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Nice 39 Unit complex with cash flow. Solid management in place, carports, laundry rooms self owned, 2 large storage rooms, located in cul de sac accross from city park. Over $200,000 in renovations, including new roofs, some new windows, carpets, wood floors and applicances updated. 3 seperate tax lots
Located in Longview WA, near New Lowes, Fred Meyer.
West on Beach to 33rd, take left, Maple Rt, 33rd right.


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Narrow your search
Get a look at correspondence between the owner of a Louisiana ISP and representatives of copyright owners. The ISP owner gets several of notices like this a month.
Datz Music Lounge launches this weekend, offering unlimited access to MP3s from EMI, Warner Music and a bunch of independent labels, for £99 a year. But will it get the kids off LimeWire?
A look at market conditions tells you why it made sense for security widget maker SafeNet to buy Ingrian, and for Symantec to partner with GuardianEdge.

subset: commoncrawl


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Room was just TOO SMALL!
I felt I was in a cage.
Amenities were great. Design was good. Location was great for tourism/shopping.
Waited a really really long time for a room. Promised us a room then we waited and waited after a long flight. Said they'd come to us randomly in 3 minutes. Had to repeatedly ask for room which we received at long last a little after 3 pm. ( arrived before noon) Then we had to wait an extra hour for them to find our luggage and bring it to the room. This meant a lot of lost time when time was of the essence in our trip. So, plan for this. Otherwise a great place. A lot of waiting in the cafe resto too. Hotel bar was top!
comfortable bed
the fact that I had to pay 240HKD for breakfast after paying 2000+HKD for the room
Room was very nicely appointed. Lobby is very large and nice. View of the Harbour is impressive. Taxis come by frequently. The harbor path is good for running and looking at the sea.
Lack of power ports. Hotel is not located near downtown Kowloon. Local restaurant selections are fewer than downtown. The hotel buffet for dinner and breakfast are expensive, but I did not find them worth the price.
The location was not on Hong Kong Island and I feel deceived
They didn't offer us a sea-view room.
Excellent hotel. Among the best I have stayed in. Staff was very courteous, room was great, breakfast was excellent.
Unlike some other hotels in HK, this hotel doesn't have great views of the city.
Location was good
Terrible view and smell in guest room
Good value for a good location. Great staff and lovely appearance.
Kayak's booking didn't go through and caused a delayed check-in.
Huge room for hong kong standards. Real (and huge) paintings in the room and corridors. Good location and excellent price. If you have a lot of baggage, the free shuttle to the airport express line ( hong kong station ) can be very convenient (otherwise subway can be faster)
Overpriced dinner buffet....but who care about that in hong kong? a city with so many culinary options
Beautiful looking hotel. I missed my connecting flight and arrived after 1pm on the day of checkout. Staff allowed me to stay until after late checkout with no extra fees and were extremely helpful. Room was well appointed.
Staff was so helpful and friendly. Nice hotel.
Wifi signal in room was so weak. Nearly unusable.
Convenient location on the end of Nathan Road TST
Very old decoration
Staff were all exceptional!!
Walking up the hill to get to the hotel.
location, size of the rooms.
view, access.
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text:
Harang grounds out to 3rd. 1 out.
Harang grounds out to 3rd. 1 out.
RCOriginally Posted by westofyou
Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David
Freel grounds out. 2 outs.
No wonder Squirt blows it away.Originally Posted by Falls City Beer
I'm learnin baseball from Chris and George!!
Lopez doubles to left. Nice 9 pitch AB for Lopez.
Lopez is my new hero.
Lopez with a great atbat.
he is a stud.
Casey flies out to left. 5-0 Reds after 4.
Lopez was a bad LH hitter before this year, he K'd alot and tried to pull it, now he's taking it the other way and he's strong enough to do something with it too.
Wow. I just get to a radio after my evening business appointments and I find that we're up 5-0. What got into them? It looks like Lopez is once again making a very persuasive case for regular playing time. What the heck is Aurilia still doing in there though? Miley afraid of putting Lopez at SS? About Kearns: There's something I've been wondering about. You think there's a trade in the works and he's being kept on the bench to avoid any inconvenient injuries?
Well, I really needed to see outtakes of those two A&E door chicks on a commercial.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
~ Mark Twain
Aurilia has postseason experience, and is a savvy veteran. Get with the program!Originally Posted by OldRightHander
Giles leads off with a double.
Hernandez doubles. 5-1.
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please.


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Film Hound
Entertainment news and trivia for film fans and animal lovers. Sit. Stay. Read.
Posts by Author
26th Annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest
The 26th annual "World's Ugliest Dog" contest in Petaluma, California has crowned a new winner: Peanut! This unique "beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder" competition judges precious pooches using offbeat criteria such as "unusual attributes" and "natural ugliness." Along with the usual array of Mexican Hairless (Xoloitzcuintle) and Chihuahua contenders, there was also a mixed breed resembling a Tasmanian Devil […] [Read More]
Foster A Dog, Save A Life
Imagine being a precious pooch passed over at an adoption event with nowhere else to go. Recently, thirty-three dogs from a shelter in California were "leftovers" facing this hopeless situation. Ginger's Pet Rescue stepped in to help, but desperately needs temporary foster homes. Anyone interested in providing a temporary home can contact: gingerspetrescue.org Dog […] [Read More]
Dog-trick Movie Trainer, Maurice Chester
Decades before the Dog Whisperer there was the dog-trick trainer, Maurice Chester. Vintage newsreel footage from the silent film era captures some of his work with canine companions hoping to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, or at least just a stroll down the avenue. Enjoy the short feature "Dog Days," below: [Read More]
Happy Father's Day!
Enjoy a Father's Day flick with Dad on his special day. Whether you prefer originals or remakes, there are plenty of fatherly films to choose from. Film Hound's pick, Cheaper By the Dozen, starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy, is probably the father of all the fatherly flicks with twelve kids and snappy pappy repartee: […] [Read More]
Happy Reunion for Goat & Burro
Man does not live by bread alone and apparently neither do goats. A goat named Mr. G went on a hunger strike when separated from a burro named Jellybean he had known for a decade. Despite an upgrade in living conditions, Mr. G's spirits declined until caregivers suspected separation anxiety and arranged a reunion with […] [Read More]
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Hotels in 68854 - Marquette NE
Only hotels in 68854 zip code are listed below. Search for cheap and discount hotel rates in Marquette, NE for your upcoming leisure or conference / group travel. We list the best 68854 hotels and motels so you can review the Marquette hotel list below to find the perfect lodging. Hotels in Hamilton county and area code 402 are also listed.
68854 Hotels & Accommodations
Next: Show All Available 68854 Hotels with Pricing >


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When I was home visiting my family over the holidays, my brother and I seized the opportunity to visit the Lan Su Chinese Garden for free when we brought a box of canned goods for the local food bank. It was my first time there and even in winter it was just beautiful. Without all the leaves and colors, you really get a chance to appreciate the architecture and sight lines.
It's so hard to believe that this little oasis is right in the middle of the city. It's easy to get lost in a moment and feel like you are in another country entirely.
The most captivating part for me was the floors. Each pattern has meaning and were carefully hand laid by a skilled team of craftsmen. As a total surface design nerd, I couldn't take my eyes off the ground.
If you are in the Portland area, it's totally worth a visit even at full price and even in winter. Visit their website for details and hours.


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The present invention pertains to a carrier layer and a contact enabled by the carrier layer which enables the fabrication of aluminum (including aluminum alloys and other conductive materials having a similar melting point) electrical contacts in multilayer integrated circuit vias, through holes, or trenches having an aspect ratio greater than one. In fact, the structure has been shown to enable such contact fabrication in vias, through holes, and trenches having aspect ratios as high as at least 5:1, and should be capable of filing apertures having aspect ratios up to about 12:1. The carrier layer, in addition to permitting the formation of a conductive contact at high aspect ratio, provides a diffusion barrier which prevents the aluminum from migrating into surrounding substrate material which operates in conjunction with the electrical contact. The carrier layer preferably comprises a layer formed by ionizing the flux of sputter deposition material, partially reacting the flux with a gas, and depositing the resulting material on a substrate.
1. An apparatus for filling apertures in a film layer on a semiconductor substrate, comprising:
a) a sputter chamber which provides an ionized sputtered deposition material which forms a conformal film layer over said aperture surface, said chamber including a sputter deposition material source, a gas supply, a substrate positioning member, a first plasma generation source which produces active species used to impact said sputter deposition material source, and a second, inductively coupled RF plasma generation source which is used to ionize sputtered deposition material which passes through a plasma generated by said second plasma generation source at a location between said sputter deposition material source and said substrate;
b) a deposition chamber which provides a source of material for deposition over said conformal film layer formed over said aperture in said sputter chamber; and
c) a transfer chamber interconnecting said sputter chamber and said deposition chamber.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sputter chamber further includes a reactive gas inlet for selectively introducing a gas into said sputter chamber to react with at least a portion of said ionized sputtered deposition material prior to the deposition of said ionized sputtered deposition material on said substrate.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said sputter deposition chamber includes at least a sputtering target, a gas inlet, and a power supply for supplying energy to convert a gas supplied from said gas inlet into said first plasma which impacts said target to provide said sputtered deposition material.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said sputter deposition chamber further includes a valve for at least opening and closing said reactive gas inlet, and a system controller coupled to said valve to selectively open and close said valve during sputtering of said target.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said valve is maintainable in a closed position, then an open position and then again in a closed position as said target is sputtered.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said sputtering target in said sputter deposition chamber comprises a refractory metal.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said sputtering target in said sputter deposition chamber includes titanium.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, including a gas supply for providing nitrogen.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said second plasma generation source includes at least one turn of a conductor extending about a plasma formation region in said sputter deposition chamber.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, including a power supply which is applied to said anode in said sputter deposition chamber to provide a substrate bias voltage.
This is a division of application Ser. No. 08/511,825 filed Aug. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,923.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to contacts, vias and other pathways formed in film layers of semiconductor devices, and to the lining or filling of apertures, such as vias, holes or trenches extending through one or more film layers on a semiconductor or other type of substrate, to create the pathway through the film layer. The invention enables the filling of high aspect ratio apertures (i.e., those having a ratio of height to width of from about 1:0 to about 12:0 and a width of as small as 1000 angstroms) and planarization of the deposited film layer at reduced temperatures as compared to prior art methods, and, in some cases, where traditional prior art methods cannot provide void free filling of the aperture and planarization of the resulting film layer in reasonable periods of time. In one sub-embodiment, the invention pertains to a carrier layer, to the structure and composition of the carrier layer, to methods for forming the carrier layer, and to the equipment used to practice the methods for forming the carrier layer, all of which enable the filling of high aspect ratio electrical contacts and planarization of the deposited film layer during the fabrication of integrated circuit devices.
2. Description of the Background Art
During the fabrication of integrated circuit devices on a substrate or wafer, it becomes necessary to fill holes, trenches or vias (i.e., apertures) in film layers, typically dielectric film layers, to create pathways, typically conductive pathways, through the film layer. Traditionally, the aperture filling has been provided by depositing a filling material layer over a previously deposited film layer, typically a dielectric film layer, having apertures therethrough. For example, a contact is created through a dielectric layer by depositing a conductor, such as aluminum, into an aperture in the dielectric layer. Where the material used to fill the aperture might be reactive with the materials over which it is deposited, such as where the filing material may interdiffuse with the material at the base of the aperture and result in a material having undesirable qualities, a barrier layer must be deposited in the aperture to line the aperture before the filling material is deposited. After the barrier layer is deposited, a conductive material is deposited thereover to form the contact. To enable further processing of the wafer, the conductive material used to fill the aperture must be planarized to reduce any significant variation in the height of the exposed portion of the film layer, which variation is a consequence of depositing a relatively uniform thickness filling material layer over a surface filled with the apertures.
Physical vapor deposition, or "PVD", is one known method of filling apertures useful in semiconductor device fabrication. In PVD, a target of the deposition material is exposed to a plasma and sputtered by ions from the plasma. The material sputtered from the target is deposited on a substrate. The deposited material forms a film layer on the substrate and is also used to fill the apertures. To provide a planarized deposited film layer, and to ensure the filling of the apertures, the film layer may be deposited at elevated temperatures to cause the conductive material to "reflow", thereby filling the apertures and creating a "planarized" layer, i.e., one having a relatively flat upper surface. Typically the reflow step is performed at substrate temperatures on the order of 480� C. or above.
The filling of apertures using traditional sputtering methods has become difficult as the aperture aspect ratio has increased. Where the hole width equals the hole depth, i.e., at a 1:1 aspect ratio, traditional sputter deposition techniques may ensure conformal deposition of the target material on the sides and base of the hole and enable complete filling of the aperture. However, there is still a need, even with apertures having an aspect ratio of 1:1, to provide aperture filling at lower reflow temperatures. At higher aspect ratios, nominally at aspect ratios above about 2:1, the utility of traditional sputtering techniques for aperture filling is questionable. The reason is substantially a result of aperture and sputter geometries. Because the target particles sputtered from the target travel in linear paths, the base and lower portion of the walls of the aperture are blocked from those sputtered particles which are traveling transversely to the surface of the substrate. The deposit formed by the sputtered particles in high aspect ratio apertures tends to be very thick at the aperture opening and very thin at the base of the aperture. As the deposition of the sputtered particles continues, the material which is deposited at the opening of the aperture continues to build up during continued deposition. This deposit will increasingly block the target material from the base of the aperture wall. Eventually, the layer formed at the opening of the aperture can completely cover the aperture, preventing further deposition of the deposition material into the aperture. Therefore, to fill high aspect ratio apertures by sputter deposition, alternative methods must be used.
One alternative approach to sputtering which may be used to fill high aspect ratio apertures is coherent deposition, wherein a collimated supply of target material is deposited over the surfaces of the substrate at a low temperature, typically below 150� C. to form a "seed" layer of material on the substrate. After the seed layer is formed, the substrate is moved to a second, non-coherent, sputtering chamber and the aperture is filled with a sputtered material which is deposited on the substrate while the substrate is maintained at a temperature of about 480� C. or above. This high temperature causes the material being deposited on the substrate to reflow and thereby: 1) Fill the aperture; and, 2) result in a planarized film layer. The time required to fill the apertures and planarize the deposited film layer by the reflow technique is a function of the substrate temperature. The higher the substrate temperature, the faster the apertures are filled and the film layer planarized. However, if the substrate is too hot, the seed layer will coalesee into individual droplets and prevent the formation of a conformal film layer, or, previously deposited materials will change dimension or be thermally degraded. Where reflow techniques are used to fill apertures having a depth of 1.2μ and an aspect ratio of approximately 1:1, and aluminum is being deposited as the aperture filling material, a substrate temperature of about 480� C. can result in filled apertures and a planarized deposition layer in about three or four minutes. For 0.5 micron wide or smaller apertures, i.e., standard 1.2μ deep apertures having aspect ratios of approximately 2:1 or higher, the reflow method has limited effectiveness. In particular, even using coherent deposition, higher aspect ratio holes may take too long to fill at an acceptable reflow temperature. Additionally, the collimator screens a substantial quantity of the deposition material and thereby reduces yield and throughput.
One additional known method of filling high aspect ratio apertures is to ionize at least a portion of the deposition material sputtered from the target and attract the ionized target material to the substrate. By ionizing the deposition material and electrically attracting it to the substrate, the deposition material reaching the substrate will be travelling perpendicular to the substrate. Thus, the deposition material will reach the base of the apertures and will not tend to collect on the upper reaches of the aperture wall.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,739 to Bariies et al., issued Jan. 12, 1993 describes a sputter deposition system which includes a hollow, cylindrical sputter target disposed between an end sputter target and a substrate, all of which are contained in a vacuum chamber. A plurality of magnets arc disposed outside the chamber to create intense plasma regions near the interior surface of the cylindrical target and thereby cause ionization of at least a portion of the material sputtered from the target. RF power is inductively coupled into the chamber through an interior rf coil located between the target and the substrate to sustain the plasma. The substrate is electrically biased to control the directionality and energy of the ionized sputtered material. The ions produced using the sputter deposition system are said to have low angular divergence after crossing the plasma sheath and therefore are said to be capable of uniformly filling high aspect ratio apertures such as holes. (A high aspect ratio hole is typically described as being a hole (via) having a height to width ratio of 1:1 or greater).
Although ionized deposition is a known way of filling high aspect ratio holes, the technique is significantly more expensive than traditional sputtering techniques because the deposition rate is slower, the power requirements are greater and the equipment is more expensive than traditional sputtering equipment. Notwithstanding these limitations, it is believed is by those skilled in the art that the filling of very high aspect ratio holes, i.e., those above approximately 2:1, may only be accomplished using ionized deposition material, and that other techniques, such as coherent deposition followed by traditional sputter deposition and reflow cannot meet the needs of device fabricators as line widths continue to shrink.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a means which enables a conductive material, typically a metal or metal alloy, to fill a narrow, high aspect ratio, aperture without the formation of voids in the resulting deposit to provide a suitable integrated circuit electrical contact. The deposition of the metal or metal alloy is preferably carried out at substrate temperatures below 480� C., so that the thermal budget for the process is low. Even more preferably, the sputtering of the metal or metal alloy is carried out at substrate temperatures below as little as about 350� C. to reduce the initial and maintenance costs of the heating element used provide the substrate temperatures as well as the thermal budget for the process. These lower temperatures may also enable use of materials in IC fabrication which have lower thermal breakdown or creep temperatures but are useful to circuit designers, because deposition materials deposited on the substrate before the metal or metal alloy deposition step will experience lower processing temperatures than those of the prior art when the methods of the present invention are employed to provide filled apertures and a planarized film layer.
The present invention provides methods, apparatus and structures useful for integrated circuit device fabrication. In one aspect, the invention provides a contact in an aperture extending through a film layer or into a substrate itself. In another aspect, the invention pertains to a coating layer which enables the filling and planarization of apertures to form integrated circuit electrical contacts having widths as small as 1000 Å and aspect ratios ranging between about 1:1 and about 12:1. In a further aspect the coating layer is a barrier layer which prevents inter-diffusion between a material forming the base or side of the aperture and the material ultimately used to fill the aperture. In particular, a barrier layer created by the present invention enables the filling, without significant voids, of apertures with a conductive material, such as aluminum, wherein the substrate temperature is maintained at a temperature below as little as 350� C. during reflow. Preferred conductive materials for filling the electrical contacts arc metals and metal alloys. The most preferred metals and metal alloys include, by way of example and not by way of limitation, aluminum and alloys of aluminum such as aluminum-copper, aluminum-copper-silicon, aluminum-silicon, aluminum-germanium, aluminum-palladium-silicon and other conductive materials having a similar reflow temperature range, i.e., a similar range of temperatures within which the material will flow to provide a planarized film layer. Further, it is contemplated that other materials having higher reflow temperatures, including without limitation copper and copper alloys, may be used to fill the aperture using the techniques of the present invention. Where the carrier layer of the present invention is used, the step of simultaneously sputtering and reflowing a conductive material to provide filled apertures and a planarized film layer may be carried out at the relatively low, as compared to the prior art, substrate temperatures of below about 450� C., more preferably at temperatures below about 430� C., and most preferably at temperatures in the range of about 350� C. to 400� C. Where aluminum is the conductive material being used to fill the hole, substrate reflow temperatures as low as 300� C. are envisioned.
In one aspect, the carrier layer may be characterized as one formed by the method of sputter deposition, wherein at least a portion of the material sputtered from the target is ionized and reacted with a second material before it reaches the substrate. In the most preferred aspect, the gas used to form the sputtering plasma is reactive with the material sputtered off the target, such that the carrier layer is formed, at least in part, by a compound comprising target and gas atoms.
In still another aspect, the carrier layer may be characterized as a smooth layer having a surface roughness of less than approximately 15 Å rms.
In a still further aspect, the carrier layer can be characterized as enabling the flow of a layer of material deposited thereon thereover.
In still another aspect, the invention is an apparatus for providing a contact in an aperture, wherein a first chamber is provided for creating a carrier layer on the sidewalls of the aperture, and an additional chamber is provided for deposition of a material over the carrier layer. In one configuration, the first chamber is a sputter chamber which includes a means for ionizing at least a portion of the material leaving the target before it reaches the substrate, to ensure that at least a portion of the material forming the carrier layer is deposited in an ionized state.
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic of a conductive contact 118 formed within a high aspect ratio via 113 using the method and apparatuses of the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows a schlematic of sputtering equipment 200 useful for practicing the inventions.
FIG. 3 graphically illustrates the percentage of bottom coverage of a via of the kind shown in FIG. 1. Percent bottom coverage as used herein refers to the thickness of the layer deposited on the bottom surface of the via as a % of the thickness of the layer deposited on the upper, top surface of the via. The per cent bottom coverage is shown as a function of sputtering chamber pressure and as a function of the ratio of rf power (216 in FIG. 2) to DC power (213 in FIG. 2) times the DC bias (222 in FIG. 2).
FIG. 4 graphically shows the range of time and temperature conditions for sputtering deposition of aluminum which provides aluminum filling of 0.25μ through holes having an aspect ratio of about 5, when the through holes have been lined with a three-layer most preferred embodiment carrier layer structure (Ti/TiN/TiNx) of the present invention.
FIG. 5 depicts a schematic of a multi-chamber low pressure processing system having individual low pressure processing chambers within the system. A workpiece comprising a substrate on which an integrated circuit device is being formed can be moved from one individual chamber to another using robots (not shown) while remaining contained within the low pressure environment.
As a preface to the detailed description, it should be noted that, as used in this specification aid the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural referents, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, the term "a semiconductor" includes a variety of different materials which are known to have the behavioral characteristics of a semiconductor, reference to a "plasma" includes a gas or gas reactants activated by an rf glow discharge, reference to "the contact material" includes aluminum, aluminum alloys, and other conductive materials which have a inciting point enabling them to be sputtered over the temperature range described herein.
Specific terminology of particular importance to the description of the present invention is defined below.
The term "aluminum" includes alloys of aluminum of the kind typically used in the semiconductor industry. Such alloys include aluminum-copper alloys, and aluminum-copper-silicon alloys, for example.
The term "aspect ratio" refers to the ratio of the height dimension to the largest width dimension of particular openings into which an electrical contact is to be placed. For example, a via opening which typically extends in a tubular form through multiple layers has a height and a diameter, and the aspect ratio would be the height of the tubular divided by the diameter. The aspect ratio of a trench would be the height of the trench divided by the width of the trench at the trench opening.
The term "traditional sputtering" refers to a method of forming a film layer oil a substrate wherein a target is sputtered and the material sputtered from the target passes between the target and the substrate to form the film layer on the substrate, and no means is provided to ionize a substantial portion of the target material sputtered from the target before it reaches the substrate. One apparatus configured to provide traditional sputtering is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,728, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In such a traditional sputtering configuration, the percentage of target material which is ionized is less than 10%, more typically less than 1%, of that sputtered from the target.
In accordance with the present invention, it has been discovered that it is possible to use traditional, i.e., non-ionized, non-coherent, sputter deposition techniques, to deposit conductors, in particular aluminum (and aluminum alloys), into an aperture (such as a trench, via or through hole) in a film layer or substrate, wherein the aperture has an aspect ratio of 1:1 or greater and wherein the deposition of the conductor is conducted at reflow temperatures substantially below traditional prior art reflow temperatures (of the substrate) on the order of 480� C. or more to form a contact or via in the aperture. This is enabled by forming a carrier layer on the walls of the high aspect ratio aperture before the conductor is deposited. Applicants have learned that this carrier layer enhances the flow or migration of the deposition material used to fill the aperture, thereby enabling the filling of apertures using traditional sputter and reflow techniques in apertures which could not be filled in reasonable periods of time using prior art sputter and reflow techniques. In fact, this has been accomplished in apertures only 0.25μ wide (0.15μ at the base) having an aspect ratio of approximately 5.0 at a substrate reflow temperature of 390� C. for a period of four minutes, which was not heretofore considered practicable using conventional sputtering techniques. In particular, the invention has enabled sputter deposition of aluminum over a carrier layer to form contacts in high aspect ratio holes and thereby create contacts in apertures which were deemed impractical or impossible to fill using traditional sputtering techniques, or which were believed to only be fillable where the flux of sputtered conductive material was ionized and then electrically attracted to the substrate. The invention includes the contact formed in the high aspect ratio aperture as is enabled by the carrier layer, the process of forming the contact, including the process of forming the carrier layer, and the apparatus used to create the contact and carrier layer.
The present invention employs a novel apparatus and novel method to provide a contact, via or other structure in an aperture in a film layer. The method and apparatus may be used to provide the contact, via or other similar structure in a high aspect ratio hole without the need for collimators and without the need to provide the aperture filling material (typically a conductor) in an ionized form. The methods and apparatus also provide a carrier layer which is deposited on the side wall of the aperture with a filling material deposited thereover. In one specific embodiment, the carrier layer is deposited using ionized deposition techniques wherein a material is sputtered from the target and ionized, at least in part (10 to 100% ionization), before it is deposited on the substrate. Preferably, a portion of the carrier layer is composed of non-reacted target material and the remainder of the carrier layer is composed of target material which has been reacted with a gas before being deposited on the substrate. Applicants have discovered that the carrier layer facilitates the filling of high aspect ratio holes at lower reflow temperatures than those used in the prior art, and without the need for a collimated seed layer.
A. A Representative Aperture
As an illustration of an aperture such as a via, trench or hole to be filled using the techniques described herein to form a contact, FIG. 1 shows a schematic of an aperture 113 containing the carrier layer 100. The example aperture 113 of the Figure was formed through a silicon dioxide film layer 111 overlying a silicon base 110. The aperture 113 was created by dry etching through the silicon dioxide layer 111 to silicon base 110.
B. The Contact of the Present Invention
Referring initially to FIG. 1, there is shown therein an exemplary contact 118 formed in a high aspect ratio aperture 113, specifically an aperture 113 having an aspect ratio of about 5:1 (0.25μ wide by 1.2μ deep). The contact includes at least two sub-elements: A carrier layer 100; and a conductive material 117 which has been deposited over the carrier layer 100 to fill the volume of the aperture 113 remaining after the carrier layer 100 has been deposited. In an embodiment of the contact described herein, the carrier layer is formed by sputtering a material from the target and depositing it on a substrate, reacting a portion of the sputtered material with a gas maintained in the space between the target and the substrate before it deposits on the substrate, and also ionizing at least a portion of the material sputtered from the target before it is deposited on the substrate. The conductive material of the exemplary contact was provided by traditional sputtering of a target composed of the conductive material to deposit a seed layer over the carrier layer at a low temperature then continuing deposition of the conductive material in the same chamber while a simultaneous reflow step is performed by heating the substrate to a temperature of 390� C. for four minutes.
In the specific embodiment of the contact 118 shown in FIG. 1, aluminum is used as a conductive material 117 which is deposited over the carrier layer 100 using traditional sputtering techniques. To form a contact 118 the aperture 113 extends to a region of the underlying substrate, 110 and it includes an exposed portion 120 of the silicon substrate 110 at the base 111 thereof. To prevent interdiffusion between the silicon and the aluminum, the carrier layer 100 also functions as a barrier layer. In this embodiment of the contact, 118 the barrier layer 100 is formed of three sub-layers, which may, if desired, be formed in a single chamber. The first sub-layer 112 is a sub-layer of titanium which was sputtered from a target and partially ionized (10 to <100% ionization) before being deposited upon the surface of both silicon dioxide layer 111 and silicon base 110; the second sub-layer 114 is a layer of sputtered titanium which is partially ionized and reacted with nitrogen to form titanium nitride before it is deposited over first sub-layer 112; and the third sub-layer 116 is a layer composed of both sputtered titanium and titanium nitride deposited in a partially ionized state (10 to <100% ionization). After depositing the titanium layer 112, a thin layer of titanium silicide 124 may be formed at the bottom of via (aperture) 113 by high temperature annealing to provide the barrier layer between the conductor and the underlying substrate. However, it has been found that the carrier layer of the present invention will function as a barrier layer without the need to anneal the carrier layer to form the titanium silicide.
The carrier layer, once deposited, provides a conformial layer having a thickness of approximately 800 Å, leaving an interior volume 119 within the aperture 113 to be filled with the conductive material. The remaining volume 119 of the contact 118 is then filled by traditional, i.e. non-ionized, sputtered aluminum (or aluminum alloy) deposition with a reflow step performed at a relatively low substrate temperature on the order of 390� C. for 2 minutes to 350� C. for 10 minutes. Contrary to the suggestion in the prior art that very high aspect ratio apertures can only be filled by ionized deposition of a sputtered source of a conductor, applicants have discovered that by using the carrier layer as described herein, the aperture fill material can be deposited using traditional sputter techniques and flowed into a high aspect ratio aperture to create contacts, vias, etc. Therefore, by employing the carrier layer hereof, a layer of conventionally sputtered aluminum may be used to fill the remaining volume of an aperture to create a contact. This is preferred, since the equipment required for ionized deposition of sputtered aluminum is much more expensive than that required for standard, or traditional, deposition of sputtered materials. Further, the carrier or barrier layer enables deposition of a conventionally sputtered layer of aluminum into the aperture at reflow temperatures substantially below those of the prior art.
C. The Carrier Layer of the Present Invention
1. One Embodiment of the Carrier Layer
The carrier layer of the present invention may be used as a barrier layer, as is described above with respect to a contact, or it may be used to facilitate the filling of high aspect ratio apertures with a filling material such as a conductor where a barrier layer is unnecessary. In either case, the carrier layer enables filling of apertures having high aspect ratios with a filling material in a reflow process at lower temperatures and/or with faster filling and planarization times as compared to the prior art. The carrier layer may be characterized in several ways. It is believed that a carrier layer meeting the characteristics of any of the characterizations will enable the filling of high aspect ratio apertures at lower temperatures and faster reflow times as compared to the prior art. In one characterization, the carrier layer is a smooth layer, i.e., a layer having an exposed surface which has a low surface roughness as compared to the prior art. One such smooth layer is comprised of a densely packed columnar barrier layer material structure, wherein the columns are disposed substantially perpendicular to the aperture wall. In another characterization, the carrier layer has a wetting effect, i.e., it enhances the flow of materials thereover, specific materials including aluminum and alloys thereof In a still further characterization, the carrier layer is one formed by the deposition of a material onto the walls and base of the aperture by the process of ionized, partially reactive, deposition of sputtered particles, i.e., where the material being sputtered from the target is ionized at least in part, and partially reacted with a gas, and the ionized partially reacted material is directed toward the substrate, such as by the maintenance of an electric field on the substrate support.
One embodiment of the carrier layer structure of the present invention for lining apertures such as vias, trenches, and through holes is achieved by depositing a layer of an ionized, sputtered, refractory metal on the substrate; followed by ionized deposition of a sputtered refractory metal in a reactive atmosphere to deposit a second layer of a refractory metal compound on the substrate; followed by the deposition of a layer composed partially of ionized refractory metal which has been reacted with a gas to form a refractory metal compound and partially by an ionized refractory metal to form a third layer on the substrate. The third layer may contain a percentage of refractory metal compound formed by maintaining a gas reactive with the sputtered refractory metal in the region between the target and the substrate as the target is sputtered; preferably, the highest concentration of refractory metal compound formed in the third layer is adjacent the second layer, with increasing concentration of the refractory metal (less concentration of the compound) toward the outer surface of the third layer. One known method of providing this composition of the third layer is to maintain the chamber at a poisoned mode, i.e., where the quantity of reactive gas exceeds the quantity needed to ensure complete reaction between the sputtered material and the gas, and shutting off the reactive gas supply while maintaining the supply of argon (or other non-reactive species) to allow sputtering to continue. The remaining reactive gas will react with the sputtered material, such that the available quantity of reactive gas will decrease as it is used to form the compound. Preferably, the power supporting the gas in a plasma state is switched off before all of the reactive gas is reacted, thereby ensuring that the outermost surface of the carrier layer includes both the sputtered material in pure form and the compound composed of the sputtered material and the reactive gas. Once the carrier layer has been deposited an electrical contact, or metallized layer in general, can be obtained by sputtering of a conductive material such as aluminum from a target and depositing it over the third layer of the smooth barrier layer structure using traditional sputtering and reflow techniques. In the embodiment of the carrier layer 100 of FIG. 1, the carrier layer 100 is comprised of three layers: Ti112/TiN114/TiNx 116. Applicants also believe that other refractory metals and refractory metal compounds, including without limitation TaN and Ta, will provide the advantages of the invention. Additionally, although the preferred implementation of the invention contemplates that the carrier layer includes multiple sub-layers where each sub-layer is composed of the same metal base, i.e., Ti is the base metal in the Ti/TiN/TiNx layer, applicants believe that the individual layers of a multi-level carrier layer could be composed of different materials as the base metal in each layer. One primary advantage of using a single base metal, such as Ti, to form the multi-layered carrier layer is that the entire carrier layer can be deposited in a single chamber in a continuous process.
Although the carrier or barrier layer 100 of the example contact 118 is provided with three different sub-layers, applicants believe that just the outermost layer, in the specific example the TiNx layer formed of Ti and TiN, (the x reflecting the percentage of TiN, by weight, in the layer), or just a TiN layer, will provide the enhanced aperture filling characteristics of the present invention.
2. Characterization of the Carrier Layer.
Applicants have found that one characteristic of the carrier layer is its microstructure. The microstructure of the refractory metal or metal compound formed using standard reactive sputtering techniques would not permit sputtered aluminum undergoing a reflow operation to easily flow into a high aspect ratio aperture and thereby fill it. This appears to be due to the surface topography and lack of wettability of the traditionally sputtered refractory metal compound. However, one characteristic of the carrier layer of the present invention is a relatively smooth surface, approximately one-third the rms surface roughness (about 15 Å) of a prior art, traditionally sputtered, barrier layer (about 40-50 Å rms). It has been found by applicants that this smoother layer enables filling of high aspect ratio holes at lower temperatures and within the time constraints of integrated circuit manufacturers, i.e., approximately five minutes, as compared with prior art traditionally sputtered barrier layers. In fact, the carrier layer of the present invention has enabled the filling of apertures with an aluminum conductor, wherein the aperture has an aspect ratio of 5:1 and a width of approximately 2500 Angstroms, which is not possible in a reasonable period of time following prior art techniques. When aluminum was sputter deposited into an aperture having these characteristics using traditional sputtering techniques, the sputtered aluminum was full of unacceptable voids. Attempts to reflow the aluminum to eliminate the voids were unsuccessful, even at elevated temperatures.
Another characteristic of the carrier layer is that of a plurality of densely packed crystalline or granular deposits of deposition material, having a generally longitudinal grain structure whose orientation is perpendicular to the aperture wall. In the prior art structure, where the carrier layer is deposited using traditional sputter techniques, similar grain or crystalline structures are formed, but their orientation is not perpendicular to the aperture wall, and the end faces face upward creating a series of saw tooth edges. It is believed that these edges inhibit flow of the conductor down the wall of the aperture in the prior art.
A still further characteristic of the carrier layer is that it forms a wetting layer which enhances the flow of the conductive material therepast. Specifically, applicants believe that the layer enhances the flow of the conductive material therepast to enable void free filling of the aperture.
Each of these characteristics is provided by the formation of the three layer Ti/TiN/TiNx layer using ionizcd deposition techniques as described herein.
D. The Method
The contact structure of the present invention is created within an aperture such as a via, through hole, or trench, by first depositing a carrier layer over the walls and base of the aperture and then filling the aperture by depositing the filling material using traditional sputter techniquse and reflowing the material to fill the aperture. The carrier layer which is used to line the aperture is provided by ionized deposition, preferably by ionizing a flux of sputtered material. The carrier layer is preferably comprised of at least one layer of a ionized sputtered refractory metal which is partially reacted with a gas to form a film layer comprised of refractory metal and refractory metal compound in a thin layer (100 Å or less). For purposes of discussion, and not by way of limitation, the invention will be described herein in terms of titanium as the refractory metal and titanium nitride as refractory metal compound. In one embodiment the structure is a three-layer structure of the kind shown in FIG. 1 and described above.
As previously described, it has been discovered that the deposition of ionized sputtered titanium, wherein a portion of the sputtered ionized titanium is reacted with nitrogen, to form a carrier layer produces a surface within an aperture having a smoother surface with respect to prior art barrier layers which permits subsequently sputtered aluminum to wet the surface of the barrier layer and flow over that surface. In fact, surprisingly, the aluminum flows in a manner such that the aluminum continues to slip over the sidewall surfaces, gradually filling any voids which were initially trapped within the sputtered aluminum, at temperatures significantly below prior art reflow temperatures. Although applicants consider that the TiNx layer or a TiN layer alone will supply the reflow and filling enhancements described herein, applicants consider the most preferred carrier layer to be comprised of a base layer of Ti, an overlying layer of TiN, and a final layer of TiNx.
The above described methods are particularly well carried out in a low-pressure processing system 500 of the kind shown in FIG. 5. Application of the smooth barrier layer structure can be carried out in one individual low pressure chamber 510 (having the construction shown in FIG. 2), while aluminum sputtering is carried out in another individual low pressure chamber 512 (having a similar construction as the chamber shown in FIG. 2, less the coil 214; with closer target to substrate, spacing, and with means for heating the substrate such as an electric heater in contact with the substrate support, with a gas maintained between the substrate and the support member): Subsequent processing is carried out in yet another individual low pressure chamber 513. One embodiment of a support member with heater and gas flow arrangement for practicing the invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,501, fully incorporated herein by reference. A center low pressure chamber 514 connects the individual low pressure chambers, and a robot (not shown) is used to transfer workpieces from one individual low pressure chamber to another.
One method for fabricating the carrier layer of the invention, includes the steps of a providing a flux of sputtered material, ionizing the sputtered material, reacting a portion of the flux of sputtered material with a gas to form a compound before it is deposited on the substrate, maintaining a bias on the substrate, support member to attract ions to the substrate to simultaneously deposit the sputtered material and the compound on the substrate, and then depositing a fill material on the substrate and reflowing the fill material to fill the aperture. Preferably, the fill material is deposited in two steps: A seed layer of the fill material is deposited at a temperature below approximately 150� C., and the remainder of the fill material is deposited while the substrate is being heated to, and then maintained at, an elevated "reflow" temperature. The deposition of the carrier layer is performed in a first chamber, and the deposition of the filling material is performed in an additional, second chamber.
To provide the three layer structure of carrier layer 100 as shown in FIG. 1, all three layers are preferably deposited in a single chamber in a continuous process. This may be accomplished, in the case of a titanium based carrier layer 100, by following the steps of sputtering a titanium target, ionizing at least a portion of the titanium (10% to 100%) before it is deposited on the substrate, attracting the ionized target material to the substrate and forming the first sub-layer therewith; then introducing a sufficient quantity of a reactive gas, preferably nitrogen, into the chamber as sputtering and ionization continues and thereby causing all of the material sputtered from the target to react with the gas to form a compound film layer of TiN on the substrate; and, then stopping the flow of reactive gas to the chamber while still sputtering the target and ionizing the sputtered target material to form a film layer on the substrate composed of both the base target material, preferably Ti and a reacted product, preferably TiN. Once the Ti/TiN sub-layer (hereinafter TiNx) has been formed to a sufficient thickness, the power to the system is shut off to stop the sputtering process.
After a carrier layer of the appropriate composition and thickness is deposited on the substrate, the substrate is moved to a traditional sputtering chamber, where a filling material is deposited over the carrier layer using traditional sputter deposition and reflow techniques, but the formation of the seed layer at low temperature followed by reflow at high temperature may be performed in a single chamber.
E. An Apparatus for Practicing the Invention
A process system in which the method of the present invention may be carried out is the Applied Materials (Santa Clara, Calif.) 5500 Integrated Processing System. This process system is not specifically shown in the Figures, however, the processing elements shiown in FIG. 2 can be operated within one of the low pressure process chambers contained within such an Integrated Processing System. The system is also shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,186,718 and 5,236,868, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference. With reference to FIG. 2, one low pressure process chamber for forming the smooth barrier layer of the present invention employs a standard sputter magnet 210 (to confine the sputtering plasma, enabling an increased sputtering rate) and a sputtering target cathode 212 which operates at power levels up to about 24 kW. To form the specific, Ti based carrier layer, a titanium target cathode was 14 inches (35.5 cm) in diameter and DC power was applied to this cathode over a range from about 3 kW to about 5 kW. The substrate 218, comprising an 8 inch (20.3 cm) diameter silicon wafer, was placed a distance of about 5 inches (12.7 cm) from target cathode 212. A high density, inductively coupled rf plasma was generated in the region between the target cathode 212 and the substrate 218 by applying rf power 216 over a range from about 1 MHz to about 13.6 MHz to a multiple turn coil 214 (preferably more than 4 turns) of water cooled 0.125 inch (0.32 cm) diameter metallic tubing surrounding a plasma region between the target 212 and substrate 218. A lower frequency bias, on the order of 50 to 800 kHz, is applied to the substrate 218 or the support member. A resulting D.C. self bias attracts ions from the plasma to the substrate.
Although the preferred apparatus for forming the carrier layer uses a coil to inductively couple the plasma and ionize the sputtered material, other means for ionizing the material are contemplated. For example, an ECR source, such as that shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,814 incorporated herein by reference, or a helicon type coupling device such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,229, incorporated herein by reference, are also specifically contemplated. Likewise, other apparatus which would supply an ionized stream of deposition particles having an ionized percentage of 10 to 100% are contemplated as being useful to practice the inventions.
A. Example A
To obtain a deposition rate of an ionized, partially background gas reacted, titanium nitride/titanium layer of about 300 Å per minute upon the surface of an 8 inch (20.3 cm) diameter substrate, 1.5 KW of rf power at 2 MHz was applied to coil 214 while 5 KW of DC power was applied to titanium target cathode 212, and an AC bias of 90 Watts at 350 kHz was applied to substrate platen electrode 220, resulting in a D.C. self-bias of 70 V. The sputtering and ionization of the sputtered material was carried out in a process chamber with the chamber pressure ranging from about 20 mT to about 30 mT. To obtain the 300 Å per minute deposition rate, the sputtering and ionization of the sputtered material was carried out at about 30 mT. This pressure corresponded to an argon feed rate of about 10 sccm and a nitrogen feed rate of about 70 sccm in the Applied Materials 5500 Integrated Process System. The temperature of the substrate in the process chamber was about 50� C.
B. Example B
To obtain a deposition rate of about 1200 Å per minute of ionized titanlium upon the surface 218 of an 8 inch (20.3 cm) diameter substrate, 1.5 KW of rf power at 2 MHz was applied to coil 214 while 5 KW of DC power was applied to titanium target cathode 212, and a low frequency bias of 120 Watts at 350 kHz was applied to substrate platen electrode 220 resulting in a D.C. self bias of 45 V. The sputtering and ionization was carried out in a process chamber over a chamber pressure ranging from about 20 mT to about 30 mT argon. To obtain the 1200 Å per minute deposition rate, the sputtering and ionization was carried out at about 20 mT. This pressure corresponded to an argon feed rate of about 45 sccm in the Applied Materials 5500 Integrated Process System. The temperature of the substrate in the process chamber was about 50� C.
FIG. 3 shows the % of bottom coverage achieved for ion-deposition sputtered titanium and titanium nitride as a function of power applied and the process chamber pressure. Percent bottom coverage refers to the thickness of the ionized sputtered deposition of titanium or resulting titanium nitride at the bottom of a through hole as a percentage of the thickness of the material deposited on the upper surface of the substrate surrounding the through hole. Thus, if the bottom coverage is 50%, the thickness of the layer at the bottom of the through hole is 50% of the layer thickness on the upper surface of the substrate. The bottom coverage obtained using ionized deposition of sputtered particles has been demonstrated to be more than tell times greater than that achieved using standard sputtering techniques. This marked increase in bottom coverage has been accompanied by a surprising increase in the smoothness of the walls of the through hole, enabling the subsequently applied aluminum to flow with unexpected ease over the walls to provide rapid filling of the hole without the presence of void areas in the final contact structure.
The data presented in FIG. 3 is for a through hole having a 0.25μ diameter at the bottom of the through hole and an aspect ratio of about 5:1 (5.0). The applied power function was calculated as the ratio of induction coil RF power to target cathode DC power, with the ratio multiplied by the support electrode DC bias.
FIG. 4 shows the time temperature conditions for aluminum sputtering which provide aluminum filling of 0.25μ diameter through holes having an aspect ratio of about 5. The through holes were prepared by dry etching a silicon dioxide layer approximately 1.2μ thick which had been deposited over a silicon wafer substrate. The three-layered Ti/TiN/Tix ionized sputtered material structure of the present invention was then applied over the through holes (including the underlying silicon substrate).
The through holes represented in FIG. 4 were lined with a first layer of ionized sputtered titanium deposited about 200 Å thick which was applied over the surface of the substrate comprising through holes. Typically, the thickness of the titanium layer at the bottom of the hole was about 140 Å, about 70% of the 200 Å thick deposit on the upper surface of the substrate surrounding the through hole (bottom coverage was about 70%). Subsequently a second layer of titanium nitride, about 800 Å thick was deposited over the surface of the titanium layer the second layer after being sputtered titanium ionized and reacted with nitrogen. Typically the thickness of the titanium nitride layer at the bottom of the hole was about 540 Å, about 65-70% of the 800 Å deposit oil the upper surface of the substrate. Finally, a third layer, of TiNx, titanium was deposited over the surface of the titanium nitride layer using the ionized deposition and reactive process previously described herein. Typically the thickness of the third layer at the bottom of the hole was about 60 Å, about 60% of the thickness of the titanium layer on the upper surface of the substrate. Since the third layer formation was initiated in the same process chamber immediately after nitrogen gas flow for formation of the second layer was terminated, the third layer contained approximately 10% by weight of titanium nitride, mainly concentrated toward the initially-formed portion of the third layer. Preferably, all of the titanium containing layers are deposited in the same chamber in sequence. The through holes, lined with the preferred embodiment of the structure of the present invention, were then filled with conventionally sputtered aluminum. In particular, the aluminum was sputtered from a target of about 0.5% copper and about 99.5% aluminum, with the copper being present to enhance the electromigration resistance of the aluminum film. Initially, a layer of cold-sputtered aluminum approximately 2,000 Å thick was applied over the three-layered structure. This cold-sputtered aluminum layer, applied at a substrate temperature of about 150� C. or lower, provided a "seed" layer which adheres well to the titanium containing layer of the three-layered structure. The bulk of the aluminum contact was then deposited by sputtering at the temperature specified on the graph of FIG. 4. The aluminum was sputtered from the same target and maintaining the substrate support the same distance from the target as with the cold deposition, using conventional techniques known to those skilled in the art. The D.C. power was adjusted to give an 8000 Angstrom layer in the time specified in FIG. 4. The sputtering was carried out in a process chamber over argon pressure ranging from about 0.5 mT to about 2 mT. This corresponded to an argon feed rate of about 35 sccm in the Applied Materials 5500 Integrated Process System chamber.
The checked area 410 shown on the FIG. 4 graph represents the conditions under which sputtered aluminum could be applied during a metallization process using prior art barrier formation techniques. Although useful for some applications, these conditions do not enable the filling of a through hole having a width of 0.25μ and an aspect ratio greater than 1. The diagonally-striped area 412 shown on the FIG. 4 graph (including the area underlying checked area 410) represents the conditions under which aluminum can be sputtered over the smooth barrier layer of the present invention to achieve filling of a through hole having a width of 0.25μ and an aspect ratio of 5.0. Due to the lower temperature process window available, it is possible to use low temperature heating elements having a longer lifetime, to heat the substrate to lower temperatures to reduce power consumption during the aluminum sputtering process, and to enable expansion of the available materials which may be used to fill contacts by reflow.
Confirmation that the through holes were filled and void free was made using cross sectional scanning electron microscopy.
Although in the most preferred embodiment of the invention the conductor layer is provided by sputter depositing a "seed" layer of conductor material at low temperature, and then filling the remainder of the aperture with a sputter deposited conductor at high temperature, the aperture fill may be provided in other ways, such as by long throw sputtering where the substrate is positioned further from the target than its diameter, followed by sputter deposition at normal, i.e., 2 to 5 cm substrate to target spacing, ionized deposition of sputtered target material or other methods. However, the inventors have found that the lining provided by the deposition of ionized sputter material as described herein provides the greatest advantage, i.e., the greatest improvement in hole filling capability, where the conductor is provided by conventional sputtering. In particular, the lining provided by ionized sputtering allows filling of the apertures with conventional sputtering, which typically has a deposition rate at least twice that of ionized sputtering or long throw sputtering. Therefore, the invention can be used to greatest advantage by providing a cluster tool along the lines of FIG. 5, wherein at least one deposition chamber provides the carrier layer, and the other chambers provide the conductor material. Although the contact and carrier layer, the apparatus for forming the contact and carrier layer, and the methods of forming the contact and carrier layer are all described with respect to the creation of the carrier layer using physical vapor deposition techniques, applicants submit that any carrier layer having one or more of the properties of the carrier layer formed using the techniques described herein is useful for enabling filling of high aspect ratio holes using traditional sputtering techniques. Therefore, applicants submit that the carrier layer and contact of the present invention should be broadly construed, to encompass any carrier layer or sputter deposited contact over a carrier layer, wherein the carrier layer has one or more of the properties or characteristics described herein.
The above described preferred embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, as one skilled in the art can, in view of the present disclosure expand such embodiments to correspond with the subject matter of the invention claimed below.
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UNBELIEVEABLE: Kim Says NO to Kanye West Marriage Proposal
SURPRISED? With two ex-husbands already under her belt, Kim Kardashian is in no rush to walk down the aisle again but baby daddy Kanye West is pressuring the reality star to tie the knot."Kanye is obsessed with her," according to a source close to Kim.
"He always has been. He has begged her to get married a few times, it's Kim that's saying 'not yet.'
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A workshop hosted by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at the West Central Research & Extension Center in North Platte.
The workshop will help landlords and tenants establish and maintain a positive farm leasing relationship, organizer Randy Saner said. It is sponsored by the Nebraska Soybean Board and the North Central Risk Management Education Center.
The Landlord/Tenant Cash Lease workshop series will help producers and landowners deal with the volatility of their cash rents, said Allan Vyhnalek, UNL Extension educator in Platte County.
Landlords are trying to be loyal to their tenants, yet want a fair return for the land asset. Tenants want to be sure to stay in business, yet feel the pressure of bidding to keep the land base that they have been farming, said Vyhnalek.
Topics for discussion include:
Expectations from the lease, including goal setting for the rental property;
Lease communication; determining appropriate information sharing for both the tenant and landlord;
Relatives tips for farm leases that include relatives;
Irrigation system questions, as they pertain to setting lease rates;
Alternative cash lease arrangements;
Flexible provision considerations for your situation, and other topics like grain bin rental, if time allows.
A team of UNL Extension Educators will be on hand to discuss these topics and provide common sense tips during the presentation. Managing the 2012 drought and implications for 2013 will also be discussed.
It is very helpful if both the tenant and landlord can attend together.
Putting together the right lease isnt about what is being discussed at the coffee shop, or what a university survey of cash lease rates says; it is about what fits both the landlord and tenant for their circumstance and situation. Attending this presentation will provide a set of ideas to work from as those specifics are discussed, observed Vyhnalek.
For more information about these workshops, contact Vyhnalek at 402-563-4901, email firstname.lastname@example.com or the Lincoln Logan McPherson County Extension Office.
Workshops are free, but registration is required to reserve a spot. Please register by Nov. 10. Handout materials, a meal, and refreshments will be provided. Participation is limited. To register, call 1-800-200-1381 or 532-2683 by e-mail at email@example.com
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The Seahawks Are Surging & Other Things About NFL Week 14
Playoff races tightened in both conferences on Sunday, but the best teams seemed to already be in post-season form. Here's a recap of all the Week 14 action:
Playoff races tightened in both conferences on Sunday, but the best teams seemed to already be in post-season form. Here's a recap of all the Week 14 action:
DeMarco Murray ran for 179 yards and a touchdown, and the Dallas Cowboys used a big second half to beat the Bears, 41-28, in Chicago on Thursday night.
After a wild and unpredictable year, it all comes down to this. Here are the top storylines as we look ahead to the final weekend of the college football regular season.
All NFL playoff spots are still available as the league heads into its final four weeks of the 2014 season. Here's a preview of Week 14's most interesting storylines:
Wondering when all those big stores will be opening and offering those massive discounts this Black Friday?
You may have heard Buffalo was slammed this week with a snowstorm the likes of which you don't usually see outside the Arctic Circle. One NFL player used the opportunity to play with his kids.
It should be a relatively quiet week in college football, but this season has taught us to expect the unexpected.
Le'Veon Bell ran for 204 yards and a touchdown, and the Pittsburgh Steelers rallied past the Tennessee Titans, 27-24, in Nashville on Monday night.
Northwestern beat Notre Dame over the weekend in an overtime thriller, but when the Wildcats look back at the big win, they'll most likely be more excited about what happened after the game ended.
I had a dream last night that all the food in the world was free, BUT I'm not going to mention this to Lisa Schmidt when she stops by the Puffman Show tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon at 2:30! Lisa who writes the column, "Prairie Ponderings" Sundays in the Great Falls Tribune will be my special guest tomorrow afternoon & Lisa is out with a wonderful new book, Prairie Ponderings" that is getting rave reviews all over the Hi-Line! Lisa & her husband, Steve Hutton (who looks a little bit like Maverick) own & care for the extraordinary Graham Ranch down in Pondera County. Hang on ti
The Seminoles dodged another bullet, Alabama showed it's still the team to beat in the SEC and Melvin Gordon ran into the record books. Here are the highlights from this week in college football.
Ryan Tannehill threw two touchdown passes, and the Miami Dolphins surged past the Buffalo Bills, 22-9, in Florida on Thursday night.


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Honda preparing Dakar assault
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Joined: Dec 2010
Location: Huanuco, Peru, SA, home in Mid-Coast Maine, USA
Oddometer: 470
Another S.American
Everyone has been speculating race strategy in a cold and technical form as we seem to do in USA, CA, AU, and much of Europe. But there is so much more here in the bid for the SA market! And it is a market that responds as much or more to sentiment!
For example... in Peru, when their futbol team loses, the fans go crazy, mob the streets and break windows. So they bring out the water canons! When their futbol team WINS .... the fans go crazy, mob the streets and break windows. So they bring out the water canons!
Point is: Sales in South America are as much about feeling as they are about technical superiority.
Pizolito is great, but the rest of SA considers the Argentinians a bit "especial".
Argentinians will circle the wagons around their guy... but the rest of SA ... not so much. For SA sales they NEED another S.American (non-Argentinian) hero!
YES! I know they need to make a good showing to sell, but drama, heart, and "he's one of us" is just as important here south of the border!
"Those friends thou hast... and their adoption tried... grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel. But do not dull thy palm with entertainment of each new-hatch'd, unfledg'd comrade...."
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THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION OF LUXURY CHALETS & LODGESLuxury Ski Chalet Tivoli Lodge, Davos
OUR HAND-PICKED SELECTION OF THE FINEST ALPINE HOTELSLuxury Ski Hotel St. Anton, Hotel Mooser
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charles boehm
Jurgen Klinsmann dropped an intriguing tweet into the Twitter timelines of US soccer fans on Tuesday morning, announcing that he had made the 6,000-plus-mile journey from Southern California to São Paulo, Brazil.
The US national team boss flew south to catch Tuesday's pivotal Copa Libertadores match between Palmeiras and reigning Mexican champions Club Tijuana (9 pm ET, Fox Deportes), where US internationals Joe Corona and Edgar Castillo are likely to feature for Los Xolos as they seek to advance to the quarterfinals of South America's most prestigious club tournament.
Here in Sao Paulo, Brazil to watch @joecorona15 @edgarcastillo40 and @xolosoficial take on Palmerias in the Copa Libertadores. #USMNT
— Jürgen Klinsmann (@J_Klinsmann) May 14, 2013
With Tijuana facing an uphill battle far from home thanks to last month's 0-0 first-leg stalemate in Mexico, the big match at Estádio Pacaembú should provide Klinsmann with a useful perspective on the gringo duo's form and mentality as he prepares his roster for the USA's upcoming slate of friendlies and World Cup qualifiers.
READ: American Exports: Klinsmann attends Tijuana's Copa Libertadores game, Yanks fail to shine
Yet that's surely not the only reason the German-American coach has made the draining voyage across five time zones and many, many miles.
The USMNT's place in World Cup 2014 is far from assured and their destinations will not be known until next year's draw. But Klinsmann is a meticulous planner and he is probably taking this opportunity to scout the lay of the land where his team will – should their ship stay on course in the next few months – spend a month or more next summer.
São Paulo is one of 12 host cities for next summer's tournament, with both group-round and knockout matches scheduled to take place at the new Arena Corinthians, the future home of Palmeiras' cross-town rivals Corinthians, which is scheduled for completion later this year.
READ: Report: Klinsmann to leave Landon Donovan off USMNT roster for June WCQs
With the sprawling metropolis located in relative proximity to fellow host cities Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre, it would offer a decent home base for the Yanks should they receive a southern Brazilian posting from FIFA. However, Brazil's somewhat controversial decision to make World Cup venues out of several distant northern and interior destinations means that it's likely too early to start reserving hotels and training grounds just yet.
São Paulo sits just far enough from the Atlantic Ocean for Klinsmann to miss out on the nation's famous beach culture on this trip. The chopper pilot-in-training might have been tempted to take his flight log with him, though – because epic density and congestion has made it one of the most helicopter-friendly cities on earth, with many well-to-do Paulistas avoiding horrendous traffic jams by commuting via rotary-wing aircraft.
LA Galaxy boss Bruce Arena has coached at every level of the men's game in the United States, and he's also kept an eye on the women's side, as he proved by sharing some intriguing observations with former WNBA president Val Ackerman in an in-depth interview for ESPNW this week.
The four-time MLS Cup winner and former US national team coach discussed the growth of women's soccer at the youth, collegiate and international levels – which he believes has accelerated "at a little faster rate than it has on the men's side" – and even praised female players for generally being more coachable and not as "contaminated" by greed and ego.
"In my experiences with coaching girls or women ... they are much more receptive to coaching than men," said Arena. "They're eager to learn, and I believe they're more disciplined in terms of their concentration and training."
READ: LA Galaxy look to regain momentum on road as they kick off three-game trip
He also issued a surprising mea culpa regarding the impact of Title IX, the law mandating gender equity which transformed the college sports landscape over the past four decades. Arena made his name at the helm of the University of Virginia's NCAA dynasty in the 1990s, and he admits now that his qualms about the change were mistaken.
"We see all the good things that have happened because of it," he said of Title IX. "People like myself, at the time, thought it was wrong on so many fronts. I was absolutely wrong on every front.
"I thought it would take away from men. Nothing was taken away from men. It was appropriate to give women opportunities to participate and they've taken those opportunities and have grown them at every level."
READ: FC Kansas City-Portland Thorns raise the curtain on new women's league NWSL
Arena and Ackerman also mulled the struggles of women's professional soccer in this country. Though he believes there is limited "crossover" potential with MLS, he sounded a note of cautious optimism about the NWSL, the new effort in that sphere being led by the U.S. Soccer Federation.
"They have a better financial model in place and, in the early going, I think there is going to be patience," Arena said. "So, if we give it time, the women's professional league is going to be around for many years to come, and hopefully this new plan will make it work."
Is the quest for a place in the UEFA Champions League comparable to liberating a faraway kingdom from a terrible dragon?
That might be a good question for Tottenham and US national team star Clint Dempsey, who is one of many English Premier League players taking part in "Premier League Reading Stars," a commendable project intended to develop and encourage reading skills among children in the United Kingdom.
Deuce's favorite book? J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classic The Hobbit, which he enthusiastically describes as "a good read" and "a story about personal growth" in a video for the project.
"It's being able to go outside the comforts of your own home, and go out into the real world and see what's out there," said the Texan as he explained why he loves the 75-year-old tale. "And even though it's going to be tough, and it's going to be ups and downs, it's about the adventure that you would've never got if you'd never left home. Without putting yourself outside your comfort zone, you don't know what you're capable of doing."
READ: American Exports: Dempsey's goal sparks Tottenham to massive win over Manchester City
As Dempsey narrates the harrowing adventures of Bilbo Baggins and his colleagues, it's not hard to see parallels with Dempsey's own professional journey from an unheralded rookie with the New England Revolution to USMNT captain and standout performer in one of the world's toughest leagues.
"He was able to find that he had a lot of strength inside himself and that there were a lot of things he could accomplish," said Dempsey of Baggins. "I think it's a great story about how you find strength from within, and strength from putting yourself in uncomfortable situations sometimes and being able to prevail."
Though he's since moved on to become Toronto FC's head coach, Ryan Nelsen is also featured in "Premier League Reading Stars" with footage recorded during his final season as a player with Queens Park Rangers.
Nelsen picked a slightly different book, one from his five-year-old son's current rotation: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
"It just has a good buzz and wording to it, you can kind of sing it or you can read it," said Nelsen. "My son absolutely loves it."
Sometimes the game just isn't flowing your way, and you run out of ideas on how to change it.
It was a lesson a forlorn FC Barcelona side experienced at the ruthless hands of Bayern Munich in Wednesday's UEFA Champions League semifinal second leg, and Gus Johnson gained much the same lesson in the broadcast booth over those same 90 minutes.
After a two-month layoff, FOX Soccer used the Barça-Bayern match to resume its controversial on-the-job training of Johnson as the network's lead soccer announcer, a daunting challenge for the veteran sportscaster but one that he's handled reasonably well to date.
But this week was a harder slog for the demonstrative Johnson – and perhaps his predicament is best summed with a hackneyed old coaching phrase: Johnson wasn't really put in a position to succeed.
After pairing him with the more experienced Warren Barton in previous Champions League matches, for today's match the decision-makers elected to leave Barton in his familiar studio environment alongside Rob Stone, Eric Wynalda and Brian McBride. Johnson was instead assigned retired English striker Ian Wright as his partner on the call – and the chemistry just didn't take.
Wright offers a clipped London accent and a wealth of knowledge from a career full of famous goalscoring exploits in the English Premier League, which probably adds up to a can't-miss combination in the eyes of network executives.
But his staccato delivery of repetitive talking points – how many times did Wright castigate Barcelona for their lack of width (which surely sounded more like "whiff" to any untrained American ears watching this game on FOX's more widely carried FX channel)? – left Johnson with limited room for his trademark bursts of excitement, or even the occasional bit of scene-setting.
There were also worrying signs when it came to Johnson's own preparedness, however. He got off on the wrong foot in the early going by referring to Bayern's high-pressure approach as a "full-court press," which he should know will court scorn from soccerphiles suspicious of his basketball background.
Johnson consistently stumbled over the pronunciation of Barça star Andrés Iniesta, and his allusions to the Spanish giants' famed "tiki taka" passing style were downright malapropisms.
Unfortunately for the broadcast duo, Bayern's systematic blunting and dismembering of their hosts left little drama in the occasion, which only magnified their slips and shortcomings. The anticlimactic game's latter stages challenged Johnson and Wright to provide analysis and conversation without tuning out the action on the field – an underrated challenge that the best in the business manage subtly and adroitly.
Wednesday provided a reminder Johnson hasn't joined their ranks quite yet. And it doesn't get any easier in his upcoming assignments: an EPL match this weekend, followed by the FA Cup and Champions League finals later this month.
Many MLS fans associate D.C. United's Carlos Ruiz with the game's so-called "dark arts," thanks to his reputation for diving, gamesmanship and a general "anything goes" approach when it comes to scoring goals.
The veteran striker's true character off the field is something different, however, and is being hailed by CONCACAF with a rare honor this week. "El Pescadito" will receive the confederation's first-ever President's Award for his role in uncovering match-fixing in his homeland of Guatemala.
"Mr. Ruiz's courage and integrity led him to denounce match-fixing within the Guatemalan national team," explained a CONCACAF press release on Wednesday. "His actions led to a full-scale investigation, as well as unprecedented measures taken in the fight against match-fixing in the region."
In addition to being one of the most successful goalscorers in MLS history, Ruiz also carved out a distinguished career in his country's colors, scoring a record 55 goals in 104 appearances for Guatemala over more than a decade of service to Los Chapines.
Though the release did not state so explicitly, Ruiz's award may be related to the lifetime FIFA bans handed down to Guatemalan players Gustavo Cabrera, Yoni Flores and Guillermo Ramírez last year for their roles in three suspicious matches from 2010-12. Two of the games were Guatemala national team friendlies and one a CONCACAF Champions League match between CSD Municipal (the club where Ruiz began his pro career) and Mexico's Santos Laguna.
"The success of football within our region is constantly being shaped by individual actions of players, coaches, administrators and executives," said CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb in the press release. "We want to recognize Carlos for his incredible courage to stand up for the integrity of our game and denounce match manipulation activities. His long legacy to football has now a deep footprint both inside and outside the pitch."
Ruiz's actions will be celebrated in a ceremony at Palacio Bolivar in the Cancillería General de la República in Panama City, Panama, on Thursday.
Are you a US national team fan? Are you getting more and more amped as the hours tick down towards the next round of World Cup qualifiers on Friday night?
Jimmy Conrad the the rest of the crew over at KICKTV are right there with you. They've just dropped the latest episode of "The Hex," KICKTV's video series on the final round of CONCACAF qualifying.
"Hexagonal 101" delivers a fast-paced refresher course on the long, global road to the World Cup, the structure of the competition and the many challenges that the USMNT and their five regional counterparts must overcome in order to book a place in Brazil 2014.
Sporting the USA's brand-new centennial jersey, which the Yanks will debut against Costa Rica at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., on Friday, Conrad reminds us how difficult the two-and-a-half-year-long process can be, a lesson he's learned through firsthand experience.
This is a great way to start the final countdown to the big games – and an excellent primer if you've got friends or family who could use a bit of Hex background.
Portland Timbers' Merritt Paulson, Sporting Kansas City's Robb Heineman named to SBJ's "40 Under 40" list
Two of the brightest, boldest executives in MLS have earned places on Sports Business Journal's annual "Forty Under 40" list of top young personalities in the sports business world.
Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson and Sporting Kansas City part-owner Robb Heineman (right) have received the honor, a repeat feat for both men.
In fact, it's the third straight year Paulson has made the list, elevating him to the "Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame," while Heineman (at right, with MLS Commissioner Don Garber) can savor a second consecutive nomination.
As part of the honor, SBJ profiled both executives, hailing Heineman's role in his club's renaissance over the past two years and his forward-leaning approach to technology and fan relations.
"Through social media, we're trying to give fans a sense of ownership," Heineman said. "They're not just fans, but they help shape some of the decisions that we make."
Meanwhile, Paulson spoke to the publication about his outspoken public profile and use of Twitter to connect with the public – and occasionally even share his opinions of refereeing decisions and the like.
"I'm trying to be a little bit less of the face of the team this season," Paulson (right) told SBJ. "I don't mind being out there, but if the owner is too much a part of the story of the team, that's ultimately a negative thing."
LA Galaxy and Chivas USA fans may be interested to note that Ray Elias, chief marketing officer for StubHub, who will assume naming rights for the Home Depot Center later this year, is also on the list.
The city of Orlando has quietly purchased more than $8 million of downtown real estate in recent months in the area mooted as a potential location for a new soccer-specific stadium, offering further proof of the central Florida community's strategic positioning for an MLS expansion bid.
Third-division side Orlando City SC have made no secret of their desire to someday join MLS, and the club seems to have found a willing partner in mayor Buddy Dyer, who hopes to help facilitate the development of a $110 million soccer stadium for the Lions. Some $30 million of that estimated amount would come from the club, and the rest would be provided by a mix of city, state and county funds and taxes.
READ: New investor in tow, Orlando City focus on stadium
Last week, Dyer received authorization from the city council to buy four parcels of property worth $4 million near the Amway Center, the downtown arena which is home to the NBA's Orlando Magic.
This week the Orlando Sentinel discovered, via a public-records request, that Dyer's administration had actually spent more than twice that amount overall, thanks to the acquisition of 17 more plots worth $4.3 million. Because none of those land parcels were worth more than $500,000 each, Dyer was not required to attain prior permission from the council for those purchases, but Mayor Dyer's deputy chief of staff Heather Fagan told the Sentinel that "the commissioners were briefed on potential options for future uses of the site."
The land itself is described as "mostly vacant lots and warehouses," in the words of the area's City Commissioner, and it adds up to an estimated three-quarters of two city blocks.
City officials refused to confirm that the land purchases are related to the stadium project, calling them only "a strategic acquisition."
But it certainly looks like the ideal location and footprint for a downtown soccer venue.
When it comes to the men in the middle, the 2013 MLS season is off to a good start, says Peter Walton, the head of the Professional Referees Association, in a new post on the PRO website Wednesday
PRO was created a year ago to assign, manage and evaluate officiating in MLS, MLS Reserve League and lower-division leagues as well as other top North American competitions like CONCACAF Champions League and the US Open Cup.
Its stated goals: "To increase the quality of officiating in U.S. and Canadian professional leagues, develop more professional-quality officials at a younger age, and produce officials who will represent the United States and Canada in FIFA competitions."
Walton, a retired referee with two decades of experience overseeing matches in the English Premier League, FA Cup and elsewhere in his native country, pronounced himself pleased with the efforts of his officials over opening weekend.
"It doesn't seem three months since that epic MLS Cup Final in LA, but here we are at the start of another season," writes Walton. "Saturday saw the kick-off to the 18th MLS season, the first for the Professional Referee Organization. After a busy pre-season it was so important that we, the officials, got off to a good start; and from what I saw and what others have said, we did just that."
Walton also announced that PRO will be producing a "plays of the week" segment to shine a light on examples of effective refereeing practices over the course of the season. PRO also communicates with the public via its official Twitter feed, @PROreferees.
North American soccer fans have heard it a thousand times from countless different voices, from FIFA boss Sepp Blatter on down: If you want to be a serious league on the world stage, move to a fall-spring schedule like everyone else (by which they actually mean Western Europe, of course).
This argument shrugs off a range of important factors behind MLS and other leagues' choice of a spring-fall alignment, but perhaps the most important one is the simple fact that it can get awfully cold and snowy in places like Montreal, Chicago and New England every winter.
As it turns out, some people across the pond have taken note of this obvious fact, too, including one of the most powerful men in German soccer.
Namely Karl-Heinze Rummenigge, the chairman at Bayern Munich as well as the chair of the European Club Association, a lobbying group for more than 200 of Europe's biggest clubs.
"Everywhere, be it Germany, France or England, summer is the best period of the year. And that is the season we don't play,'' Rummenigge told France Football magazine for its latest issue. "In deepest winter, when it is very cold and snowing, we play nearly all the time in conditions that are disagreeable for both players and spectators. It is not logical.
"My sense is that we are heading straight in this direction," he added. "It's completely possible, even if this idea does not thrill our friends in South America."
Laying out a future in which European leagues open in January and run until the fall, he predicted that the change would make for more pleasant conditions for both players and supporters and even help reduce the conflict between club and international soccer by leaving a month-long window for national-team play.
"In future, there could be two phases: one for club competitions, the other for qualifying matches or finals of the World Cup or the Euros,'' Rummenigge said. "For one month, national teams would be completely free to call up their players.''
That would also help resolve the looming problem caused by FIFA's selection of Qatar as the host of the 2022 World Cup, allowing the desert nation to host the world's biggest sporting event during the mild Middle Eastern winter.
Skeptical reactions from ECA and FIFA officials underlined the difficulties of making this sweeping change to the current status quo. But Stateside soccer folks can take heart from the news that Europe's elite might actually be coming around to our way of doing things this time.
"It is clear that there will soon be negotiations to examine what can be done. My point of view is that an eventual change to the calendar shouldn't be viewed critically but more as an innovation that could improve the general context,'' Rummenigge said. "Changing the calendar carries risks but it is also an opportunity. The issue of the calendar will become more important the closer 2022 gets.''