Enhanced growth and Cu diffusion barrier properties of thermal ALD TaNC films in Cu/low-k interconnects

•Applying a plasma treatment prior deposition → improved growth of thermal ALD TaxNyCz films.•This can be achieved in particular on low-k dielectrics.•Barrier testing = high temperature anneal + electric fields (BTS) + triangular voltage sweep.•Homogeneous ALD TaxNyCz films may exhibit a Cu barrier performance similar PVD TaN.•This finding gives rise to a re-discussion of thermal ALD TaxNyCz films.

For thermal ALD TaxNyCz films improved growth behaviour and Cu diffusion barrier performance are demonstrated by applying a plasma treatment prior to film deposition, in particular on low-k dielectrics. Two different kinds of ALD processes for depositing thermal ALD TaxNyCz films are applied in this study, involving either TBTDET or PDMAT as a precursor. Ammonia is used as a reactant and Ar as a purging gas in both processes. Within the experiment, two types of pre-treatments prior to ALD are investigated: a wet-chemical pre-treatment using diluted (0.5%) HF, and plasma pre-treatments using Ar/H2 or N2 plasmas. It is examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) from a microstuctural perspective whether improved growth behaviour of thermal ALD TaxNyCz films can be achieved by applying a plasma treatment prior to film deposition. The Cu diffusion barrier properties of 10–15 nm ALD TaNC films are then evaluated by bias temperature stress (BTS) and triangular voltage sweep (TVS) measurements on metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) test structures, after annealing at up to 600 °C under H2/N2 atmosphere. The results imply that, from a process side, thermal ALD TaNC films can intrinsically achieve a Cu diffusion barrier performance similar to PVD TaN. However, if no treatment was applied, Cu drift occurred.

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