SBIR/STTR Research Award

Not Available

Award identifier 1e7d66f2c6519c0697e56b824f6277e5ecde46c566a3fa336063ce64ccf7984dAwarding agency National Science Foundation

Award amount

$100,000

Program and phase

SBIR · Phase I

Award year

2001

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Award details

Awarding agency
National Science Foundation
Branch
Not reported
Recipient company
STRUCTURED MATERIALS INDUSTRIES, INC.
Proposal award date
Not reported
Contract end date
Not reported
UEI
WMLSF59AE7E1
Solicitation number
Not reported
Topic code
Not reported

Research abstract

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address development of an advanced precursor evaporation module with a specific focus application to copper metalization. Rapid large area CVD is required for the copper seed layer or, preferably, for deposition of the full contact layer. CVD equipment manufacturers have responded to the deposition tool need; as have developers of the copper precursors to enable Cu CVD. However, the copper precursor of choice, Cupra Select TM (a liquid), has a relatively low vapor transport rate because of its low vapor pressure, compounded by a narrow temperature operating range (vapor pressure equals 0.4 Torr at 43 C and beyond ~ 45 C this precursor begins to decompose). Flash Evaporation is not a solution because of the low decomposition temperature. The limited vapor transport hinders high speed large area growth. This has led to the development of a multistep-multimachine copper metalization process (CVD seed layer followed by electrochemical deposition of the whole layer). This is tolerable but highly inefficient and hence costly. SMI proposes to create a patentable high volume liquid vaporization source. Our proposed source offers at minimum a 5 fold increase in available Cu vapor transport and is expected to allow CVD to replace the present two-step process. If successfully developed, SMI's source will be made available commercially. This effort will help accelerate the large scale manufacturing of ICs with Cu interconnects, and may apply to any other CVD process utilizing low volatility liquid precursors. An improved liquid vaporization source will find immediate use on all Cu CVD systems and hence be a strategic SMI component product. The unit will also find applications to similar temperature sensitive, low volatility liquids and well meets SMI's CVD components sales thrusts.

Technology keywords

Not reported

Other awards by this recipient

Verified by the same UEI. These are other public SBIR/STTR award pages, not a merged company record.

Research funding history

177 SBIR/STTR records share this UEI (1992–2024). Reported award amounts total $45,517,958. Reported amounts are not federal obligations.

Phases: Phase I, Phase II

Agencies: Department of Defense, Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, Department of Commerce, Department of Homeland Security

Agency intelligence

National Science Foundation

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