Author(s)

D. Beegan, M. T. Laugier & A. Arshak

Abstract

The effect of Ti and TIN barrier layers on the stress and adhesion of Cu thin films deposited on Si D. Beegan''^, M.T. Laugier''^ & A. Arshak^ ' Department of Physics, University of Limerick, Ireland. * Materials and Surface Science Institute, University of Limerick, Ireland- Abstract The effect of Ti and TIN barrier layers on the mechanical and electrical properties of RF magnetron sputtered Cu thin films is investigated. The relationship between the mechanical properties of film stress and adhesion is investigated in the two-layer film structure by indentation techniques. Changes in the length of indentation cracks are attributed to stresses in the films. Adhesion is determined from the scratch test. The resistivity of the films was measured by four-point probe and the films were characterised by AFM and XRD. 1 Introduction Aluminium has long been the metal of choice for interconnects because of its ease of working and low resistivity. However, as devices shrink

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