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Titanium–silicon–nitride films were grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. At temperatures between 300 and 450 °C, tetrakis(diethylamido)titanium, ammonia, and silane react to form films with average compositions near the TiN–Si3N4 tie line and low impurity contents (C<1.5 at. %, H between 5 and 15 at. %, with no other impurities present). The film resistivity is a strong function of Si content in the films, ranging continuously from 400 μΩ cm for pure TiN up to 1 Ω cm for films with 25 at. % Si. Step coverages of approximately 75% on 0.35 μm, 3:1 aspect ratio trenches, and 35%–40% on 0.1 μm/10:1 trenches are found for films with resistivities below 1000 μΩ cm. These films are promising candidates for diffusion barriers in microelectronic applications.

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We report initial results of a novel technique for epitaxial growth of GexSi1−x alloys on single-crystal Si. During electron beam deposition of amorphous GexSi1−x, an incident XeCl excimer laser, operating at 308 nm with a 30 ns pulse duration, melts and crystallizes the amorphous layer in situ after each ≊5 nm of deposition. This laser-induced melt extends approximately 20 nm and provides epitaxy from the underlying substrate (or previous layers) at each stage of deposition. This melt/solidification process can be repeated continuously until the final desired alloy thickness is achieved. For layers up to 260 nm with Ge concentrations of 1.5–3 at. %, MeV ion channeling and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy confirm epitaxial growth.