Abstract
The segregation of copper in aluminum-copper alloys during ion beam etching was studied. Unannealed thin film aluminum-copper alloys were etched by 500 eV and 1000 eV argon ions. Microprobe analysis indicated that the copper, which was initially uniformly distributed in the films, segregated as a result of ion beam etching to copper rich regions on the surface. These regions etched at a slower rate than the matrix AlCu, creating a rough surface. Nearby regions of the aluminum-copper film that were masked also showed segregation of copper during etching, although the surface remained smooth. The amount of segregation in both the etched and masked films was found to decrease at low ion beam current densities. These observations indicate that heating of the film due to energetic ion bombardment can be a significant problem in the fabrication of microelectronic devices which use aluminum-copper alloys in metallization layers.
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