Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
Irradiation with excimer laser pulses is demonstrated as a technique to fill contact/via holes for integrated circuits with Al-(1 wt.%)Cu. We discussed the influence of the size, shape and aspect ratio of the contact hole, and the metal thickness on the process (attitude for laser planarization. The most dominant parameters found to influence the planariza-tion process are the shape of the contact, and the shape of the as-deposited metal surface (“step coverage”). The application of a Cu anti-reflection coating increased the process window substantially. Although a planar Al-Cu surface was easily formed with laser irradiation, void free filling of contact holes was a more demanding task. Conditions for which completely filled contacts can be obtained were discussed.