Characterization of atomic layer deposited WNxCy thin film as a diffusion barrier for copper metallization

The film properties of WNxCy films deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using WF6, NH3, and triethylboron source gases were characterized as diffusion barrier for Cu metallization. It is noted that the as-deposited film shows an extremely low resistivity of about 350 muOmega-cm with a film density of 15.37 g/cm(3). The film composition measured from Rutherford backscattering spectrometry shows W, C, and N of approximately 48, 32, and 20 at.%, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy analyses show that the as-deposited film is composed of face-centered-cubic phase with a lattice parameter similar to both beta-WC1-x and beta-W2N with an equiaxed microstructure. The barrier property of this ALD-WNxCy film at a nominal thickness of 12 nm deposited between Cu and Si fails only after annealing at 700 degreesC for 30 minutes while the sputter-deposited Ta (12 nm) and ALD-TiN (20 nm) fail at 650 and 600 degreesC, respectively. It is thought that the superior diffusion barrier performance of ALD-WNxCy film is the consequence of both nanocrystalline equiaxed grain structure and the formation of high density film.