Hydrogen accumulation as the origin of delamination at the a-carbon/SiO{sub 2} interface
- Institut Laue-Langevin, F-38042 Grenoble (France)
- STMicroelectronics, 850 rue Jean Monnet, 38926 Crolles (France)
This work reports the characterization of the interface amorphous carbon (a-C)/SiO{sub 2} by neutron and X-ray reflectometry. Neutrons have shown the existence of an intermediate layer (IL) between the a-C and the SiO{sub 2} layers that was not evidenced by XRR. This IL has been associated with the accumulation of H inside the SiO{sub 2} layer near the interface with the a-C. The characteristics of this layer, in particular, its H-concentration and thickness, seem to be correlated with the weakness of this interface. A plot of the molecular weight as a function of the mass density for the SiO{sub 2} and the IL layers graphically demonstrates the risk of delamination of each sample. The combination of NR and XRR is shown to be a powerful technique in the characterization of layers and interfaces used in the micro/nanoelectronics industry. The same approach can be extended to other interfaces of interest involving hydrogen.
- OSTI ID:
- 22412889
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 117, Issue 21; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Oxide structure of air-passivated U-6Nb alloy thin films
Structural and electronic properties of the transition layer at the SiO{sub 2}/4H-SiC interface