The effect of underlayer texture on Cu film properties and electromigration performance in Cu damascene interconnects have been studied. The Cu film orientation depends strongly on the underlayer texture. The Cu111 orientation can be controlled by changing the preferred orientation of the TiN underlayer, which has the same cubic structure as the Cu. The Cu film deposited on a highly 111-oriented TiN underlayer indicates a strong 111 orientation. The atomic arrangement between Cu(111) and TiN(111) planes has a rotational angle within /spl plusmn/10/spl deg/ around the 111 axis in spite of lattice mismatch of 14.7%. In the case of damascene interconnects, sidewalls in a trench affect Cu texture and the dependence of the underlayer texture on the Cu film orientation becomes small as line width decreases. EM performance, however, has been improved by the realization of Cu damascene interconnects with a strong 111 orientation.
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