New insights on nucleation of tungsten on insulators during selective chemical vapor deposition

Abstract
Selective deposition of tungsten on metals and silicon in the presence of insulators is important in several very large scale integrated circuit applications. The results of experiments investigating this selectivity are reported. The influence of the total area and composition of the selective growth surface on the nucleation of tungsten on adjacent insulators are illustrated. Specifically, nucleation is shown to occur preferentially in close proximity to the area of tungsten growth. The extent of nucleation on silicon dioxide compared to silicon nitride or phosphorus-doped glass is dependent on the composition of the surface on which the initial selective tungsten growth occurs. The qualitative observations presented here form the basis for further quantitative investigations.

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