• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.239-240
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• 2008

As semiconductor devices are scaled down for better performance and more functionality, the Cu-based interconnects suffer from the increase of the resistivity of the Cu wires. The resistivity increase, which is attributed to the electron scattering from grain boundaries and interfaces, needs to be addressed in order to further scale down semiconductor devices [1]. The increase in the resistivity of the interconnect can be alleviated by increasing the grain size of electroplating (EP)-Cu or by modifying the Cu surface [1]. Another possible solution is to maximize the portion of the EP-Cu volume in the vias or damascene structures with the conformal diffusion barrier and seed layer by optimizing their deposition processes during Cu interconnect fabrication, which are currently ionized physical vapor deposition (IPVD)-based Ta/TaN bilayer and IPVD-Cu, respectively. The use of in-situ etching, during IPVD of the barrier or the seed layer, has been effective in enlarging the trench volume where the Cu is filled, resulting in improved reliability and performance of the Cu-based interconnect. However, the application of IPVD technology is expected to be limited eventually because of poor sidewall step coverage and the narrow top part of the damascene structures. Recently, Ru has been suggested as a diffusion barrier that is compatible with the direct plating of Cu [2-3]. A single-layer diffusion barrier for the direct plating of Cu is desirable to optimize the resistance of the Cu interconnects because it eliminates the Cu-seed layer. However, previous studies have shown that the Ru by itself is not a suitable diffusion barrier for Cu metallization [4-6]. Thus, the diffusion barrier performance of the Ru film should be improved in order for it to be successfully incorporated as a seed layer/barrier layer for the direct plating of Cu. The improvement of its barrier performance, by modifying the Ru microstructure from columnar to amorphous (by incorporating the N into Ru during PVD), has been previously reported [7]. Another approach for improving the barrier performance of the Ru film is to use Ru as a just seed layer and combine it with superior materials to function as a diffusion barrier against the Cu. A RulTaN bilayer prepared by PVD has recently been suggested as a seed layer/diffusion barrier for Cu. This bilayer was stable between the Cu and Si after annealing at $700^{\circ}C$ for I min [8]. Although these reports dealt with the possible applications of Ru for Cu metallization, cases where the Ru film was prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) have not been identified. These are important because of ALD's excellent conformality. In this study, a bilayer diffusion barrier of Ru/TaCN prepared by ALD was investigated. As the addition of the third element into the transition metal nitride disrupts the crystal lattice and leads to the formation of a stable ternary amorphous material, as indicated by Nicolet [9], ALD-TaCN is expected to improve the diffusion barrier performance of the ALD-Ru against Cu. Ru was deposited by a sequential supply of bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium [Ru$(EtCp)_2$] and $NH_3$plasma and TaCN by a sequential supply of $(NEt_2)_3Ta=Nbu^t$ (tert-butylimido-trisdiethylamido-tantalum, TBTDET) and $H_2$ plasma. Sheet resistance measurements, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analysis showed that the bilayer diffusion barriers of ALD-Ru (12 nm)/ALD-TaCN (2 nm) and ALD-Ru (4nm)/ALD-TaCN (2 nm) prevented the Cu diffusion up to annealing temperatures of 600 and $550^{\circ}C$ for 30 min, respectively. This is found to be due to the excellent diffusion barrier performance of the ALD-TaCN film against the Cu, due to it having an amorphous structure. A 5-nm-thick ALD-TaCN film was even stable up to annealing at $650^{\circ}C$ between Cu and Si. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigation combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis revealed that the ALD-Ru/ALD-TaCN diffusion barrier failed by the Cu diffusion through the bilayer into the Si substrate. This is due to the ALD-TaCN interlayer preventing the interfacial reaction between the Ru and Si.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.274-274
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• 2014

금속칼코게나이드 화합물중 하나인 $MoS_2$는 초저 마찰계수의 금속성 윤활제로 널리 사용되고 있으며 흑연과 비슷한 판상 구조를 지니고 있어 기계적 박리법을 통한 그래핀의 발견 이후 2차원 박막 합성법에 대한 활발한 연구가 진행되고 있다. 최근 다양한 응용이 진행 중인 그래핀의 경우 높은 전자이동도, 기계적 강도, 유연성, 열전도도 등 뛰어난 물리적 특성을 지니고 있으나 zero-bandgap으로 인한 낮은 on/off ratio는 thin film transistor (TFT), 논리회로(logic circuit) 등 반도체 소자 응용에 한계가 있다. 하지만 $MoS_2$는 벌크상태에서 약 1.2 eV의 indirect band-gap을 지닌 반면 단일층의 경우 1.8 eV의 direct-bandgap을 나타내고 있다. 또한 단일층 $MoS_2$를 이용하여 $HfO_2/MoS_2/SiO_2$ 구조의 트랜지스터를 제작하였을 때 $200cm^2/v^{-1}s^{-1}$의 높은 mobility와 $10^8$ 이상의 on/off ratio 나타낸다는 연구가 보고되어 있어 박막형 트랜지스터 응용을 위한 신소재로 주목을 받고 있다. 한편 2차원 $MoS_2$ 박막을 합성하기 위한 대표적인 방법인 기계적 박리법의 경우 고품질의 단일층 $MoS_2$ 성장이 가능하지만 대면적 합성에 한계를 지니고 있으며 화학기상증착법(CVD)의 경우 공정 gas의 분해를 위한 높은 온도가 요구되므로 박막형 투명 트랜지스터 응용을 위한 플라스틱 기판으로의 in-situ 성장이 어렵기 때문에 이를 보완할 수 있는 $MoS_2$ 박막 합성 공정 개발이 필요하다. 특히 Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) 방법은 공정 gas가 전기적 에너지로 분해되어 chamber 내부에서 cold-plasma 형태로 존 재하기 때문에 박막의 저온성장 및 대면적 합성이 가능하며 고진공을 바탕으로 합성 중 발생하는 오염 요소를 효과적으로 제어할 수 있다. 본 연구에서는PECVD를 이용하여 plasma power, 공정압력, 공정 gas의 유량 등 다양한 공정 변수를 조절함으로써 저온, 저압 조건하에서의 $MoS_2$ 박막 성장 가능성을 확인하였으며 전구체로는 Mo 금속과 $H_2S$ gas를 사용하였다. 또한 향후 flexible 소자 응용을 위한 플라스틱 기판의 녹는점을 고려하여 공정 온도는 $300^{\circ}C$ 이하로 설정하였으며 합성된 $MoS_2$ 박막의 두께 및 화학적 구성은 Raman spectroscopy를 이용하여 확인 하였다. 공정온도 $200^{\circ}C$와 $150^{\circ}C$에서 성장한 $MoS_2$ 박막의 Raman peak의 경우 상대적으로 낮은 공정온도로 인하여 Mo와 H2S의 화학적 결합이 감소된 것을 관찰할 수 있었고 $300^{\circ}C$의 경우 약 $26{\sim}27cm^{-1}$의 Raman peak 간격을 통해 5~6층의 $MoS_2$ 박막이 형성 된 것을 확인할 수 있었다.