Kinetics of Copper Grain Growth During Nitridation of Cu-Cr and Cu-Ti Thin Films by In Situ Tem

1994 ◽  
Vol 337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Atzmon ◽  
R. Sharma ◽  
S. W. Russell ◽  
J.W. Mayer
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
In Situ Tem ◽  
Initial Growth ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Diffusion Controlled ◽  
Cr System ◽  
Rate Limiting ◽  
Kinetics Of

ABSTRACTCo-deposited Cu-Cr and Cu-Ti thin films were heated at various temperatures in an ammonia ambient in an environmental cell placed into the column of a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The reaction dynamics were observed in situ and recorded on a videotape using a TV camera with 1/30 second time resolution. Nitridation of chromium and titanium was accompanied by the nucleation and growth of copper particles starting at 370 and 580°C, respectively. It was found that in the Cu-Ti system at a temperatures regime of 370-400°C the growth rate behaves under a parabolic law; namely, the process is controlled by diffusion of Cu through the nitride matrix. However, for the Cu-Cr system at temperatures of 610-630°C two growth regimes were observed. In the initial growth stages, the surface reaction is rate-limiting, while for longer nitridation times, growth is diffusion-controlled.

In-Situ TEM Observations of Surface Roughening and Defect Formation in Lattice Mismatched Heteroepitaxial Thin Films

1997 ◽  
Vol 505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cengiz S. Ozkan ◽  
William D. Nix ◽  
Huajian Gao
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Defect Formation ◽  
High Vacuum ◽  
Surface Roughening ◽  
In Situ Tem ◽  
Thick Sample ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Sample Preparation Procedure ◽  
Kinetics Of

ABSTRACTThis paper focuses on in-situ transmission electron microscopy observations of surface roughening and defect formation in heteroepitaxial Sil−xGex thin films. Annealing experiments have been carried out in-situ in the microscope under a high vacuum environment. We comment on the sample preparation procedure for in-situ TEM experiments and explain the importance of having a sufficiently thick sample to have the stress state in the film unaltered. Experimental results of in-situ surface roughening are presented for suberitically and supercritically thick Sil−xGex films. We found that, in a vacuum environment, the kinetics of surface roughening and the resulting surface morphology are much different than in a hydrogen environment.

Growth kinetics of Al2Cu in an Al-1.5Cu thin film by in Situ TEM

1993 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 1172-1173
Author(s):  
M. Park ◽  
S.J. Krause ◽  
S.R. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
In Situ Tem ◽  
Collector Plate ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Device Processing ◽  
Corrosion Susceptibility ◽  
Precipitation Phenomena ◽  
Semiconductor Chips ◽  
Kinetics Of

Cu alloying in Al interconnection lines on semiconductor chips improves their resistance to electromigration and hillock growth. Excess Cu in Al can result in the formation of Cu-rich Al2Cu (θ) precipitates. These precipitates can significantly increase corrosion susceptibility due to the galvanic action between the θ-phase and the adjacent Cu-depleted matrix. The size and distribution of the θ-phase are also closely related to the film susceptibility to electromigration voiding. Thus, an important issue is the precipitation phenomena which occur during thermal device processing steps. In bulk alloys, it was found that the θ precipitates can grow via the grain boundary “collector plate mechanism” at rates far greater than allowed by volume diffusion. In a thin film, however, one might expect that the growth rate of a θ precipitate might be altered by interfacial diffusion. In this work, we report on the growth (lengthening) kinetics of the θ-phase in Al-Cu thin films as examined by in-situ isothermal aging in transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

In situ TEM crystallization of sol-gel derived BaTiO3 thin films

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 588-589
Author(s):  
Martha L. Mecartney ◽  
M. C. Gust ◽  
N. D. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Sol Gel ◽  
In Situ Tem ◽  
Lattice Match ◽  
Gel Layer ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Sol Gel Process ◽  
Good Lattice ◽  
Thick Layers

BaTiO3 thin films made by the sol-gel process require a crystallization heat treatment to transform the amorphous gel into a crystalline material. This work used a Ba-Ti methoxypropoxide precursor in a 0.25M solution of methoxypropanol which was spin coated as 5 (each -600 nm thick) layers on (100) Si (FIG. 1). The {100} planes of perovskite BaTiO3 have a good lattice match with {110} Si; d110 of Si = 0.38 nm, and d100 of BaTiO3 = 0.4 nm. Consequently, it should be possible to grow heteroepitaxial films of (100) BaTiO3 on (100) Si. Such samples pyrolized at 350.C and then annealed in a conventional furnace at 750°C for one hour, however, did not crystallize heteroepitaxially with the substrate. Rather, crystallization occurred by a nucleation and growth process from within the gel. Furthermore, the gel layer at the Si/BaTiO3 interface remained amorphous. In-situ hot stage experiments were conducted in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) to determine the nucleation and crystallization behavior.

In-Situ TEM Observations of Different Growth Modes of Small Iron Particles on Sapphire

1980 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 402-403
Author(s):  
R. Anton ◽  
K. Heinemann
Keyword(s):  
Electron Beam ◽  
Width Ratio ◽  
In Situ Tem ◽  
Video Tape ◽  
Growth Modes ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Special Direction ◽  
Substrate Temperatures ◽  
Kinetics Of

An in-situ study was performed of the growth kinetics of individual crystallites during the deposition of iron onto electron-transparent singlecrystalline α-Al2O3 (sapphire) substrates. Clean sapphire films were produced in-situ under UHV conditions by electron-beam induced crystallization of amorphous Al2O3 (1). Iron was electron-beam vapor-deposited at constant rates (0.2-0.5 nm/min) and elevated substrate temperatures (750 – 900°C) immediately following the crystallization. The nucleation, growth, and eventual coalescence of the metal particles were observed in-situ by transmission electron microscopy and recorded on video tape at 30 frames per second. In fig. 1, a growth and coalescence sequence of several Fe-particles on [100]-α-Al2O3 is shown. The images were selected and photographed from the TV monitor during video playback. The particles marked with letters were analyzed in detail. Noteworthy is that particle A (after about 30 min. of growth) started a rapid increase of its length-to-width ratio. Particle H, formed in a coalescence event, exhibited a preferred growth in a special direction, presumably in order to develop a certain crystallographic habit. Particle K developed a fast lateral growth ab-initio and remained a thin platelet until it coalesced with a neighboring particle about 25 min. after the beginning of the deposition.

Compositional Effects on the Crystallization Kinetics of Nickel Titanium Thin Films

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1728-1734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hai Ni ◽  
Hoo-Jeong Lee ◽  
Ainissa G. Ramirez
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Kinetic Parameters ◽  
Nickel Titanium ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Cooling Conditions ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Titanium Thin Films ◽  
Sputter Deposited ◽  
Kinetics Of

The crystallization and phase transformations of amorphous NiTi thin films were studied using in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These films were sputter-deposited onto micromachined silicon-nitride membranes and subjected to heating and cooling conditions. The microstructural evolution was monitored and recorded. Kinetic parameters such as the nucleation rate, growth rate, and area-fraction transformed were independently determined by noting the number of grains per frame and their change in size. Using the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov analysis, fitted kinetic parameters were determined and found to be consistent with TEM observations. To explore the compositional sensitivity of crystallization, samples near-equiatomic and slightly Ti-rich were studied with these methods. TEM micrographs show that equiatomic films exhibit polymorphic crystallization while samples that are slightly off-stoichiometry showed more complicated behavior.

scholarly journals In situ transmission electron microscopy studies of the kinetics of Pt-Mo alloy diffusion in ZrB2 thin films

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (12) ◽  
pp. 121601 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Jouanny ◽  
J. Palisaitis ◽  
C. Ngo ◽  
P. H. Mayrhofer ◽  
L. Hultman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Kinetics Of

In-Situ Tem-Investigations of Electromigration Induced Mass Transport in “Near-Bamboo” Al-Interconnects

1997 ◽  
Vol 473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Heinen ◽  
Herbert Schroeder ◽  
Werner Schilling
Keyword(s):  
Mass Transport ◽  
Volume Diffusion ◽  
Diffusion Path ◽  
In Situ Tem ◽  
Point Of Interest ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Diffusion Controlled ◽  
Current Densities ◽  
In Situ Observations

ABSTRACTElectromigration(EM)-driven mass transport in “near-bamboo” Al-lines, which consist mostly of “blocking grains” is an important topic of research on ULSI-metallizations. Because the most easy diffusion path, i.e. grain boundaries parallel to the line, is suppressed in bamboo-like Al-lines other paths have to be considered. In this work two other possible paths of diffusion were examined by in-situ observations in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). For these experiments a special sample holder had to be constructed.One path is EM-driven intragranular diffusion in Al-lines. In this experiment, inert gas-filled voids with a mean diameter of about lOnm, so-called bubbles, which were created after gas implantation and annealing of the Al-lines, serve as indicators of mass (or vacancy) transport. The in-situ EM-tests reveal no intragranular void motion over a period of more than 100h at current densities of l-1.75MA/cm2 and temperatures of 150–225°C. This leads to an estimation of the maximum void diffusion velocity which was compared with calculated values of surface and volume diffusion controlled void motion, respectively. The second point of interest was the behavior of dislocations in Al-lines under an applied EM-force. The importance of their observed motion for intragranular mass transport will be discussed.

Application of In Situ HREM to Study Crystallization in Materials

2005 ◽  
Vol 494 ◽  
pp. 7-12
Author(s):  
R. Sinclair ◽  
Kyung Hoon Min ◽  
U. Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Tantalum Oxide ◽  
Nucleation And Growth ◽  
In Situ Observation ◽  
Amorphous Thin Films ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Kinetics Of

A review is given of the application of in situ transmission electron microscopy to study various processes associated with the crystallization of amorphous thin films. Solid phase epitaxial regrowth of ion-implanted silicon is compared with nucleation and growth in deposited thin films. The mechanism of metal-mediated crystallization is deduced directly from high resolution recordings, and the kinetics of tantalum oxide devitrefication are obtained. The advantages of direct in situ observation are described

scholarly journals Nitrogen Effects on Crystallization Kinetics of Amorphous TiOxNy Thin Films

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 550-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Hukari ◽  
Rand Dannenberg ◽  
E. A. Stach
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Activation Energy ◽  
Crystallization Behavior ◽  
Index Of Refraction ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Growth Activation ◽  
Diffraction Patterns ◽  
Kinetics Of

The crystallization behavior of amorphous TiOxNy (x ≫ y) thin films was investigated by in situ transmission electron microscopy. The Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kozolog (JMAK) theory was used to determine the Avrami exponent, activation energy, and the phase velocity pre-exponent. Addition of nitrogen inhibited diffusion, increasing the nucleation temperature, while decreasing the growth activation energy. Kinetic variables extracted from individual crystallites were compared to JMAK analysis of the fraction transformed, and a change of 6% in the activation energy led to agreement between the methods. From diffraction patterns and index of refraction the crystallized phase was found to be predominantly anatase.

In-situ TEM Study of the Crystallization of Thin Films composed of Sb3.6Te with Ge

2003 ◽  
Vol 803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bart J. Kooi ◽  
Willemijn M.G. Groot ◽  
Jeff Th.M. De Hosson
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Activation Energy ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Crystal Growth ◽  
Nucleation Rate ◽  
Crystallization Behavior ◽  
In Situ Tem ◽  
Growth Anisotropy ◽  
Transmission Electron

ABSTRACTThis paper addresses the crystallization of amorphous Sb3.6Te films (40 nm thick) and 5 at.% Ge containing Sb3.6Te films (10, 20 and 40 nm thick) as studied using in-situ annealing in a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). These materials show growth-dominated crystallization, in contrast to Ge2Sb2Te5 that shows nucleation-dominated crystallization. Particularly the crystal-growth velocity in these systems is measured as a function of temperature from which the activation energy for growth can be derived. The strong effect of the 5 at.% Ge addition on the total crystallization behavior is revealed: Ge increases the crystallization temperature (from 95 to 150 °C), increases the activation energy for growth (from 1.58 to 2.37 eV), increases the nucleation rate and decreases the growth anisotropy.

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