Ultra-thin vanadium nitride thin film with thickness around 10nm was studied as a diffusion barrier between Cu and SiO2 or Si substrates. The VN film was prepared by reactive ion beam sputtering. X-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and current–voltage (I–V) technique were used to characterize the diffusion barrier properties for VN in Cu/VN/Si and Cu/VN/SiO2 structures. The as-deposited VN film was amorphous and could be thermal stable upon annealing at up to 800C. Multiple results showed that the ultra-thin VN film had good diffusion barrier properties for Cu.

Study of Ultrathin Vanadium Nitride as Diffusion Barrier for Copper Interconnect. X.P.Qu, M.Zhou, T.Chen, Q.Xie, G.P.Ru, B.Z.Li: Microelectronic Engineering, 2006, 83[2], 236-40