A review of microstructure in vapor deposited copper thin films

Knorr, D. B.; Tracy, D. P.

doi:10.1016/0254-0584(95)01515-9

Cited by 36 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…The microstructure of a h ‫ס‬ 100 nm multilayer is shown in Fig. The relationship between grain size and layer thickness of the type ln d ‫ס‬ a ln h, where a is some exponent, has also been observed in other systems [18][19][20] and is believed to be consistent with a normal grain size growth process during deposition. Note that the in-plane grain sizes in both layers have increased as compared to Fig.…”

Section: B Microstructural Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 54%

Residual stresses in polycrystalline Cu/Cr multilayered thin films

et al. 2000

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Residual stresses in sputter-deposited Cu/Cr multilayers and Cu and Cr single-layered polycrystalline thin films were evaluated by the substrate curvature method. The stresses in the multilayers were found to be tensile and to increase in magnitude with increasing layer thickness (h) to a peak value of ∼1 GPa for h ‫ס‬ 50 nm. For h > 50 nm, the residual stress decreased with increasing h but remained tensile. The same trends were observed in single-layered Cu and Cr thin films, except that the maximum stress in Cu films is 1 order of magnitude lower than that in Cr. Transmission electron microscopy was used to study the microstructural evolution as a function of layer thickness. The evolution of tensile growth stresses in Cr films is explained by island coalescence and subsequent growth with increasing thickness. Estimates of the Cr film yield strength indicated that, for h ജ 50 nm, the residual stress may be limited by the yield strength. Substrate curvature measurements on bilayer films of different thicknesses were used to demonstrate that a non-negligible contribution to the total stress in the multilayers arises from the interface stress.

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Section: B Microstructural Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 54%

Residual stresses in polycrystalline Cu/Cr multilayered thin films

et al. 2000

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“…It is well known that copper films do form surface oxides in ambient conditions. 59,60 To analyze the surface morphological and topological features we carried out SEM and AFM measurements, as shown in Figure 4. The SEM and AFM images are well in line with the GIXRD data, confirming that the films deposited at lower temperatures appear rougher than those deposited at higher temperatures.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficient Process for Direct Atomic Layer Deposition of Metallic Cu Thin Films Based on an Organic Reductant

Tripathi

Karppinen

2017

Chem. Mater.

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We report a promising approach to use an organic reductant for in situ atomic layer deposition (ALD) of metallic copper films. The process is based on sequentially pulsed precursors copper acetyl acetonate (acac), water, and hydroquinone (HQ) and yields crystalline copper films at temperatures as low as <200 °C with an appreciably high deposition rate of ∼2 Å/cycle. Deposition parameters are explored for the process m × [n × (Cu(acac) 2 −H 2 O)−HQ] with several values of m and n, keeping m × n fixed to 500. The films are found crystalline with metallic copper as the main phase, but different trace amounts of Cu 2 O are observed when the HQ pulse frequency decreases below 1 / 5 . The as-deposited copper films are shiny and specularly reflecting and show metallic-type electrical conductivity. The absolute resistivity of the films estimated at room temperature is in the order of 2−5 μΩ cm, having a sizable contribution, with 0.5 μΩ cm from residual resistivity as a result of impurities and/or imperfections. We believe that the new process could yield benefits in interconnect applications.

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“…1, 2 In general, electromigration and mechanical stress related damages have been identified as the major causes for these interconnect failures in aluminum conductors. 3,4 Copper is the major candidate to replace aluminum alloys as the interconnect material for advanced ICs, [5][6][7][8] because it has lower resistivity and higher resistance against electromigration failure.…”

Section: ͓S0003-6951͑00͒03903-6͔mentioning

confidence: 99%

X-ray microdiffraction study of Cu interconnects

Zhang

Solak

Cerrina

et al. 2000

Applied Physics Letters

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We have used x-ray microdiffraction to study the local structure and strain variation of copper interconnects. Different types of local microstructures have been found in different samples. Our data show that the Ti adhesion layer has a very dramatic effect on Cu microstructure. Strain measurement was conducted before and after electromigration test, Cu fluorescence was used to find the mass variations around voids and hillocks, and x-ray microdiffraction was used to measure the strain change around that interested region.

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A review of microstructure in vapor deposited copper thin films

Cited by 36 publications

References 70 publications

Residual stresses in polycrystalline Cu/Cr multilayered thin films

Residual stresses in polycrystalline Cu/Cr multilayered thin films

Efficient Process for Direct Atomic Layer Deposition of Metallic Cu Thin Films Based on an Organic Reductant

X-ray microdiffraction study of Cu interconnects

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