EFFECTS OF OXYGEN IN TINX ON THE DIFFUSION OF CU IN CU/TIN/AL AND CU/TINX/SI STRUCTURES

The role of oxygen has been found to be very significant in the diffusion of Cu in Cu/TiN(x)/Al and Cu/TiN(x)O(y)/Al thin film structures. While no interdiffusion takes place in the Cu/TiN(x)O(y)/Al structure up to 575-degrees-C, a substantial interdiffusion, with Cu and Al moving in opposite directions, has been found in the Cu/TiN(x)/Al structure below 425-degrees-C. Both Cu/TiN(x)/Si and Cu/TiN(x)O(y)/Si systems have been found to be stable for temperatures below 600-degrees-C, with TiN(x) degrading before TiN(x)O(y) above this temperatures. Nuclear resonances, O-16 (alpha,alpha) O-16 (3.052 MeV) and N-14 (alpha,alpha) N-14 (3.593 MeV), for oxygen and nitrogen respectively, were used to determine the concentration of oxygen and the stoichiometry of the titanium nitride films.