In this study, Mn silicate (MnSiO 3 ) barrier layers were formed on thermally grown SiO 2 using both metallic Mn and oxidized Mn films, in order to investigate the role of oxygen in determining the extent of the interaction between the deposited Mn and the SiO 2 substrate. Using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, it has been shown that a metallic Mn film with an approximate thickness of 1 nm cannot be fully converted to Mn silicate following vacuum annealing to 500 C. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis suggests the maximum MnSiO 3 layer thickness obtainable using metallic Mn is $1.7 nm. In contrast, a $1 nm partially oxidized Mn film can be fully converted to Mn silicate following thermal annealing to 400 C, forming a MnSiO 3 layer with a measured thickness of 2.6 nm. TEM analysis also clearly shows that MnSiO 3 growth results in a corresponding reduction in the SiO 2 layer thickness. It has also been shown that a fully oxidized Mn oxide thin film can be converted to Mn silicate, in the absence of metallic Mn. Based on these results it is suggested that the presence of Mn oxide species at the Mn/SiO 2 interface facilitates the conversion of SiO 2 to MnSiO 3 , in agreement with previously published studies. V
Synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy (SRPES) is used to investigate the in situ formation of ultra thin Mn silicate layers on SiO2, which has relevance for copper diffusion barrier layers in microelectronic devices. High temperature vacuum annealing of metallic Mn (∼1.5 nm) deposited on a 4 nm thermally grown SiO2 film results in the self limiting formation of a magnesium silicate layer, the stoichiometry of which is consistent with the formation of MnSiO3. Curve fitted Mn 3p SRPES spectra show no evidence for the presence of a manganese oxide phase at the Mn/SiO2 interface, in contrast to previous reports.
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