Self-assembled monolayers as sacrificial capping layers

1. A substrate processing method, comprising:

providing a substrate containing a metal surface and a dielectric material surface;

selectively forming a sacrificial capping layer containing a self-assembled monolayer on the metal surface, wherein the sacrificial capping layer prevents oxidation and contamination of the metal surface while waiting for further processing of the substrate;

removing the sacrificial capping layer to restore the metal surface; and

after removing the sacrificial capping layer, selectively depositing a dielectric film on the dielectric material surface relative to the restored metal surface.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal surface and the restored metal surface are not chemically modified.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal surface and the restored metal surface are not oxidized.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selectively forming the sacrificial capping layer on the metal surface includes:

dispensing a chemical solution on the substrate while rotating the substrate, the chemical solution including a chemical compound containing a carbon group, a bonding group coupled to the carbon group, a terminal group coupled to the carbon group that is opposite the bonding group, and a solvent solution; and

annealing the substrate following the dispensing of the chemical solution on the substrate.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

prior to annealing the substrate, dispensing a rinsing solution on the substrate to remove the chemical solution from the dielectric material surface.

6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

removing oxidized metal from the metal surface prior to selectively forming the sacrificial capping layer.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the bonding group includes a thiol, a silane, or a phosphonate.

8. The method of claim 4 , wherein the chemical compound includes 1-octadecanethiol (CH 3 (CH 2 ) 16 CH 2 SH), perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (CF 3 (CF 2 ) 7 CH 2 CH 2 SiCl 3 ), perfluorodecanethiol (CF 3 (CF 2 ) 7 CH 2 CH 2 SH), chlorodecyldimethylsilane (CH 3 (CH 2 ) 8 CH 2 Si(CH 3 ) 2 Cl), or tertbutyl(chloro)dimethylsilane ((CH 3 ) 3 CSi(Cl)(CH 3 ) 2 )).

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal surface includes a metal selected from the group consisting of Cu, Al, Ta, Ti, W, Ru, Co, Ni, and Mo.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the removing the sacrificial capping layer includes annealing the substrate at a temperature that desorbs the sacrificial capping layer from the substrate.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric material surface includes SiO 2 or a low-k material.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

prior to selectively forming the sacrificial capping layer, removing oxidized metal from the metal surface.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selectively forming the sacrificial capping layer on the metal surface includes:

exposing the substrate to reactant gas containing a chemical compound containing a carbon group, a bonding group coupled to the carbon group, a terminal group coupled to the carbon group that is opposite the bonding group, and an inert gas.

14. A substrate processing method, comprising:

providing a substrate containing a metal surface and a dielectric material surface;

selectively forming a sacrificial capping layer containing a self-assembled monolayer on the metal surface, wherein the sacrificial capping layer prevents oxidation and contamination of the metal surface while waiting for further processing of the substrate;

removing the sacrificial capping layer to restore the metal surface; and

after removing the sacrificial capping layer, selectively depositing a dielectric film on the dielectric material surface by a gas phase exposure that includes:

adsorbing a metal-containing catalyst layer on the dielectric material surface; and

in the absence of any oxidizing and hydrolyzing agent, at a substrate temperature of approximately 150° C., or less, exposing the substrate to a process gas containing a silanol gas to selectively deposit a SiO 2 film on the dielectric material surface relative to the restored metal surface.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the silanol gas is selected from the group consisting of tris(tert-pentoxy) silanol, tris(tert-butoxy) silanol, and bis(tert-butoxy)(isopropoxy) silanol.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the selectively forming the sacrificial capping layer on the metal surface includes:

dispensing a chemical solution on the substrate while rotating the substrate, the chemical solution including a chemical compound containing a carbon group, a bonding group coupled to the carbon group, a terminal group coupled to the carbon group that is opposite the bonding group, and a solvent solution; and

annealing the substrate following the dispensing of the chemical solution on the substrate.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the bonding group includes a thiol, a silane, or a phosphonate.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the metal surface includes a metal selected from the group consisting of Cu, Al, Ta, Ti, W, Ru, Co, Ni, and Mo.

19. A method of processing a substrate, the method comprising:

providing a substrate containing a metal surface and a dielectric material surface, wherein the metal surface is not oxidized;

selectively forming a sacrificial capping layer containing a self-assembled monolayer on the metal surface, wherein the sacrificial capping layer prevents oxidation of the metal surface;

removing the sacrificial capping layer to restore the metal surface; and

after removing the sacrificial capping layer, selectively depositing a dielectric film on the dielectric material surface by a gas phase exposure, wherein the selectively forming the sacrificial capping layer on the metal surface includes:

exposing the substrate to reactant gas containing a chemical compound containing a carbon group, a bonding group coupled to the carbon group, a terminal group coupled to the carbon group that is opposite the bonding group, and an inert gas.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the selectively forming the sacrificial capping layer on the metal surface includes:

dispensing a chemical solution on the substrate while rotating the substrate, the chemical solution including a chemical compound containing a carbon group, a bonding group coupled to the carbon group, a terminal group coupled to the carbon group that is opposite the bonding group, and a solvent solution, wherein the bonding group includes a thiol, a silane, or a phosphonate;

dispensing a rinsing solution on the substrate to remove the chemical solution from the dielectric material surface; and

annealing the substrate following the dispensing of the rinsing solution on the substrate.

21. The method of claim 19 , wherein the chemical compound includes 1-octadecanethiol (CH 3 (CH 2 ) 16 CH 2 SH), perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (CF 3 (CF 2 ) 7 CH 2 CH 2 SiCl 3 ), perfluorodecanethiol (CF 3 (CF 2 ) 7 CH 2 CH 2 SH), chlorodecyldimethylsilane (CH 3 (CH 2 ) 8 CH 2 Si(CH 3 ) 2 Cl), or tertbutyl(chloro)dimethylsilane ((CH 3 ) 3 CSi(Cl)(CH 3 ) 2 )).

22. The method of claim 19 , wherein the processing includes

selectively depositing a dielectric film on the dielectric material surface relative to the metal surface by gas phase exposure.