The properties of reactive sputtered TiN films for VLSI metallization

When TiN films are deposited using the reactive sputtering method, significantly different properties can be obtained by changing the deposition parameters. The effects of substrate temperature and DC substrate bias on the properties and the structures of TiN films are investigated, and the diffusion barrier characteristics of these films are compared. It is shown that two different approaches may be useful in enhancing the barrier characteristics of these films. One method is the deposition at elevated temperatures without any bias, while the other is deposition at considerably lower temperatures with substrate bias. In both cases, the number of diffusion paths in the films is reduced.<>