Influence of nitrogen content on the crystallization behavior of thin Ta–Si–N diffusion barriers

Hübner, René; Hecker, M.; Mattern, N.; Voß, Andrea; Acker, Jörg; Hoffmann, Volker; Wetzig, K.; Engelmann, H.; Zschech, Ehrenfried; Heuer, Henning; Wenzel, C.

doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2004.04.026

Cited by 46 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…5 The relationship between load and displacement curves of Ta-Si-N films at FN2 of 2 300 . The amorphous-like Ta-Si-N has the higher stiffness and resilience than polycrystalline one…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although Ta-N had been used in Al-based metallization, it is unstable at 500 to 600°C and not suitable for Cu interconnection [2]. A popular compound of Ta-Si-N film had been successfully used as a diffusion barrier in Cu interconnections for electronic devices [3] due to its good diffusion resistance and thermal stability at certain compositions [4,5]. The addition of Si element could promote the amorphous-like structure stability up to 900°C and improve the mechanical properties of hardness at high temperature [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructured Ta-Si-N Films

Chung

Chen

Peng

et al. 2007

2007 2nd IEEE International Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems

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In this paper, the morphology and properties of nanostructured Ta-Si-N thin films fabricated by reactively cosputtering have been studied. The Ta-Si-N film is a mixed composite consisting of the Ta-Si, Ta-N and Si-N compounds. The TaN phase is polycrystalline while SiNx is amorphous. As Si is added to the Ta-N compound to form Ta-Si-N, the microstructure becomes nanocrystalline grains embedded in an amorphous matrix i.e. amorphous-like microstructure, which is also affected by the nitrogen flow ratio i.e. FN2%= FN2/( FN2+FAr) x 100% during sputtering. Amorphous-like TaSi-N films obtained at small FN2% of 2-10% had smaller roughness, lower resistivity and larger nanohardness compared to polycrystalline films at high FN2% of 20-30%. The variation of Ta-Si-N microstructure leads to the different electrical and mechanical properties of films. The electric resistivity of Ta-Si-N increases with increasing FN2% while the nanohardness first increases to a maximum of 15.19 GPa from FN2% of 2% to 3%, then decreases with increasing FN2%. The higher hardness in amorphous-like Ta-Si-N exhibits a larger stiffness and resilience than polycrystalline one.

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“…5 The relationship between load and displacement curves of Ta-Si-N films at FN2 of 2 300 . The amorphous-like Ta-Si-N has the higher stiffness and resilience than polycrystalline one…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructured Ta-Si-N Films

Chung

Chen

Peng

et al. 2007

2007 2nd IEEE International Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems

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“…Refractory metal binary and ternary nitrides are widely recognized as a class of materials which can be used as diffusion barriers in metal-semiconductor contacts [1]. Among those refractory metal nitrides, zirconium-base and tantalum-base nitride thin films, such as ZrSiN and Ta-Si-N, have been extensively studied as diffusion barriers for copper wiring [2][3][4][5]. Although ZrSiN and TaSiN barriers exhibit good performance as diffusion barriers, high resistivity limits their microelectronic applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thin HfSiN Films prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

Zhang¹,

Liang²,

Jiang³

2015

Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Advanced Design and Manufacturing Engineering

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Abstract. HfSiN thin films were prepared by the solid solution of HfN and SiN precursor films through magnetron sputtering. The obtained films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray diffraction(XRD) measurements show that the films have amorphous structure in the as-deposited state. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) images show that crystalline grain size of the films increases with the annealing temperature. The results show that the resistivity and the components of the HfSiN/Cu/ HfSiN/SiO2/Si film do not have obvious change after being annealing at 550˚C in oxygen, and the HfSiN film can provide good barrier performance for copper wire.

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“…6,7 Crystalline Ta and TaN thin films are the most promising diffusion barriers for preventing the highly diffusive copper from the penetrating the barrier to react with silicon. [8][9][10][11] Sputter-deposited TaN is most commonly used as the diffusion barrier, owing to its good thermal stability at a high temperature and limited solid solubility in Cu. The failure of a TaN barrier layer is often caused by its columnar structure, and the grain boundaries tend to provide diffusion paths for Cu, thus penetrating through the barrier.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of DC-sputtered Glassy TaCoN Thin Film for Copper Metallization

Fang

Chen

2007

Journal of Elec Materi

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The failure mechanism of the TaCoN barrier for copper metallization was examined using films by direct current (dc) magnetron reactive sputtering at various nitrogen flow rates. The as-deposited TaCoN films had a glassy structure and were free from intermetallic compounds. Optimizing the nitrogen flow rate during sputtering maximized the thermal stability of the Si/Ta 66.8 Co 11.4 N 21.8 /Cu metallization system up to an annealing temperature of 750°C when the film was deposited using a nitrogen flow rate of 1 sccm, as revealed by using X-ray diffraction, a scanning electron microscope, a fourpoint probe and a transmission electron microscope. Structural analysis indicated that the failure mechanisms of the studied Si/TaCoN/Cu stacked films involved the initial dissociation of the barrier layer that was annealed at a specific temperature, and the subsequent formation of diffusion paths along which the copper penetrates through the TaCoN barrier layer to react with underlying Si. The high formation temperature of the Cu 3 Si phase demonstrated that the studied film was highly stable, indicating that the TaCoN thin film is highly promising for use as a diffusion barrier for Cu metallization.

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Influence of nitrogen content on the crystallization behavior of thin Ta–Si–N diffusion barriers

Cited by 46 publications

References 38 publications

Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructured Ta-Si-N Films

Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructured Ta-Si-N Films

Thin HfSiN Films prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

Evaluation of DC-sputtered Glassy TaCoN Thin Film for Copper Metallization

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