Patent ID: 7264846

Claim:
A method for forming a ruthenium layer on a substrate, comprising: positioning a substrate within a process chamber, wherein the process chamber comprises an expanding channel positioned to expose the substrate to a process gas comprising a ruthenium-containing compound or a reducing gas; delivering the process gas from the expanding channel having a circular flow pattern; and exposing the substrate sequentially to the ruthenium-containing compound and the reducing gas during an atomic layer deposition process to form a ruthenium material on the substrate, wherein the ruthenium-containing compound is selected from the group consisting of bis(2,4-dimethylpentadienyl) ruthenium, (2,4-dimethylpentadienyl) ruthenium (cyclopentadienyl), (2,4-dimethylpentadienyl) ruthenium (methylcyclopentadienyl), (2,4-dimethylpentadienyl) ruthenium (ethylcyclopentadienyl), (2,4-dimethylpentadienyl) ruthenium (isopropylcyclopentadienyl), derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.