Patent ID: 7547644

Claim:
An integrated system adapted to form a barrier layer on sidewalls and a bottom of a via that extends through a dielectric layer to expose an underlying metal feature of a substrate, the integrated system comprising: an atomic layer deposition (ALD) chamber adapted to deposit a conformal, first barrier layer over the sidewalls and bottom of the via; a high density plasma physical vapor deposition (HDPPVD) chamber adapted to deposit a second barrier layer on the sidewalls and bottom of the via; a transfer chamber coupled to the ALD chamber and adapted to transfer the substrate between the ALD chamber and the HDPPVD chamber under vacuum; and at least one controller coupled to the ALD chamber, the transfer chamber and the HDPPVD chamber and adapted to perform the steps of: (a) forming a first barrier layer over the sidewalls and bottom of the via using atomic layer deposition within the ALD chamber; (b) transferring the substrate from the ALD chamber to the HDPPVD chamber; (c) removing at least a portion of the first barrier layer from the bottom of the via by sputter etching the substrate within the HDPPVD chamber using a plasma ion density of at least 10 10 ions/cm 3 , wherein a bias is applied to the substrate during at least a portion of the sputter etching; and (d) depositing a second barrier layer on the sidewalls and bottom of the via within the HDPPVD chamber.