Soft X-ray photoelectron spectromicroscopy has been employed to examine the microstructural chemistry of corrosion on thin films of AL-i%Cu-1%Si alloy. Cu-rich precipitates are formed after the film is annealed at around 320ºC Localized corrosion takes place around these precipitates, and circular microstructures have been observed. Energy distribution curves (EDCs) taken at specific points are analyzed and photoelectron images were obtained from different kinetic energies corresponding to the peaks in EDC. It was found that after corrosion the Al2Cu particles are revealed and distributed at the center of the corrosion structure with oxide as matrix, while the oxides form a ring-like band outside.

Oxidation kinetics of plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposited (PA-CVD) copper films were investigated using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). The PA-CVD copper films were deposited using hydrogen plasma reduction of bis(hexafluoroacetylacetonato) copper(II), Cu(hfa)2, precursor. Under identical experimental conditions, PA-CVD copper films oxidize more slowly than sputtered copper films. This decrease in oxidationis manifested both as a time delay at the beginning of the oxidation of the PA-CVD copper films and as a decrease in the rate of oxide growth at oxidation temperatures of 200ºC and below. The possivation appears to be caused by the hydrogen plasma present during depostion.

With the decreasing minimum feature size of integrated microcircuits, a low-temperature, chlorine-free CVD process is needed for the deposition of TiN diffusion barriers. A problem during the thermal deposition of titanium nitride from organometallic precursors, such as tetrakis(dimethylamido)titanium, is the high content of carbon in the films. In situ XPS study reveals that most of the carbon is present as CHx inclusions with a smaller but not negligible amount of carbidic component. This can be avoided by using ammonia, but the high rate of the reaction in the gas phase makes the control of the film growth difficult. Most of the problems can be resolved when using hydrogen afterglow.

The formation of PtSi films by rapid thermal processing of e-beam evaporated Pt on <100> Si has been studied. The current study found that PtSi films have the potentially useful property of oxidizing, i.e., forming a surface layer of Si02 which may be useful for patterning. Rapid oxide formation is found with, possibly, linear growth rates when the film is doped with As to 8E15 atoms/cm2 at 80 KeV but insignificant oxidation if the film is undoped or B-doped. Rutherford backscattering analysis shows significant redistribution of the As during silicidation and oxidation with As excluded from the silicide, diffusing to the oxide and especially the oxide surface. Post-silicidation anneals have been done in a conventional tube furnace at 650ºC for up to 60 minutes and form an oxide thickness of up to 200 nm. NiSi films appear stable if Bdoped, oxidize with Ni piling up at the Si02/Si interface if undoped, and are unstable with Ni diffusing deep into the Si if As-doped.

We have used preamorphization of silicon substrates as a process modification to suppress agglomeration during cobalt disilicide film formation. Planar, continuous and low resistivity (<21 μΩ-cm) silicide films less than 35 nm thick have been produced both on single crystal silicon and polysilicon. Nanoscale(<35 nm) silicide films are more susceptible to islanding phenomena since agglomeration is dependent onthe ratio of grain size to film thickness. Preamorphization prior to silicidation favorsa large increase in silicide nucleation rate, as well as reduction in critical nuclei size, both of which aid the formation of silicide with small grains. The resulting small grain silicides enable nanoscale films to remain below the critical grain size to thickness ratio for which thin films become morphologically unstable. An interphase void band which occurs between CoSi and CoSi2 layers, acts as a convenient diffusion marker and aids interpretation of the complex stability issues. Preamorphization prior to silicidation was also extended to heavily doped substrates to study the applicability of this approach for junctions and gate contacts. Silicidation of amorphized heavily boron doped substrates produces non uniform layers due to the collision of the advancing silicidation and SPE interfaces. A comparision of concurrent processing, i.e. simulatneous dopant activation and silicide formation, with conventional silicidation of Si+ preamorphized heavily doped(B) substrates is also presented.

Amorphous carbon was evaluated as a diffusion barrier between Cu and Si. Samples were annealed at 500 ºC for 1 hour in vacuum. Barrier properties were characterized for metallurgical failure with RBS and XTEM, and electrical properties were characterized with pn junction diodes and MOS capacitors. RBS and X-TEM showed that a barrier 13.5 nm thick prevented Cu and Si diffusion during the anneal. The diodes remained rectifying after annealing, although the series resistance went up. C-V measurements of the capacitors did not show the hysteresis that is typical of mobile charge in the oxide. The barrier breakdown mechanism is diffusion through the amorphous structure.

The objective of this work was to study by transmission electron microscopy the lattice defects in GaAs bulk crystals and heterostructures formed by In diffusion. In such samples hints for the existence of superconductivity have been found. Indium was found to move more than 100 μm into bulk GaAs during lh annealing at 550ºC (such conditions are typical for molecular beam epitaxy growth on GaAs wafers). This rapid diffusion is accompanied by the creation of dislocation networks and metallic In droplets that show evidence for lattice strain. To study the interaction of In with the GaAs lattice, In/GaAs multi-layers were grown by MBE at about 450ºC on a GaAs buffer layer. The interfaces of these structures showed misfit dislocations at islands of InAs besides the presence of lattice strain. Both types of samples showed microwave absorption signals typical for superconductivity. The most likely superconductive phases are small metastable inclusions, probably consisting of amorphous Ga or In.