Thermal stability of amorphous tungsten/tungsten nitride synthesis using HFCVD as a diffusion barrier for copper

The amorphous W/WN bi-layer with excellent thermal stability was successfully prepared by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition method on SiO2/Si substrate. It was found that the W/WN bi-layer is technological importance because of its low resistivity and good diffusion barrier properties between Cu and Si up to 700 °C for 30 min. The thermal stability was evaluated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning electron microscope. The XRD results show that the Cu3Si phase was formed by Cu diffusion through W/WN barrier for the 800 °C annealed sample. The formation of the Cu–Si compounds denotes the failure of the W/WN diffusion barrier with rapid increase in sheet resistance of the film. The microstructure of the interface between W/WN and Cu reflects the stability and breakdown of the barriers. The failure of this amorphous barrier occurs with heat treatment when the deposited amorphous barrier material crystallizes. The major part of Cu diffusion in polycrystalline structure with disordered grain boundaries is controlled by grain boundaries. AFM results indicated a rapid increase in surface roughness at the diffusion barrier failure temperature. It was found that the grain size plays an important factor to control the thermally stability of the W/WN bi-layer.