Mechanical characterization of reactively magnetron-sputtered TiN films

Nanostructure and mechanical behavior of metastable Cu–Cr thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

“…Refs. [63,64]), while much less is known for sub-micron metallic thin films [65], where the substrate influences nanoindentation measurements. In this study, the residual stresses are tensile and increase with Cr concentration.…”

The effect of interlayer composition and thickness on the stabilization of cubic AlN in AlN/Ti–Al–N superlattices

“…In the early days, the single layer nitride coatings such as TiN and CrN coatings were used to enhance the wear, oxidation and corrosion resistance of cutting tools and other machining parts [6][7][8][9][10]. A further improvement beyond single layer nitride coatings in terms of their chemical and mechanical properties can be achieved in one of the two following ways (or their combination).…”

Strengthening TiN diffusion barriers for Cu metallization by lightly doping Al

“…In this letter, we present evidence for the growth of stoichiometric Ti 1−x Al x N barrier on ͑001͒ Si by incorporating a minor amount of Al with x as small as 0.09 ͑analyzed by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, RBS͒, to significantly improve its thermochemical stability and capability as barrier layers for Cu metallization. 1͑b͒, in conjunction with the findings from TEM and GIXRD, indicates that the intensities of the surface Cu have drastically reduced by half due to its penetration through the barrier to form Cu 3 Si precipitates within the volume of the Si wafer; the step in the Si signal similarly represents Si mainly in the Cu 3 TiN has been partially dissociated to cause a decay of the N backscattering signal and the formation of a silicide ͑Ti 5 Si 3 ͒, consistent with the findings made by previous authors. The Ti 1−x Al x N film was grown without intentional heating by ultrahigh-vacuum reactive magnetron cosputter deposition in Ar/ N 2 discharge, and the Cu film was subsequently deposited on the barrier layer without breaking the vacuum.…”