| 摘要 |
Pinholes opened though insulating layers in Josephson integrated circuits are sealed by this post-etch anodization process. Josephson junction integrated circuits, in part, contain patterned metal films on an insulated groundplane. The patterns of conductors are created by adding a complete metal film over the insulating layers and subtractively etching to leave the desired conductor pattern. Pinholes in the underlying etch-stop insulating layer, in areas not covered by the remaining metal pattern, can be created during the subtractive etching process. Such pinholes may occur at sites made susceptible by contaminants, including flakes of process materials, which are present despite efforts to eliminate contaminants. Such pinholes provide unwanted conductive paths between the groundplane and subsequent metallization. Failures resulting from the effects of such unwanted conductive paths occur in a fashion not easily subject to identification, much less prevention. Process yields and circuit reliability are reduced. Once the integrated circuit is completed, repair is virtually impossible. This process creates seals in pinholes opened during the subtractive etching step for M2 metallization patterning, by growing niobium pentoxide specific to exposed groundplane niobium metal specific to the pinholes. The circuit wafer, after early process steps have resulted in a groundplane, insulating/spacing etch-stop layer and etched metallization pattern M2 (with possible pinholes in areas where M2 was etched away), is anodized in a medium of ammonium pentaborate dissolved in ethylene glycol for ten minutes, removed from the anodization medium, rinsed in deionized water, spun-dry and returned to the process as a pinhole-sealed intermediate process wafer at the M2 stage.
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