Patent Publication Number: US-6905965-B2

Title: Reactive preclean prior to metallization for sub-quarter micron application

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 09/617,522, filed on Jul. 14, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,693,030, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/000,746, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,192 filed on Dec. 30, 1997. Each of the aforementioned related patent applications is herein incorporated by reference. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a metallization method for manufacturing semiconductor devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to precleaning of submicron features prior to metallization. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Sub-half micron multilevel metallization is one of the key technologies for the next generation of very large scale integration (VLSI). The multilevel interconnects that lie at the heart of this technology require planarization of interconnect features formed in high aspect ratio apertures, including contacts, vias, lines or other features. Reliable formation of these interconnect features is very important to the success of VLSI and to the continued effort to increase circuit density and quality on individual substrates and die. 
   The increase in circuit densities primarily results from a decrease in the widths of vias, contacts and other features as well as a decrease in the thickness of dielectric materials between these features. Cleaning of the features to remove contaminants prior to metallization is required to improve device integrity. The decrease in width of the features results in larger aspect ratios for the features and increased difficulty in cleaning the features prior to filling the features with metal or other materials. Failure to clean the features can result in void formation within the features or an increase in the resistance of the features. Therefore, there is a great amount of ongoing effort being directed at cleaning small features having high aspect ratios, especially where the ratio of feature height to width is 4:1 or larger. 
   The presence of native oxides and other contaminants within a small feature typically results in voids by promoting uneven distribution of the depositing metal. The native oxide typically forms as a result of exposing the exposed film layer/substrate to oxygen. Oxygen exposure occurs when moving substrates between processing chambers at atmospheric conditions, or when the small amount of oxygen remaining in a vacuum chamber contacts the wafer/film layer, or when a layer is damaged by etching. Other contaminants within the features can be sputtered material from an oxide over-etch, residual photoresist from a stripping process, leftover polymer from a previous oxide etch step, or redeposited material from a preclean sputter etch process. The native oxide and other contaminants create regions on the substrate which interfere with film formation, by creating regions where film growth is stunted. Regions of increased growth merge and seal the small features before regions of limited growth can be filled with the depositing metal. 
   The presence of native oxides and other contaminants also can increase the via/contact resistance and can reduce the electromigration resistance of small features. The contaminants can diffuse into the dielectric layer, the sublayer, or the deposited metal and alter the performance of devices which include the small features. Although contamination may be limited to a thin boundary region within the features, the thin boundary region is a substantial part of the small features. The acceptable level of contaminants in the features decreases as the features get smaller in width. 
   Precleaning of features using sputter etch processes is effective for reducing contaminants in large features or in small features having aspect ratios smaller than about 4:1. However, sputter etch processes can damage silicon layers by physical bombardment, sputter deposit Si/SiO 2  onto sidewalls of the features, and sputter metal sublayers, such as aluminum or copper, onto sidewalls of the features. For larger features, the sputter etch processes typically reduce the amount of contaminants within the features to acceptable levels. For small features having larger aspect ratios, sputter etch processes have not been as effective in removing contaminants within the features, thereby compromising the performance of the devices which are formed. 
   Preclean by sputter etch process is particularly unsuitable for features with copper substrate. It is because of the ease of diffusion of sputtered Cu through the dielectric sidewalls. This diffusion is especially true for TEOS, thermal oxide and some low K dielectric materials. Therefore, a new preclean process without any bias on the substrate is needed for a Cu preclean application. 
   Wet chemical cleaning processes have been developed to clean submicron features prior to metallization without the damage or contamination seen in sputter etch processes. The wet chemical processes typically include treatment of the feature with hydrofluoric acid (HF) to remove native oxides. Various other wet chemical processes can be used depending on the contaminants remaining in the features. The wet chemical cleaning processes can be combined with dry cleaning processes. However, the addition of wet chemical cleaning steps to remove trace amounts of contaminants from the features substantially increases the overall process time for metallization. 
   A soft etch cleaning process for submicron features is described by Sumi et al., □New Contact Process Using Soft Etch for Stable Ohmic Characteristics and its Application to 0.1 micron CMOS Devices□, IEDM 94-113 et seq. The soft etch process uses an inductively coupled plasma of argon to remove native oxides from a silicon underlayer. The process does not avoid resputtering of materials from the bottom to the sidewalls of the contact hole. 
   A dry cleaning process for submicron features is described by Taguwa et al., □Low-Contact Resistance Metallization for Gigabit Scale DRAMs Using Fully-Dry Cleaning by Ar/H 2  ECR Plasma□, IEDM 95-695 et seq. The dry cleaning process preferably cleans the features with an Electron Cyclotron Plasma containing a mixture of argon and hydrogen prior to chemical vapor deposition of titanium. The cleaning process reduces bombardment by Ar, removes native oxides from a silicon underlayer, and promotes formation of a uniform TiSi x  layer between the silicon underlayer and the deposited titanium. However, addition of H 2  to Ar in the cleaning process does not completely eliminate resputtering of materials within the features. 
   For sub-quarter micron features having high aspect ratios, resputtering of material from the bottom to the sidewalls of the feature during dry cleaning results in a significant narrowing of the feature and a corresponding increase in resistance of the feature which impairs device performance. The known dry cleaning processes are not effective in removing contaminants from the features without redepositing material on the sidewalls of the features. Therefore, there remains a need for a cleaning process for small features which effectively cleans the feature without leaving contaminants in the feature. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a method for precleaning features on a semiconductor substrate to remove contaminants prior to metallization. The method includes removal of oxides from the bottom of contacts without damaging the underlying layer, including the removal of SiO 2 , aluminum oxide or copper oxide from the bottom of vias without redeposition of the material onto sidewalls, the removal of a thin layer of damaged silicon from the bottom of contact holes, and the removal of contaminants from the sidewalls of the features. The precleaning of the features preferably includes a first step wherein contaminants are removed with radicals from a remote plasma of a reactive cleaning gas, and an optional second step wherein native oxides remaining in the features are reduced by exposure to hydrogen radicals. The plasma of the cleaning gas is preferably generated by a remote plasma source to provide a soft etch which does not damage or resputter the sublayers at the bottom of the features. 
   Following the first or both precleaning steps, the features can be filled with metal by available techniques which typically include depositing a barrier/liner layer on the exposed dielectric surfaces using physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, or other techniques, prior to deposition of a metal such as aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), or tungsten (W) to completely fill the feature. The precleaning and metallization steps can be conducted on available integrated processing platforms such as the Endura □  system available from Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif. 
   In one aspect of the invention, submicron features formed in a dielectric layer on a semiconductor substrate are processed by precleaning the submicron features with radicals from a plasma comprising a reactive gas such as oxygen, a mixture of CF 4 /O 2 , or a mixture of He/NF 3 , wherein the plasma is generated by a remote plasma source and neutral radicals are delivered into a chamber containing the substrate. Subsequent to cleaning with the reactive gas, native oxides remaining in the submicron features are removed with radicals from a plasma comprising hydrogen alone or in mixtures with nitrogen (N), argon (Ar), or helium (He). The hydrogen radicals also remove carbon and fluorine contaminants in addition to oxides. Following precleaning, a liner or barrier layer is preferably deposited on exposed surfaces of the feature, and the feature is then filled with Al, Cu, W, or other conductive material. When the liner or barrier layer is Ti or Ti/TiN, deposition of the titanium at 650-750□C on a silicon surface precleaned according to the present invention forms a uniform, one phase layer of TiSi x . Precleaning can also be performed in situ in a CVD TiN chamber which deposits a barrier layer for copper or aluminum metallization by addition of a remote plasma source to the chamber. 
   In another aspect of the invention, precleaning according to the present invention can be performed both before and after deposition of a barrier layer to reduce the amount of contaminants on both sides of the barrier layer and improve the electromigration resistance of the feature. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     So that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages and objects of the present invention are attained can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to the embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. 
     It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. 
       FIG. 1  shows a reactive preclean chamber which receives a remote plasma source to conduct the precleaning steps of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  shows the overall layout of an inductively coupled plasma reactor which generates a plasma to conduct the precleaning steps of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic top view in section along lines  3 — 3  of  FIG. 2  showing the gas distribution system; 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic enlarged view showing the gas distribution system of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 5  shows an integrated processing platform configured to preclean and fill features on a semiconductor substrate according to the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   The present invention generally provides a method of precleaning features etched into a dielectric layer on a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising the steps of precleaning the submicron features with radicals from a plasma comprising a reactive gas, wherein the plasma is preferably generated by a remote plasma source and neutral radicals are delivered into a chamber having the substrate disposed therein. Native oxides remaining in the submicron features after remote plasma treatment are preferably reduced by reaction with hydrogen prior to metallization of the feature. More particularly, the present invention provides precleaning of the submicron features and filling of the features with a metal such as copper, aluminum, or tungsten. The process steps can be combined in an integrated processing system, such as the Endura™ available from Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., although non-integrated techniques can be used to clean and fill submicron features in accordance with the present invention. 
   For clarity, the present invention will be described below with reference to both copper and aluminum deposition techniques. However, tungsten or other metal deposition processes may be used to accomplish the advantages of the present invention, whether presently known or yet to be discovered. 
   The invention provides a suitable method for precleaning vias, contacts, and other features etched into a dielectric layer, such as a silicon dioxide layer, which is deposited on a conductive or semi-conductive sublayer, such as Ge, Si, Al, Cu, or TiN sublayers. The feature typically exposes the sublayer so that the feature can be filled with a conductive or semi-conductive material which connects the sublayer and a subsequent metal interconnect layer to be deposited on the dielectric layer. Etching of the features in the dielectric typically leaves contaminants which should be removed to improve filling of the features and ultimately improve the integrity and reliability of the devices formed. 
   After etching of the dielectric layer, the features can have damaged silicon or metal residues within the features from over-etching of the dielectric layer. The features can also contain residual photoresist on the feature surfaces from the photoresist stripping and/or ashing process or residual polymer from the dielectric etch step. The features may also contain redeposited material on the feature surfaces following a sputter etch preclean process. These contaminants can migrate into the dielectric layer or can interfere with the selectivity of metallization by promoting uneven distribution of the depositing metal. The presence of the contaminants also can increase the resistance of the deposited metal by substantially narrowing the width of the feature, and thus creating a narrowed portion in the metal forming the via, contact line, or other conductive feature. 
   The submicron features which are cleaned and filled in accordance with the present invention, are formed by conventional techniques which deposit a dielectric material over a surface on a semiconductor substrate. Any dielectric material, whether presently known or yet to be discovered, may be used and is within the scope of the present invention, including low dielectric materials such as organic polymers and aerogels. The dielectric layer may comprise one or more distinct layers and may be deposited on any suitable deposition enhancing sublayer. The preferred deposition enhancing sublayers include conductive metals such as Al and Cu, barrier surfaces such as TiN, and doped silicon. 
   Once deposited, the dielectric layer is etched by conventional techniques to form vias, contacts, trenches or other submicron features. The features will typically have a high aspect ratio with steep sidewalls. Etching of the dielectric layer may be accomplished with any dielectric etching process, including plasma etching. Specific techniques for etching silicon dioxide include such compounds as buffered hydrofluoric acid and acetone. However, patterning may be accomplished on any layer using any method known in the art. 
   The precleaning process of the present invention is preferably conducted on a remote plasma source (RPS) chamber such as the Etch RPS chamber which is available from Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif. The chamber comprises two major assemblies: 1) a chamber body, preferably, but not necessarily, including an electrostatic chuck which supports and secures a substrate in the chamber; and 2) a remote plasma source. These major assemblies will be discussed separately for the sake of organization, although it will be understood that in reality there is dynamic interaction between these assemblies. In a RPS chamber, reactive H radicals are formed by the remote source and are introduced into the neighborhood of the substrate as primarily neutral species, i.e., not having an electric charge and therefore not an ion, thereby preventing generation of self bias and bombardment of the wafer surface by ions. Experiments with RPS chambers show that a 2.45 GHz microwave source is more efficient and can generate more hydrogen radicals than lower frequency RF sources. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , features etched on a substrate are precleaned in a remote plasma source (RPS) chamber  10  having a fixed cathode  12  which includes an electrostatic chuck  14  that secures the substrate (not shown) to the fixed cathode  12 . The chamber  10  includes a chamber body  16  having a slit valve port  18  which connects the chamber  10  to a substrate processing platform such as the Endura□ platform. 
   The fixed cathode  12  is shielded from process gases by a cathode liner  20  which has a non-stick outer surface to enhance process performance. The chamber body  16  is also shielded from process gases by a chamber liner  22  which has a non-stick inner surface to enhance process performance. The chamber liner  22  includes an inner annular ledge  24  which supports a gas distribution plate  26 . The gas distribution plate  26  has a plurality of spaced holes which distribute process gases received from a remote plasma source described below. The process gases flow over the surface of a substrate positioned on the electrostatic chuck  14 . The remote plasma source typically confines any plasma of the process gases and provides neutral radicals to the chamber  22 . The gas distribution plate may be grounded to further reduce ions remaining in the process gases. 
   A processing region  30  above the fixed cathode  12  is maintained at a low process pressure by vacuum pumps (not shown) which are in fluid communication with an exhaust port  32  on the chamber body  16 . A plenum  34  having a plurality of spaced holes separates the processing region  30  from the exhaust port  32  to promote uniform exhausting around the fixed cathode  12 . The processing region  30  is visible from outside the chamber  10  through a sapphire window  36  which is sealed in the chamber body  16 . 
   The chamber  10  has a removable chamber lid  40  which rests on the chamber liner  22 . The chamber lid  40  has a central injection port  42  which receives process gases from a remote plasma source  50  described below. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , process gases for the precleaning process of the present invention are excited into a plasma within a remote plasma source  50  which is in fluid communication with the RPS chamber  10  described above. A plasma applicator  52  has a gas inlet  54  which receives process gases. The process gases flow through the applicator  52  and exit into the central injection port  42  in the chamber lid  40 . A jacket waveguide  56  surrounds a sapphire tube portion of the plasma applicator  52  and supplies microwave energy to the process gases. The plasma is generated in the applicator  52  and is typically confined to the applicator  52 . 
   Microwave energy is generated by a magnetron  60  which provides up to 1500 watts at 2.45 GHz. The microwave energy passes through a microwave isolator  62  which prevents reflected power from damaging the magnetron  60 . The microwave energy from the isolator  62  is transmitted through a 90□ waveguide  64  to an autotuner  66  which automatically adjusts the impedance of the plasma in the applicator  52  to the impedance of the magnetron  60  resulting in minimum reflected power and maximum transfer of power to the plasma applicator  52 . 
   The process gases receive sufficient energy in the applicator  52  to form a plasma containing reactive (radical) species. A plasma of CF 4  and O 2  generates O radicals and some F radicals. The process gases are mostly neutralized before leaving the applicator  52 . The process gases retain a substantial portion of the radicals after passing through the distribution plate  26 . The radicals are delivered over the substrate before the process gases are exhausted from the chamber. The F radical primarily combines with Si and SiO 2  to form volatile SiF 4 . The O radicals combine with fluorocarbons to form CO, CO 2 , and COF 2 . Hydrogen radicals react with the native oxide to form water vapor and the metal. The exhaust carries the various byproducts as well as some of the recombination species. 
   Although precleaning is shown for a dedicated precleaning chamber in  FIG. 1 , precleaning could also be done by connecting the remote plasma source to a metal CVD/PVD chamber. For example, gas inlets could be provided at the level of the substrate in such metallization chambers to deliver the reactive gas plasma or hydrogen plasma from the remote plasma source. Metal deposition chambers having gas delivery systems could be modified to deliver the precleaning gas plasma through existing gas inlets such as a gas distribution showerhead positioned above the substrate. 
   The present invention provides a method for precleaning features on a semiconductor substrate to remove contaminants prior to metallization. The method includes removal of silicon dioxide from the bottom of contacts without damaging the silicon, removal of aluminum oxide or copper oxide from the bottom of vias without redeposition of the metal onto sidewalls, removal of a thin layer of silicon from the bottom of contact holes, and removal of contaminants from the sidewalls of the features. 
   According to the invention, features formed in a dielectric layer on a semiconductor substrate are precleaned with radicals from a plasma comprising a reactive gas such as oxygen, a mixture of CF 4 /O 2 , or a mixture of He/NF 3 , wherein the plasma is preferably generated by a remote plasma source and delivered into a chamber in which the substrate is disposed. The preferred reactive gas is CF 4 /O 2  which provides both oxygen ions and fluorine ions during the cleaning process. This process typically uses a high concentration of O 2  to form a non-polymerizing mixture for effective removal of fluorine and carbon containing species. The gas mixture can be varied to obtain a wide range of removal etch rates (50 □/min to 500 □/min) and a wide range of Si:SiO 2  etch selectivities. The cleaning process leaves native oxides in the features, and the native oxides are preferably reduced in a second step by radicals from a plasma comprising hydrogen, alone or in mixtures with N, Ar or He which function to dilute the reactive radicals. Following the first or both cleaning steps, a liner or barrier layer such as TiN or Ti is preferably deposited on exposed surfaces of the feature, and the feature is preferably filled with a conductive material such as Al, Cu, or W by PVD, CVD, or electroplating processes. 
   In one aspect of the invention, submicron features formed in a dielectric layer on a semiconductor or metal substrate are processed by precleaning the submicron features with radicals from a plasma comprising a CF 4 /O 2 , wherein the plasma is generated by a remote plasma source and delivered into a chamber containing the substrate. The reactive gas radicals remove residual photoresist, hydrocarbons, and fluorocarbons from the sidewalls of the features. The reactive gas radicals can also remove damaged Si on the bottom of the feature. A plasma of CF 4 /O 2  contains both fluorine radicals and oxygen radicals. The fluorine radicals remove silicon by the formation of SiF 4  which is volatile under process conditions. The fluorine radicals remove silicon dioxide by formation of SiF 4  and CO and other oxygen compounds which are volatile under process conditions. The fluorine radicals also remove hydrogen from hydrocarbon or fluorocarbon contaminants within the feature, and assist the oxygen radicals in breaking down the hydrocarbons and fluorocarbons into volatile components. An inert gas such as helium can be provided in the plasma as desired to dilute the reactive radicals. For features having silicon sublayers, typically the first level, the fluorine radicals preferably remove damaged silicon by removing a small layer, e.g., 50 angstroms, of the silicon. 
   Subsequent to cleaning with the radicals from the plasma of the reactive gas, native oxides remaining in the submicron features can be reduced with radicals from a plasma comprising hydrogen, alone or in mixtures with N, Ar, or He. Reduction of the native oxides provides an oxygen free interface between the feature and the sublayer which reduces the resistance of the feature. Thermal reduction of the native oxides using hydrogen or hydrogen contains mixture can be achieved in a CVD TiN chamber RPS chamber at 350° C. The hydrogen surface treatment of the native oxides has an added benefit of leaving dangling hydrogen bonds on the surface of the sublayer at the bottom of the feature. The dangling hydrogen bonds help reduce subsequent films which are deposited from carbon based precursors. The hydrogen treatment in the case of a Si sublayer passivates the Si surface, and thereby makes it resistant to reoxidation when exposed to the atmosphere. 
   Following precleaning according to the invention, a liner or barrier layer is preferably deposited on exposed surfaces of the feature, and the feature is filled with Al, Cu, W, or other conductive material. When the liner or barrier layer is Ti or Ti/TiN, titanium deposited on a silicon surface precleaned according to the present invention forms a uniform, one phase layer of TiSi x . When the liner or barrier layer is Ti or Ti/TiN, deposition of the titanium at 650-750□C on a silicon surface precleaned according to the present invention forms the uniform, one phase layer of TiSi x . 
   In another aspect of the invention, precleaning according to the present invention can be performed both before and after deposition of a barrier layer to increase the electromigration resistance of the deposited Al, Cu, W, or other conductive metal which fills the feature. Preferred barrier/lining layers include such layers as tantalum (Ta), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium (Ti), and titanium nitride (TiN), or a combination of these layers. Treatment of barrier/lining layers with H 2  radicals generated by remote plasma or thermal processes can be used to provide better adhesion to CVD deposited Al or CVD deposited Cu. For example, treatment of Ta, TaN, or CVD deposited TiN with H 2  or H 2  gas mixture with He, Ar, or N 2  provides excellent adhesion to copper. The H 2  gas mixtures preferably comprise at least 90% by volume of H 2 . This H 2  treatment of the barrier layer can also be done in situ in the metal deposition chamber (e.g., Cu) by mounting a remote plasma source to a CVD Cu chamber. This in situ treatment passivates the barrier surface and prevents adsorption of C, O, and F compounds leading to better adhesion and lower resistivity of CVD Cu on Ta, TaN, or TiN surfaces. This treatment will also improve the texture, grain orientation, and grain size of Cu on the barrier layer resulting in good surface topography and tighter distribution of grain orientations. 
   The precleaning method of the invention is especially useful for cleaning of submicron features having copper sublayers at the bottom of the features since copper is easily sputtered to the side walls in a conventional ICP or sputter etch based preclean chamber. The sputtered copper diffuses into the dielectric material causing device failure. The present invention cleans the via without sputtering of the base of the via. 
   Hypothetical Example 
   The following hypothetical example describes the preferred method of the present invention by describing the precleaning of features etched into a silicon dioxide layer having a copper sublayer. Precleaning includes a first step of exposing the features to radicals from a plasma of CF 4 /O 2  which is generated in a remote plasma source. The radicals are delivered to a chamber in which a substrate having the features is disposed. A plasma comprising hydrogen is then generated to deliver H radicals to the chamber to reduce native oxides, oxides from plasma damage in a previous oxide etch step, or oxides from wet chemistry used after the etch step, prior to filling of the features with copper in a CVD plasma reactor. 
   The precleaning chamber is stabilized for 5 seconds at a pressure of 400 mTorr with an oxygen flow of 200 sccm and a tetrafluoromethane (CF 4 ) flow of 10 sccm prior to application of microwave power in the remote plasma source. The features are then cleaned for 30 seconds by applying 1000 W of microwave power (2.45 GHz) to the remote plasma. Then native oxides are reduced in the features by treatment for 30 seconds with radicals from a hydrogen plasma at a pressure of 350 to 450 mTorr with a hydrogen flow of 300 to 500 sccm and 600 to 1000 W of microwave power (2.45 GHz) to the remote plasma source. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 2 , an alternative processing chamber for conducting the process of the invention is shown schematically in a section view. The processing chamber can be a Preclean II chamber which is available from Applied Materials, Santa Clara, Calif. A vacuum chamber  111  is formed by a base member  112  having sidewalls  114  and which are preferably made of metallic construction such as stainless steel, aluminum or the like. An opening  115  in the base of the body member  112  is connected to a turbo pump  116  which is used to control the gas pressure inside the chamber  111 . A quartz dome  117  forms the top of the chamber  111  and is provided with a flange  18  about its circumference where it mates with the top circumference of the sidewalls  114  of base member  112 . A gas distribution system  119  is provided at the juncture of quartz dome  117  and base member  112  which will be discussed in more detail below. An insulating pedestal  120  made of quartz, ceramic or the like has a quartz cover  121  holding down a conductive pedestal  122  which is arranged to hold a wafer in the chamber  111 . A high frequency RF power supply  123  is capacitively coupled to the pedestal  122  and supplies a negative bias voltage thereto. This bias voltage is not used during the precleaning steps of the present invention. 
   A helical shaped RF induction coil  125  is wound exteriorly to quartz dome  117  and is supported by the cover  127 . The coil  125  is formed of hollow copper tubing. An alternating axial electromagnetic field is produced in the chamber  111  interiorly to the windings of the coil  125 . Generally, an RF frequency of from about 350 KHz to about 450 KHz is employed and an RF power supply of conventional design (not shown) operating at this frequency is coupled to the coil  125  by a matching network (not shown) to generate a plasma in the chamber  111 . The RF electromagnetic field generates a glow discharge plasma within the portion of the chamber  111  above the pedestal  122  which has a plasma sheath or dark space separating the plasma from the pedestal and the wafer. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the gas distribution system for the reactant gas used in the system is shown in more detail, but still schematically. The top of the metallic sidewall member  114  has a gas supply trench  133  milled therein and twelve evenly spaced (angularly) disposed channels extending from a gas source intersect the channel to form a plurality of gas injection holes  132 . When the flange  118  of quartz dome  117  is placed over the sidewalls  114  of the base member  112 , a closed toroidal tube is formed in the space provided by the groove  133  and capped or topped by the flange  118  of dome  117 . The reactant gas (usually fluorine or the like) is thus supplied at about the midpoint of the chamber  111  and is uniform in its flow across the wafer. 
   Example 
   The precleaning steps of the present invention have been combined in the chamber shown in  FIGS. 2-4  to successfully clean features etched in a dielectric layer having a copper sublayer prior to filling of the features with a Cu or Al plug. The chamber was stabilized for 5 seconds at a pressure of 5-20 mTorr with a mixture of 90% H 2  and 10% He, Ar, or N 2 . The features were then cleaned for 60 seconds by applying 300 W of 400 KHz RF power to the coil and 10 W of RF power (13.56 MHZ) to the pedestal. These process conditions (i.e. with very low bias) can chemically reduce CuO without sputtering of the Cu sublayer onto the sidewalls. Similar treatment can also be used for Si or TiSi x  sublayers at higher temperatures. 
   Integrated Processing System 
   The precleaning process of this invention is conducted in the dedicated precleaning chamber as described above, or done in situ in the barrier layer chamber. The precleaning chamber is preferably integrated with other metallization process chambers on a processing platform to avoid interim contamination of the substrates. A preferred integration scheme is shown in  FIG. 5  which represents various processing chambers mounted on an ENDURA□ platform available from Applied Materials, Inc. 
   Referring to  FIG. 5 , a schematic diagram shows an integrated processing system  160  having a RPS chamber for precleaning of the substrates and both PVD and CVD chambers thereon in which integrated metallization processes can be implemented. Typically, the substrates are introduced and withdrawn from the processing system  160  through a cassette loadlock  162 . A robot  164  having a blade  167  is located within the processing system  160  to move the substrates through the system  160 . A first robot  164  is typically positioned in a buffer chamber  168  to transfer substrates between the cassette loadlock  162 , degas wafer orientation chamber  170 , RPS preclean chamber  172 , HP-PVD Ti/TiN chamber  175  and a cooldown chamber  176 . A second robot  178  is located in transfer chamber  180  to transfer substrates to and from the cooldown chambers  176 , a PVD IMP Ti/TiN chamber  182 , a CVD Al Chamber  184 , a CVD TiN chamber  186 , and a PVD HTHU Al chamber  188 . The transfer chamber  180  in the integrated system is preferably maintained at low pressure or high vacuum in the range of 10 −8  torr. This specific configuration of the chambers in  FIG. 5  comprise an integrated processing system capable of both CVD and PVD processes in a single cluster tool. This particular chamber configuration or arrangement is merely illustrative and more configurations of PVD and CVD processes are contemplated by the present invention. 
   Typically, a substrate processed in the processing system  160  is passed from the cassette loadlock  162  to the buffer chamber  168  where the robot  164  first moves the substrate into a degas chamber  170 . The substrate is then be transferred into RPS preclean chamber  172 , PVD HP TiN chamber  175 , and then into a cooldown chamber  176 . From the cooldown chamber  176 , the robot  178  typically moves the substrate into and between one or more processing chambers before returning the substrate back to a cooldown chamber  176 . It is anticipated that the substrate may be processed or cooled in one or more chambers any number of times in any order to fill the submicron features with aluminum. The substrate is removed from the processing system  160 , following processing, through the buffer chamber  168  and then to the loadlock  162 . A microprocessor controller  190  controls the sequence and formation of the layers on the substrates. 
   In accordance with the present invention, the processing system  160  passes a substrate through loadlock  162  into de-gas chamber  170  wherein the substrate is introduced to out gas contaminants. A substrate is then moved into the RPS pre-clean chamber  172  where the submicron features are cleaned to remove any contaminants thereon and to reduce native oxides. The substrate is then processed in the PVD HP Ti/TiN chamber  175  to deposit a Ti/TiN barrier layer on the cleaned dielectric surfaces, and then passed to a cooldown chamber  176 . The second robot  178  then transfers the substrate to one or more CVD and PVD chambers for aluminum deposition. 
   The integrated platform  160  also enables a uniform and single phase deposition of titanium silicide by following the precleaning of a silicon sublayer with Ti deposition in the PVD IMP Ti/TiN chamber  182 . After silicidation, warm Al, cool Al, or selective Al deposition completes the metallization of the submicron features. 
   Another application of the integrated platform of  FIG. 5  provides for copper deposition by providing a CVD TiN chamber  175 , a PVD —Cu chamber  182 , a CVD Cu chamber  184 , a PVD HTHU Cu chamber  186 , and a PVD IMP Ta/TaN chamber  188 . The substrate is processed in the CVD TiN chamber  175  or PVD IMP Ta/TaN chamber  188  to deposit a CVD TiN or Ta/TaN barrier layer on the cleaned dielectric surfaces, and then the substrate is passed to a cooldown chamber  176 . Precleaning of submicron features prior to copper deposition can be performed in an RPS chamber  172  or in a Preclean II chamber which replaces a cooldown chamber  176 . The Preclean II chamber modifies a cooldown chamber by addition of H 2 , Ar, He, and N 2  plumbing. The second robot  178  then transfers the substrate to one or more CVD and PVD chambers for copper deposition. Deposited Cu layers may be annealed with H 2  to make the layer more resistant to formation of CuO. 
   Another application of the integrated platform of provides for tungsten deposition by providing a IMP Ti chamber, two CVD TiN chambers, and two preclean chambers. The substrate is processed in the IMP Ti and CVD TiN chambers to deposit Ti/TiN barrier layers on the cleaned dielectric surfaces, and then the substrate is passed to a cooldown chamber. Precleaning of submicron features prior to tungsten deposition can be performed in an RPS based preclean chamber. 
   A staged-vacuum wafer processing method suitable for use with the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,718, entitled □Staged-Vacuum Wafer Processing System and Method,□ Tepman et al., issued on Feb. 16, 1993, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. This method readily accommodates the precleaning method of this invention. Any combination of processing chambers can be used with the dedicated precleaning chamber. 
   While the foregoing is directed to preferred embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims which follow.