SURFACE AND INTERFACE ANALYSIS OF TITANIUM NITRIDE DIFFUSION-BARRIERS

Titanium nitride films were produced on silicon substrate by ion beam assisted deposition in the alternate mode: first, thin titanium layers were deposited by electron beam evaporation and then titanium nitride was formed by nitrogen implantation at room temperature; this cycle w as then iterated many times in order to obtain thicker titanium nitrid e layers. The obtained films were characterized with respect to atomic composition by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and nuclear rea ction analysis techniques, while chemical bonding was investigated by Auger line-shape analysis. We observe that nitrogen implantation, alon g with the production of titanium nitride, induces silicon migration i nto the film. Silicon transport is connected to point defects produced by ion implantation as well as by chemical driving forces associated with silicides formation.