• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.11 no.8
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• pp.641-646
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• 2001

The $CoSi_2$ layers have been in-situ grown on undoped poly-Si by the reactive chemical vapor deposition of $Co({\Eta}^5-C_5H_5)(CO)_2$ at $650^{\circ}C$ and their thermal stabilities have been investigated in the temperature range of 800 to $1000^{\circ}C$. The $CoSi_2$ layer grown by the in-situ method had grains with large area of (111) plane, while grains with little area of (111) plane appeared on the $CoSi_2$ layer grown by the conventional two-step method where $CoSi_2$ formed first and transformed to $CoSi_2$. The thermal stability of the $CoSi_2$ layer grown by the in- situ process was improved by more than $100^{\circ}C$ higher than that of the $CoSi_2$ layer grown by the conventional two-step process. The $CoSi_2$ layer grown in situ on a large-grained Poly-Si was stable up to $950^{\circ}C$. The effect of stability improvement by the in situ growth was more pronounced when the grain sizes of the poly-Si substrate were small. The improved thermal stability of the in-situ grown $CoSi_2$ layer could be mainly due to the formation of a uniform $CoSi_2$ layer with the $CoSi_2$ grains, which are in the form of epitaxial-like growth on the each poly-Si grains, causing a reduction of the interfacial energy of the system.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.2 no.6
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• pp.408-416
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• 1992

Stable TiS$i_2$was formed by RTA on single-Si and on poly-Si. Subsequently, an Al-1% Si layer with 600-nm thick was deposited on top of the TiS$i_2$, Finally, the specimens were annealed for 30min at 400-60$0^{\circ}C$in $N_2$ambient. The thermal stability of Al-1% Si/TiS$i_2$bilayer and interfacial reaction were investigated by measuring sheet resistance, Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composition and phase of precipitates formed by the reaction of Al-1% Si with Ti-silicide were studied by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD). In the case of single-Si substrate the reaction of Al-1% Si layer with TiS$i_2$layer resulted in precipitates, consuming all TiS$i_2$layer at 55$0^{\circ}C$. On the other hand, the disappearance of TiS$i_2$on poly-Si occurred at 50$0^{\circ}C$ and more precipitates were formed by the reaction of Al-1% Si/TiS$i_2$on potty-Si substrate than those of the reaction on single-Si substrate. This phenomenon resulted from the fact that Ti-silicide formed on poly-Si was more unstable than on single-Si by the effect of grain boundary. By EDS analysis the precipitates were found tobe composed of Ti, Al, and Si. X-ray diffraction showed the phase of precipitates to be theT$i_7$A$l_5$S$i_12$ternary compound.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.239-240
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• 2008

As semiconductor devices are scaled down for better performance and more functionality, the Cu-based interconnects suffer from the increase of the resistivity of the Cu wires. The resistivity increase, which is attributed to the electron scattering from grain boundaries and interfaces, needs to be addressed in order to further scale down semiconductor devices [1]. The increase in the resistivity of the interconnect can be alleviated by increasing the grain size of electroplating (EP)-Cu or by modifying the Cu surface [1]. Another possible solution is to maximize the portion of the EP-Cu volume in the vias or damascene structures with the conformal diffusion barrier and seed layer by optimizing their deposition processes during Cu interconnect fabrication, which are currently ionized physical vapor deposition (IPVD)-based Ta/TaN bilayer and IPVD-Cu, respectively. The use of in-situ etching, during IPVD of the barrier or the seed layer, has been effective in enlarging the trench volume where the Cu is filled, resulting in improved reliability and performance of the Cu-based interconnect. However, the application of IPVD technology is expected to be limited eventually because of poor sidewall step coverage and the narrow top part of the damascene structures. Recently, Ru has been suggested as a diffusion barrier that is compatible with the direct plating of Cu [2-3]. A single-layer diffusion barrier for the direct plating of Cu is desirable to optimize the resistance of the Cu interconnects because it eliminates the Cu-seed layer. However, previous studies have shown that the Ru by itself is not a suitable diffusion barrier for Cu metallization [4-6]. Thus, the diffusion barrier performance of the Ru film should be improved in order for it to be successfully incorporated as a seed layer/barrier layer for the direct plating of Cu. The improvement of its barrier performance, by modifying the Ru microstructure from columnar to amorphous (by incorporating the N into Ru during PVD), has been previously reported [7]. Another approach for improving the barrier performance of the Ru film is to use Ru as a just seed layer and combine it with superior materials to function as a diffusion barrier against the Cu. A RulTaN bilayer prepared by PVD has recently been suggested as a seed layer/diffusion barrier for Cu. This bilayer was stable between the Cu and Si after annealing at $700^{\circ}C$ for I min [8]. Although these reports dealt with the possible applications of Ru for Cu metallization, cases where the Ru film was prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) have not been identified. These are important because of ALD's excellent conformality. In this study, a bilayer diffusion barrier of Ru/TaCN prepared by ALD was investigated. As the addition of the third element into the transition metal nitride disrupts the crystal lattice and leads to the formation of a stable ternary amorphous material, as indicated by Nicolet [9], ALD-TaCN is expected to improve the diffusion barrier performance of the ALD-Ru against Cu. Ru was deposited by a sequential supply of bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium [Ru$(EtCp)_2$] and $NH_3$plasma and TaCN by a sequential supply of $(NEt_2)_3Ta=Nbu^t$ (tert-butylimido-trisdiethylamido-tantalum, TBTDET) and $H_2$ plasma. Sheet resistance measurements, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analysis showed that the bilayer diffusion barriers of ALD-Ru (12 nm)/ALD-TaCN (2 nm) and ALD-Ru (4nm)/ALD-TaCN (2 nm) prevented the Cu diffusion up to annealing temperatures of 600 and $550^{\circ}C$ for 30 min, respectively. This is found to be due to the excellent diffusion barrier performance of the ALD-TaCN film against the Cu, due to it having an amorphous structure. A 5-nm-thick ALD-TaCN film was even stable up to annealing at $650^{\circ}C$ between Cu and Si. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigation combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis revealed that the ALD-Ru/ALD-TaCN diffusion barrier failed by the Cu diffusion through the bilayer into the Si substrate. This is due to the ALD-TaCN interlayer preventing the interfacial reaction between the Ru and Si.