Improvement of thermal stability of Ta-N film in Cu metallization by a Zr-Si interlayer

Ta-N (10 nm)/Zr (20 nm) film was grown on n-type (100) silicon wafer at various substrate temperatures in a rf magnetron sputtering system, followed by situ deposition of Cu. The Cu/Ta-N/Zr/Si samples were subjected to thermal annealing up 800 ℃ under the protection pure nitrogen gas. In order investigate effect insertion thin Zr layer diffusion barrier performance Cu metallization, contact system characterized X-ray diffraction (XRD), four-point probe (FPP) measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Auger spectroscopy (AES) depth profile. results reveal that microstructure films deposited is amorphous different temperatures. breakdown temperature Ta-N/Zr about 100°C higher than Ta-N. It can effectively prevent after annealed 800°C. improvement may be due production Zr-Si with low resistivity