Thermal stability of tantalum nitride diffusion barriers for Cu metallization formed using plasma immersion ion implantation

Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) technique was employed to form Tantalum nitride diffusion barrier films for copper metallization on silicon. Tantalum coated silicon wafers were implanted with nitrogen at two different doses. A copper layer was deposited on the samples to produce Cu/Ta(N)/Si structure. Samples were heated at various temperatures in nitrogen ambient. Effect of nitrogen dose on the properties of the barrier metal was investigated by sheet resistance, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy measurements. High dose nitrogen implanted tantalum layer was found to inhibit the diffusion of copper up to 700 °C.