Use of x-ray reflectivity techniques to determine structural parameters ofsome silicide structures for microelectronics applications

X-ray reflectivity measurements have been carried out on TiN/Ti/Si- and WSi x/Si-deposited and -annealed structures. The results show that for the as-d eposited samples there are periodic oscillations due to a well-defined inte rface roughness, while for the annealed samples the disappearance of the os cillations due to increase in surface and interface roughness of the formed silicide layers is observed. We demonstrate that the analysis of x-ray ref lectivity measurements collected both in the specular and in the off-specul ar way, even for the samples with very high surface and interface roughness , allows the determination of structural parameters of the films and interf aces. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)00701-4].