In-situ stress analytics at sub-nanoscale thin film growth

Abstract

Cover:A view into the deposition setup while in operation. This is the deposition setup that is used for most of the results presented in this work. The plasma generated by the magnetrons lights up the inside of the deposition setup with a characteristic glow. The front page view looks from the bottom up towards the sample (not visible) via a mirror. The back page view looks from the side and is unique, as the top of the magentron is visible. During normal operation this view is shielded to avoid deposition onto the viewport of the setup, only shortly after installation there was a moment when this shielding was not in place.

Nano-Ridge Bending during Conformal Ruthenium Metallization: Implications for Interconnect Fabrication

“…A feasibility study using finite element (FE) modeling was conducted to evaluate the impact of film stress on nanoridge deformation. Given that film stress is deemed to be highly thickness dependent 26 and that it also depends on process and substrate materials, direct experimental measurement of the film stress at thicknesses below 10 nm is far from trivial which motivated FE modeling for hypothesis testing. The Young's moduli of the materials were determined rigorously by means of nanoindentation, and the measured mechanical properties of the materials were used in geometry-specific FE models based on the TEM images of the structures (Figure 2; see also the Supporting Information).…”