Showing papers by "Jay Im published in 2002"
01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: In-situ X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) has been employed in this paper to study the initial formation of tantalum and titanium nitride barriers on low dielectric constant (low-k) materials.
Abstract: In-situ X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS) has been employed in our lab to study the initial formation of tantalum (Ta) and titanium (Ti) nitride barriers on low dielectric constant (low-k) materials. The effects of low energy (100/500eV) nitrogen ion bombardment were examined in order to understand how the interface could be modified or controlled. This paper summarizes recent results on SiLK* in comparison with Bisbenzocyclobutene (BCB*) (*trademark of the Dow Chemical Company). In-situ XPS studies showed that tantalum or titanium reacted with SiLK very strongly. Carbides and sub-oxides formed immediately upon the deposition of tantalum on SiLK. Compared with BCB, SiLK was found to have both similar binding to tantalum nitride and a similar amount of nitride incorporation near the interface. Moreover, the addition of a low-energy nitrogen ion beam can slightly increase the chemical bonding between the barrier and the low-k without inducing significant intermixing.