Thin films of TiC/TiN, deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering onto Si(100) substrates, were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and deep-level transient spectroscopy as diffusion barriers to Cu. The TiN thin films, deposited onto Si substrates at a temperature of 600C, were textured while TiC thin films deposited at the same temperature were polycrystalline. The TiC/TiN multilayer films also exhibited the same characteristics, with the formation of an additional interaction layer. The diffusion-barrier characteristics of TiC/TiN/Si were determined by means of deep-level transient spectroscopy, and the results showed that the films completely prevented the diffusion of Cu into Si.

Multilayer TiC/TiN Diffusion Barrier Films for Copper. S.N.Yoganand, M.S.Raghuveer, K.Jagannadham, L.Wu, A.Karoui, G.Rozgonyi: Applied Physics Letters, 2002, 80[1], 79-81