Inventors:
William A. Lanford - Malden Bridge NY
Wei Wang - Albany NY
Peijun Ding - San Jose CA
Assignee:
The Research Foundation of State University of New York - Albany NY
International Classification:
C22F 3806, C22F 3816
Abstract:
A copper conductor is formed which is included as a component in microelectronic devices. The conductor is formed by forming a metal layer on the surface of a microelectronic substrate, forming a copper layer on the metal layer, and annealing the metal and copper layers. The annealing step diffuses at least some of the metal layer through the copper layer to the surface thereof where the diffused metal forms a protective metal oxide at the surface of the copper layer. As a result, the metal oxide layer passivates the copper layer.