X-ray structure characterization of barriers for Cu metallization

Abstract

The possibilities and limitations of X-ray scattering techniques are discussed for the structure analysis of TaN barriers for Cu metallization. Diffraction measurements under grazing incident angle enable to analyze the phase composition and to determine structural parameters of 10 nm TaN films onto (100)-silicon wafers. Depending on the nitrogen flow nanocrystalline bcc Ta(N) , fcc TaN, and amorphous Ta(N) phases were observed in the sputtered films. X-ray specular reflectivity measurements were explored to estimate film thickness and roughness as a function of preparation in a good agreement with transmission electron microscopy investigations.