ACTIVATION ENERGY STUDY FOR THE NUCLEATION AND GROWTH STAGES OF Cu(TMVSXHFAC) SOURCED COPPER CVD

摘要

We present some results of a study of the effects of water vapor on the nucleation of Cu on TaN substrates during CVD using Cu(TMVS)(hfac). We use the temperature dependencies of the nucleation and film growth rates to estimate associated activation energies. The activation energy for the nucleation stage in the absence of water vapor was estimated to be 39 kcal/mol. The equivalent activation energy with water vapor is 6.1 kcal/mol. Additionally, the activation energy for overall film growth without water is estimated to be 14 kcal/mol. These estimates are derived from experiments in the temperature range 398 to 498 K. In the study of the nucleation stage, an atomic force microscope was used to characterize the size and number of Cu nuclei. Compared to those without water vapor, depositions with water vapor resulted in higher nuclei densities higher growth rates and a lower activation energy at the temperatures studied.