A new atomic layer deposition of W-N thin films

A new atomic layer deposition (ALD) method assisted by NH3 pulse plasma has been suggested for the deposition of W-N diffusion barriers on interlayer materials. The growth mechanism of W-N thin films prepared by the new ALD method perfectly follows the conventional ALD mechanism, and the F concentration in the W-N films and the film resistivity are fairly reduced. Furthermore, this method can eliminate the difficulty to deposit the W-N film on non-Si surface with the conventional ALD method by using WF6 and NH3 gases because the WF6 gas itself does not adsorb on the non-Si surface. Whereas, NHx reactive species may modify the non-Si surface to make the WF6 gas to be adsorbed sequentially. (C) 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.