TiH2 has been considered as a diffusion barrier and adhesion promoter between oxide and Cu. This phase is formed by reaction of Ti with hydrogen during rapid thermal annealings. In this investigation the stability of TiH2 on PECVD and thermal oxides has been studied during Ar anneal at 400 and 500°C. X-ray diffraction, sheet resistance measurements, RBS, and nuclear reaction technique to profile hydrogen have been used in this study. The results indicate that the stability of TiH2 is dependent on the nature of the oxide, for example, the water concentration and the density of the oxide and on the temperature of the anneal. These results will be discussed in view of the applicability of TiH2 which has a low thin film electrical resistivity of about 100 μΩ-cm.

Chemical Mechanical polishing (CMP) is a useful technique for achieving global planarization in the ICs. The CMP of oxide has been used and studied for decades. Only recently the technique has been employed for planarizing the interlayer dielectric (ILD) on the silicon devices circuits. The effect of such polishing on the performance of the ILD has been the concern. This paper examines the attempts on defining the damage caused by CMP and its effect on the electrical properties after polished SiO2 wafers. In this investigation the PECVD and thermal oxide films were polished in the colloidal silica slurry on IC 60 pad. The polished oxide were then studied using I-V and nuclear reaction technique. The results show a surface damage which extends to about 800 Å in the polished oxide. The changes occurring in the concentration of hydrogenous species at the surface of SiO2 as determined by nuclear reaction technique will also be presented. It is shown that due to CMP as-deposited CVD SiO2 films loose water from surface regions whereas well annealed or dry oxides gain water at the surface. The results will be discussed and mechanisms will be presented to explain electrical results.

The interactions of Ti with SiO2, Si3N4, and SiOiNy have been studied during rapid thermal annealing at 400 to 900 °C in Ar with 3% H2 ambient. X-ray diffraction, sheet resistance measurements, RBS, nuclear reaction technique to profile hydrogen, and microscopy have been employed in this study. The results of this investigation indicate that Si3N4 and SiOxNy are more stable with Ti than SiO2.

The refractive index of the surface of a zirconium fluoride glass was increased by exchanging fluorine in the glass with gaseous chlorine. The chlorine profile in the glass surface, as measured by Rutherford backscattering, was that expected for diffusion. The refractive index change was measured with ellipsometry, and compared to models of the concentration profile of chlorine.

The crystallizing phases from a BaZn YbTh fluoride glass were a BaYbTh fluoride, ZnF2, and YbF3, as identified with x-ray diffraction and composition-enhanced scanning electron microscopy. Blocky BaYbTh fluoride crystallizes first, at about 450 °C, and ZnF2 excluded from this phase crystallizes at its surfaces. At higher temperatures the BaYbTh fluoride phase decomposes partially to BaThF6 and YbF3 phases. The kinetics and temperatures of crystallization were also followed with differential scanning calorimetry.