Al-Ti and Al-Ti-Si thin alloy films

Abstract

The microstructure and properties of thin films depend strongly upon the alloy composition. A study was made of the metallurgical aspects of homogeneous Al alloy films, particularly the binary Al-Ti and the ternary Al-Ti-Si systems. The films were deposited by either multiple source e−-beam evaporation or magnetron sputtering from alloy targets. Electrical resistivity, ultramicrohardness, grain size morphology, second phase formation, and electromigration have been studied as a function of the alloy composition and its heat treatment. The relationship between the microstructure and these properties will be discussed.

Calculations of lattice parameters and reaction-induced volume and stress changes for Al(Ti) alloys

“…21 Their thermal stability and resistance to stress voiding, however, are still unclear and have raised reliability concern for this alloy to be adopted as an interconnect material. The net volume loss due to precipitation may generate excess vacancies which conglomerate upon annealing to form microvoids.…”

Sputter Deposition Processes

“…The simultaneous suppression of whickers and hillock growth in aluminum alloy films is an important consideration for integrated circuit metallizations [87][88][89][90][91]. One of the several problems, hillock formation after a high-temperature process step, has received considerable attention as the degree of integration of ICs becomes higher and the widths of the interconnects become smaller.…”