and one pulse of the second precursor, with each pulse being followed by pulses of the oxidizing reagent. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the number of pulses required to obtain the desired layer may not be identical to the

stoichiometric ratio of the resulting layer.

The cobalt-containing layers resulting from the processes discussed above may include pure cobalt, cobalt nitride (CoN), cobalt silicide (CoSi), cobalt silicide nitride (CoSiN), and cobalt oxide(CoO). One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that by judicial selection of the appropriate cobalt-containing compound and reaction gases, the desired Co-containing layer composition may be obtained.

Upon obtaining a desired film thickness, the film may be subject to further processing, such as thermal annealing, furnace-annealing, rapid thermal annealing, UV or e-beam curing, and/or plasma gas exposure. Those skilled in the art recognize the systems and methods utilized to perform these additional processing steps. For example, the cobalt-containing film may be exposed to a temperature ranging from approximately 200°C to approximately 1000°C for a time ranging from approximately 0.1 second to approximately 7200 seconds under an inert atmosphere, a H-containing atmosphere, a N-containing atmosphere, an O-containing atmosphere, or combinations thereof. Most preferably, the

temperature is 400°C for 3600 seconds under a H-containing atmosphere. The resulting film may contain fewer impurities and therefore may have an improved density resulting in improved leakage current. The annealing step may be performed in the same reaction chamber in which the deposition process is performed. Alternatively, the substrate may be removed from the reaction chamber, with the annealing/flash annealing process being performed in a separate apparatus. Any of the above post-treatment methods, but especially thermal annealing, is expected to effectively reduce any carbon and nitrogen contamination of the cobalt-containing film. This in turn is expected to improve the resistivity of the film.

In another alternative, the disclosed cobalt-containing compounds may be used as doping or implantation agents. Part of the disclosed cobalt-containing compound may be deposited on top of the film to be doped, such as an indium arsenide (InAs) film, a gallium arsenide (GaAs) film, a zinc oxide (ZnO) film, a titanium oxide film, a copper oxide film, or a tin dioxide (SnO ₂ ) film. The cobalt then diffuses into the film during an annealing step to form the cobalt-doped films {(ln,Co)As, (Ga,Co)As, (Co)ZnO, (Co)TiO, (Co)CuO, or (Co)Sn0 ₂ }. See, e.g., US2008/0241575 to Lavoie et al., the doping method of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Alternatively, high energy ion implantation using a variable energy radio frequency quadrupole implanter may be used to dope the cobalt of the cobalt-containing compound into a film. See, e.g., Kensuke et al., JVSTA 16(2) Mar/Apr 1998, the implantation method of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In another alternative, plasma doping, pulsed plasma doping or plasma immersion ion implantation may be performed using the disclosed cobalt-containing compounds. See, e.g., Felch et al., Plasma doping for the fabrication of ultra-shallow junctions Surface Coatings Technology, 156 (1 -3) 2002, pp. 229-236, the doping method of which is

incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Examples

The following non-limiting examples are provided to further illustrate embodiments of the invention. However, the examples are not intended to be all inclusive and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions described herein. Example 1: Prophetic Synthesis of (CO) ₄ CoSiH(NEt ₂ )2

Co ₂ (CO) ₈ will be added to a 100ml_ flask. SiH ₂ (NEt ₂ ) ₂ will slowly be dropped into the flask at a cooled temperature, -78°C. The mixture will be allowed to warm to room temperature with continuous stirring. Hydrogen gas will be generated after 5 min stirring. After 1 hour stirring, excess SiH ₂ (NEt ₂ ) ₂ will be removed as a gas under vacuum at room temperature. The product will be purified under vacuum.

Example 2: Prophetic Synthesis of (CO)4CoSi(NMe2)3

Co ₂ (CO) ₈ will be added to a 100 ml_ flask. SiH(NMe) ₃ will slowly be dropped into the flask at a cooled temperature, -78°C. The mixture will be allowed to warm to room temperature with continuous stirring. Hydrogen gas will be generated during stirring. After 1 hour stirring, excess SiH(NMe ₂ )3 will be removed as a gas under vacuum at room temperature. The product will be purified under vacuum.

Example 3: Prophetic Synthesis of (CO) ₄ CoSiH(NHtBu) ₂

Co ₂ (CO) ₈ will be added to a 10OmL of flask. SiH ₂ (NHtBu) ₂ will slowly be dropped into the flask at a cooled temperature, -78°C. The mixture will be allowed to warm to room temperature with continuous stirring. Hydrogen gas will be generated during stirring. After 1 hour stirring, excess SiH ₂ (NHtBu) ₂ will be removed as a gas under vacuum at room temperature. The product will be purified under vacuum.

Example 4: Prophetic Synthesis of (CO) ₄ CoSiH ₂ (NHiPr)

Co ₂ (CO) ₈ will be added to a 10OmL of flask. SiH ₃ (NHiPr) will slowly be dropped into the flask at a cooled temperature, -78°C. The mixture will be allowed to warm to room temperature with continuous stirring. Hydrogen gas will be generated during stirring. After 1 hour stirring, excess SiH ₃ (NHiPr) will be removed as a gas under vacuum at room temperature. The product will be purified under vacuum.

Example 5: Prophetic Synthesis of (CH ₂ =CH)Si(Me)(NMe ₂ )Co(CO) ₄

Co ₂ (CO) ₈ will be added to a 10OmL of flask. SiH(NMe ₂ )(Me)(CH ₂ =CH) will slowly be dropped into the flask at a cooled temperature, -78°C. The mixture will be allowed to warm to room temperature with continuous stirring. Hydrogen gas will be generated during stirring. After 1 hour stirring, excess

SiH(NMe ₂ )(Me)(CH ₂ =CH) will be removed as a gas under vacuum at room temperature. The product will be purified under vacuum.

Example 6: Prophetic Synthesis of (CO) ₄ CoSi(NEt ₂ ) ₂ Co(CO) ₄

Co ₂ (CO) ₈ will be added to a 100 ml_ flask. SiH ₂ (NEt ₂ ) ₂ will slowly be dropped into the flask at a cooled temperature, -78°C. The mixture will be allowed to warm to room temperature with continuous stirring. Hydrogen gas will be generated during stirring. After 1 hour stirring, excess SiH2(NEt2)2 will be removed as a gas under vacuum at room temperature. This method is the same method used to synthesize (CO)4CoSiH(NEt2)2 in Example 1 above.

(CO) ₄ CoSi(NEt ₂ )Co(CO) ₄ will also be produced.

Example 7: Prophetic Synthesis of (Et ₂ N) ₂ HSiCo(CO) ₄ ^■ 2NEt ₃

(Et ₂ N) ₂ HSiCo(CO) ₄ will be added to a 10OmL flask with toluene or dichloromethane. The solution will be cooled at -15°C and liquid triethylamine will be added slowly. After addition of the amine, the mixture will be allowed to warm to room temperature with continuous stirring to complete reaction. After overnight reaction, excess triethylamine will be removed under vacuum. The product may be purified by distillation or sublimation under vacuum.

Example 8: Prophetic ALD Deposition of Co Film

Applicants believe that any of the disclosed compounds may be used to deposit Co films using ALD techniques known in the art and H ₂ as a reaction gas.

Example 9: Prophetic ALD Deposition of CoO Film

Applicants believe that any of the disclosed compounds may be used to deposit CoO films using ALD techniques known in the art and H2O or O3 or O2 as a reaction gas.

Example 10: Prophetic ALD Deposition of CoN Film

Applicants believe that any of the disclosed compounds may be used to deposit CoN films using ALD techniques known in the art and NH3 as a reaction gas.

Example 11: Prophetic ALD Deposition of CoSi Film

Applicants believe that any of the disclosed compounds may be used to deposit CoSi films using ALD techniques known in the art and H ₂ as a reaction gas. Example 12: Prophetic ALD Deposition of CoSiN Film

Applicants believe that any of the disclosed compounds may be used to deposit CoSiN films using ALD techniques known in the art and H ₂ and NH3 as a reaction gas.

It will be understood that many additional changes in the details, materials, steps, and arrangement of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments in the examples given above and/or the attached drawings.