ORIENTATION MEASUREMENT OF AL(111) PLANES IN AL-SI-CU INTERCONNECTIONLAYERS BY THE IMAGE-PLATING GLANCING-ANGLE X-RAY-DIFFRACTION METHOD

The orientation of Al(111) planes in Al-Si-Cu interconnection layers i s determined precisely by the image-plating glancing-angle X-ra diffra ction measurement technique. Contrary to the results obtained by the c onventional X-ray diffraction method, the Al(111) planes are tilted ra ndomly at axial angles between 0 degrees and 16 degrees. A 50-nm thick layer has a large number of nuclei which were rich in Cu and has an a verage grain size of 0.12 mu m. Furthermore, the Al(111) planes are or iented parallel to the substrate surface. However, the grain size incr eased with increasing film thickness and reaches a grain size of 1.10 mu m. In addition, the Al(111) planes are determined to be tilted at r andom.