Thermal stability of Cu films on TiN/Ti/Si(100) by partially ionized beam deposition

Cu thin films with a thickness around 850 angstroms were prepared on Ti₄₅N₅₅/Ti/Si(100) substrates at room temperature by partially ionized beam deposition (PIBD) with an ion energy of 3 keV at pressure of 8×10^-7-1×10^-6 Torr. The Cu/Ti₄₅N₅₅/Ti/Si samples were annealed at 8×10^-6-1×10^-5 Torr with annealing temperature of 500 to 700 °C for 30 min. Thermal stability of the PIB-Cu films was investigated with Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The as deposited Cu films had a (111) texture and there was no change of phase in annealed Cu films regardless of annealing temperature. Grain size of the annealed Cu films increased with annealing temperature. SEM studies show no hillock and no voiding on the Cu film surface up to annealing temperature of 700 °C. For PIB-Cu/Ti₄₅N₅₅/Ti/Si samples, all the layers were intact and there was no indication of interdiffusion by conventional depth profiling techniques (RBS, AES) up to 700 °C in vacuum for 30 minutes.