Non-crystalline Zr–Si diffusion barrier for Cu/Si contact system under different sputtering power

Abstract Non-crystalline Zr–Si diffusion barrier in Cu/Si contact systems has been investigated. Zr–Si diffusion barriers were deposited on the silicon substrates by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering under different sputtering power. The Cu/Zr–Si/Si structures were manufactured and the diffusion barrier properties were investigated by heat-treating the structure in Ar ambient at temperatures ranging from 500 to 650 °C for an hour. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique were applied to characterize the diffusion barrier performance for Zr–Si in Cu/Zr–Si/Si structures. It is indicated from the comparison analysis results that the Zr–Si film showed a better diffusion barrier performance with the larger sputtering power.