Formation and characterization of magnetron sputtered Ta–Si–N–O thin films

• Main Authors: Xu, S., Chen, Z., Yan, H., Li, L., Ho, F. Y., Liang, M. H., Pan, J. S.
• Other Authors: School of Materials Science & Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Materials::Microelectronics and semiconductor materials::Thin films
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/94102; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/8204
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Tantalum silicon nitride films have good potential to be used as hard coatings and diffusion barriers. In this work, films with different composition were deposited using a magnetron sputter under varying nitrogen flow rates. The composition, microstructure, thermal stability and electrical resistivity have been investigated. In the as-deposited state, all films consist of amorphous TaSixOy, TaxOy, TaxNy and TaSix compounds. The composition of films is affected by N2 flow rate. The resistivity of the as-deposited films increases with N concentrations. At elevated temperatures, all films show good thermal stability to at least 800 °C, while film with high Si concentration is largely amorphous at 900 °C because of highly stable TaSixOy compounds. This study suggests that the TaSixOy compounds could be the key factor in enhancing thermal stability of Ta–Si–N–O films.