Cu and dilute binary Cu(Ti), Cu(Sn) and Cu(Al) thin films: Texture, grain growth and resistivity

Abstract

Annealing Cu and dilute Cu(Ti), Cu(Sn) and Cu(Al) alloy films resulted in the strengthening of film texture, with the strongest 〈111〉 fiber texture being found for Cu(Ti). Annealing also resulted in a decrease of electrical resistivity and the growth of grains, with the largest grain size and lowest resistivity being seen for pure Cu itself. Among the alloy films, the lowest resistivity was found for Cu(Ti) and the largest grain size for Cu(Al). Electron beam evaporated films with compositions in the range of 2.0-3.0 at% and thicknesses in the range of 420-540 nm were annealed at 400°C for 5 hours. Four point probe resistance measurement, x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to follow the changes in film resistivity, texture and grain size.