AVS 50th International Symposium
    Processing at the Nanoscale Tuesday Sessions
       Session NS+MI-TuA

Paper NS+MI-TuA9
Influence of Stoichiometry and Structure on the Local Oxidation of Metal Films

Tuesday, November 4, 2003, 4:40 pm, Room 308

Session: Nanoscale Patterning and Lithography
Presenter: N. Farkas, The University of Akron
Authors: N. Farkas, The University of Akron
G. Zhang, The University of Akron
K.M. Donnelly, The University of Akron
E.A. Evans, The University of Akron
R.D. Ramsier, The University of Akron
J.A. Dagata, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Correspondent: Click to Email
Oxidation growth kinetics of sputter-deposited Zr and ZrN thin-films are studied on the local scale by atomic force microscope (AFM) -assisted lithography. The growth kinetics are found to depend strongly upon the nitrogen content of the deposition plasma. Mass transport of subsurface O, H, and N species also plays an important role in the growth of nanometer-scale oxide structures, producing feature heights up to an order of magnitude greater than those observed in other material systems such as silicon and titanium. The stoichiometric and structural differences in the films are investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques to account for solid-state reaction and transport mechanisms involved in oxidation driven by a highly localized electric field. These results demonstrate the potential of AFM lithographic techniques for characterizing oxidation kinetics in the presence of the rich chemical behavior exhibited by reactive metal films.