In situ spectroscopic ellipsometry has been employed to determine the properties of titanium nitride (TiN) films during plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition by alternating TiCl4 precursor dosing and H2N2 plasma exposure. Besides monitoring the film thickness when optimizing the half reactions, it is shown that spectroscopic ellipsometry is a very valuable tool for in situ studies of (air-sensitive) film properties such as resistivity, and for investigating the nucleation phase during initial film growth.

1.
S. M.
Rossnagel
,
A.
Sherman
, and
F.
Turner
,
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B
18
,
2016
(
2000
).
2.
M.
Ritala
,
M.
Juppo
,
K.
Kukli
,
A.
Rahtu
, and
M.
Leskela
,
J. Phys. IV
9
,
1021
(
1999
).
3.
A.
Rahtu
,
T.
Alaranta
, and
M.
Ritala
,
Langmuir
17
,
6509
(
2001
).
4.
R.
Matero
,
A.
Rahtu
, and
M.
Ritala
,
Chem. Mater.
13
,
4506
(
2001
).
5.
H.
Kim
,
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B
21
,
2231
(
2003
).
6.
H. G.
Tompkins
and
W. A.
McGahan
,
Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Reflectometry: A User’s Guide
(
Wiley
, New York,
1999
).
7.
P.
Patsalas
and
S.
Logothetidis
,
J. Appl. Phys.
90
,
4725
(
2001
).
8.
P.
Patsalas
and
S.
Logothetidis
,
J. Appl. Phys.
93
,
989
(
2003
).
9.
H.
Kim
,
A. J.
Kellock
, and
S. M.
Rossnagel
,
J. Appl. Phys.
92
,
7080
(
2002
).
10.
J.
Kim
,
H.
Hong
,
S.
Ghosh
,
K.-Y.
Oh
, and
C.
Lee
,
Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Part 1
42
,
1375
(
2003
).
11.
H.
Jeon
,
J.-W.
Lee
,
Y.-D.
Kim
,
D.-S.
Kim
, and
K.-S.
Yi
,
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A
18
,
1595
(
2000
).
12.
F.
Roozeboom
,
R.
Elfrink
,
T. G. S. M.
Rijks
,
J.
Verhoeven
,
A.
Kemmeren
, and
J.
van den Meerakker
,
Int. J. Microcircuits Electron. Packag.
24
,
182
(
2001
).
13.
F.
Roozeboom
,
A.
Kemmeren
,
J.
Verhoeven
,
F.
van den Heuvel
,
H.
Kretschman
, and
T.
Frič
,
Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc.
783
,
157
(
2003
).
14.
A.
Satta
,
A.
Vantomme
,
J.
Schuhmacher
,
C. M.
Whelan
,
V.
Sutcliffe
, and
K.
Maex
,
Appl. Phys. Lett.
84
,
4571
(
2004
).
You do not currently have access to this content.