The semiconductor industry is continuously moving toward the fabrication of larger and more complex integrated circuits (ICs). As integrated circuits become larger, the size of individual components making up those ICs and the minimum feature size (minimum line width or spacing) of those components gets smaller. The smaller feature sizes increase processing complexity, difficulty, and reliability in various ways. The ability to reliably fill deep, narrow (i.e., high aspect ratio) openings with metal, for example, is one such complexity. High aspect ratio openings occur, for example, in providing metal gates in a replacement gate technology.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide methods for fabricating integrated circuits having narrow, metal filled openings. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds