Statistical dynamic diffraction theory (SDDT) provides the ability to model defect‐induced structures in high‐resolution X‐ray diffraction analyses by incorporating both coherent (dynamic) and incoherent (kinematic) scattering. Current treatments of SDDT are mathematically intensive and may not provide sufficient detail regarding the implementation of the theory in practice. This paper discusses the implementation of SDDT and the modifications that allow for successful SDDT analyses of fully relaxed SiGe on Si.

Nanocomposite films of ZrN-Me ͑Mev Ag, Au, or Pd͒ were prepared using reactive unbalanced magnetron sputtering. The hardness and elastic modulus were measured by nanoindention and were found to vary differently with composition for the three nanocomposite structures. Young's modulus was found to decrease much more dramatically with the increase in Me content for the ZrN-Ag system. These findings were attributed to the weaker bonding mechanism at the interface between the ceramic and the metallic phases, which is more prone to grain-boundary sliding as shown using first-principles calculations of the electronic structure at the interface for the three systems.

The objective of this work is to monitor the growth process and the thermal stability of ultrathin tantalum nitride barrier nanostructures against copper diffusion in integrated circuits using real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE). Single layers of copper and bilayer films of copper and tantalum nitride were produced on Si͑111͒ substrates using unbalanced magnetron sputtering. The RTSE data was simulated using the Bruggeman effective medium approximation and a combined Drude-Lorentz model to obtain information about the growth process, film architecture, interface quality, and the conduction electron transport properties for these structures. The results deduced from the RTSE were verified by characterizing the structural and the chemical properties of the fabricated films using x-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, and Rutherford backscattering. The effectiveness of the tantalum nitride barrier to stop the diffusion of copper into silicon was evaluated, monitoring their optical properties when annealed at 720°C. The dielectric function of the films changed from a metallic to an insulating character when the diffusion proceeded. Also, the RTSE provided valuable information about the microstructure and the kinetics of the phase transformations that occur during heat treatment.

The statistical dynamical diffraction theory (SDDT) provides a method for performing high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) analyses from materials that contain high levels of structural imperfection. SDDT is implemented by combining kinematical and dynamical diffraction formalisms into a single framework through the inclusion of two parameters (a static Debye-Waller factor and a correlation length) that can provide an adjustable coupling between the kinematic and dynamic extremes. Typically one of the prominent difficulties in implementing SDDT is the mathematical complexities that are characteristic of this theory. Recently we have demonstrated a simplified realization of SDDT [Shreeman and Matyi, J. Appl. Crystallogr. 43, 550 (2010)] that preserves the essential features of the theory while allowing it to be applied to a variety of structures. Here we show the viability of this approach by fitting various experimental HRXRD data from highly defective and partially relaxed Si 0.70 Ge 0.30 ion implanted heterostructures. This study demonstrates the capabilities the SDDT theory provides for HRXRD analyses of highly defective semiconductor materials.

A modified version of the statistical dynamical diffraction theory (mSDDT) permits full-pattern fitting of high-resolution X-ray diffraction scans from thinfilm systems across the entire range from fully dynamic to fully kinematic scattering. The mSDDT analysis has been applied to a set of model SiGe/Si thinfilm samples in order to define the capabilities of this approach. For defect-free materials that diffract at the dynamic limit, mSDDT analyses return structural information that is consistent with commercial dynamical diffraction simulation software. As defect levels increase and the diffraction characteristics shift towards the kinematic limit, the mSDDT provides new insights into the structural characteristics of these materials.