Patent ID: 8110502

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising: providing a semiconductor substrate with a surface region, the surface region comprising one or more layers overlying the semiconductor substrate; forming a dielectric layer overlying the surface region; forming a diffusion barrier layer overlying the dielectric layer; subjecting only the diffusion barrier layer to a plasma environment to facilitate adhesion between the diffusion barrier layer and the dielectric layer at an interface region; and processing the semiconductor substrate while maintaining attachment between the dielectric layer and the diffusion barrier layer at the interface region; wherein the subjecting the diffusion barrier layer to a plasma environment includes maintaining a thickness of the barrier diffusion layer, wherein the plasma environment is provided at least by N2O, CO2, He, or Ar, or a combination thereof, wherein the attachment between the dielectric layer and the diffusion barrier layer at the interface region has an amount of adhesion energy of about 6 J/m 2 .