Fabrication of potential NiMoP diffusion barrier/seed layers for Cu interconnects via electroless deposition

[[abstract]]c2005 Springer - Potential NiMoP barrier/seed layers for Cu interconnects have been successfully formed by electroless deposition on SiO2. Four different wet processes were attempted to activate the surface before electroless deposition. Material properties including the crystal structure, deposition rate, composition, and electrical resistivity of NiMoP layers were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Auger electron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), four-point probe, and surface profilometry (Alpha-step). In this study, different compositions of NiMoP films have been obtained. Ni89Mo2P9 with nanocrystalline structure has the highest resistivity due to enriched P content, while Ni88Mo9P3 has the lowest value among the compositions considered in this study. The seed layer and the barrier layer functions of NiMoP were verified by direct Cu electrodeposition and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS).[[department]]化學工程學