AVS 56th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Thin Film Monday Sessions
       Session TF2-MoM

Paper TF2-MoM4
Vapor Deposition of Ruthenium Thin Films from an Amidinate Precursor

Monday, November 9, 2009, 9:20 am, Room B4

Session: Metals and Nitrides (ALD/CVD)
Presenter: R.G. Gordon, Harvard University
Authors: H. Wang, Harvard University
X. Wang, Harvard University
Y. Lin, Harvard University
R.G. Gordon, Harvard University
R. Alvis, FEI Company
R.M. Ulfig, Imago Scientific Instruments
Correspondent: Click to Email
Ruthenium thin films were deposited by pulsed chemical vapor deposition from bis(N,N’-di-tert-butylacetamidinato) ruthenium(II) dicarbonyl and O2. Highly conductive, dense, conformal and pure thin Ru films can be deposited when oxygen exposure EO approaches a certain low threshold (Emax). When EO > Emax, the films peel off silica substrates, perhaps due to recombinative desorption of O2 at the film/substrate interface. Ruthenium films grown on tungsten substrates show very strong adhesion, > 17 J m-2, and no evidence for any oxidized interlayer between the Ru and the W. Thus the low oxygen exposure does not oxidize the tungsten substrate surface during Ru deposition. Analysis by an atomic probe microscope shows that the crystallites are nearly free of carbon impurity (<0.1at.%), while a low level of carbon(<0.5at.%) is segregated near the grain boundaries. The atom probe microscope also shows that a small amount of O impurity (0.3at.%) is distributed uniformly through the crystallites and the grain boundaries.