A. Gungor

Annealing behavior of Cu and dilute Cu-alloy films: Precipitation, grain growth, and resistivity

The impact of 11 alloying elements, namely, Mg, Ti, In, Sn, Al, Ag, Co, Nb, and B, at two nominal concentrations of 1 and 3 at. %, and Ir and W, at only a nominal concentration of 3 at. %, on the resistivity and grain structure of copper was investigated. The films were electron beam evaporated onto thermally oxidized Si wafers and had thicknesses in the range of 420–560 nm. Pure evaporated Cu films were used as controls. Isothermal anneals were carried out at 400 °C for 5 h; constant-heating rate treatments, with no hold at the temperature, were done at 3 °C to 650 and 950 °C. In all cases, annealing resulted in the lowering of resistivity compared with the as-deposited state. Furthermore, annealing to a higher temperature resulted in lower, postannealing, room-temperature resistivity, unless the film agglomerated or showed evidence of solute redissolution. Annealing also resulted in significant growth of grains, except for the Nb- and W-containing films. In addition, the grain sizes for the nominally 3 ...

Texture and resistivity of dilute binary Cu(Al), Cu(In), Cu(Ti), Cu(Nb), Cu(Ir), and Cu(W) alloy thin films

Annealing of dilute Cu(Al), Cu(In), Cu(Ti), Cu(Nb), Cu(Ir), and Cu(W) alloy films resulted in the lowest resistivity for Cu(Ti) and Cu(In) and the strongest 〈111〉 fiber texture also for Cu(Ti). Electron-beam evaporated films with compositions in the range of 2.0–4.2 at. % and thicknesses in the range of 420–560 nm were annealed at 400 °C for 5 h. Four-point probe resistance measurements, x-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering, and particle-induced x-ray emission were used to characterize the films and to follow the changes in film texture, phase constitution, and resistivity upon annealing. The behavior of the alloy films was compared and contrasted with that for a pure evaporated Cu film.

Texture and Resistivity of Cu and Dilute Cu Alloy Films

Annealing of dilute binary Cu(Ti), Cu(In), Cu(Al), Cu(Sn), Cu(Mg), Cu(Nb), Cu(B), Cu(Co) and Cu(Ag) alloy films resulted in the strongest fiber texture for Cu(Ti) and the lowest resistivity for Cu(Ag). The behavior of the alloy films was compared and contrasted with that for a pure evaporated Cu film. Electron beam evaporated films with compositions in the range of 2.0-4.2 at% and thicknesses in the range of 420-560 nm were annealed at 400 C for 5 hrs. Two different approaches were used to derive volume fractions of texture components, namely fiber plots and orientation distributions. It is argued that for polytextured films such as the copper alloys studied here, orientation distributions derived from pole figures provide the most reliable basis for quantitative characterization.

Cu and Dilute Binary Cu(Ti), Cu(Sn) and Cu(Al) Thin Films: Texture, Grain Growth and Resistivity

Annealing Cu and dilute Cu(Ti), Cu(Sn) and Cu(Al) alloy films resulted in the strengthening of film texture, with the strongest <111> fiber texture being found for Cu(Ti). Annealing also resulted in a decrease of electrical resistivity and the growth of grains, with the largest grain size and lowest resistivity being seen for pure Cu itself. Among the alloy films, the lowest resistivity was found for Cu(Ti) and the largest grain size for Cu(Al). Electron beam evaporated films with compositions in the range of 2.0-3.0 at% and thicknesses in the range of 420-540 nm were annealed at 400 ̊C for 5 hours. Four point probe resistance measurement, xray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to follow the changes in film resistivity, texture and grain size.