Interactions of thin Ti films with Si, SiO2, Si3N4, and SiOxNy under rapid thermal annealing

Abstract

Thin Ti films sputter deposited onto single‐crystal Si, thermal SiO₂, and low‐pressure chemical vapor deposited Si₃N₄ and SiO_xN_y (x≊y≊1) substrates have been rapid thermal annealed in N₂ or Ar, with and without an amorphous Si overlayer, and the reactions followed using Auger elecron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, and sheet resistance measurements. A multilayer film is created in practically every case with each layer containing essentially a single reaction product, viz.,TiSi_x, TiO_x, δ‐TiN, or TiN_xO_1−x. The results are discussed in light of published Ti‐Si‐O and Ti‐Si‐N phase diagrams.