Patent ID: 11942324
Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Field: Semiconductors (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 8:
9. A method of forming a contact trench in a dielectric layer of a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
disposing a photoresist layer on the dielectric layer;
performing a photolithography process including forming an aperture in the photoresist layer and directing an ion beam formed of reactive plasma ions into the aperture to form a trench in the dielectric layer;
performing an ion implantation process wherein an ion beam formed of an ionized dopant species is directed into the trench at an acute angle relative to a top surface of the dielectric layer to form an implantation layer in a sidewall of the trench;
etching the implantation layer back to a depth where a concentration of the implanted dopant species is higher than in other portions of the implantation layer; and
depositing a metal fill in the trench atop an underlying bottom metal layer, wherein the metal fill adheres to the sidewall.