Evolution of Grain Structure in Thin Film Reactions

小行星9713439 本研究的目的是了解薄膜反应的动力学和相关产物微观结构的形态。 重点是两个原型系统，Ti/Al和Nb/Al。前一个系统是重要的半导体金属化方案，而后者是一个简单的模型系统，定性相似的反应动力学。 研究包括Ti和Nb与纯A1的反应，以及考虑到Cu合金化在减轻集成电路电迁移故障中的重要性，A1中Cu对这些系统中的相反应的影响。 采用差示扫描量热法（DSC）和透射电子显微镜（TEM）研究了反应动力学和反应物相和产物相的微观结构。 TEM研究被用来关联的产品相成核位点的位置与反应物层的微观结构特征，如三重结。 通过高分辨率分析电子显微镜（AEM）检查部分反应的样品的横截面，以测量在不同时间的反应物和产物的组成分布，并澄清反应物和产物晶界对反应进程的影响。 互补的分析计算和模拟被用来解释实验结果。 这些包括一个动力学模型相形成的基础上耦合速率方程和晶格模型相生长和碰撞，允许在不断变化的微观结构的时空相关性的测定。 薄膜微结构形成动力学的研究对金属薄膜在磁性和电子工业中的应用具有重要意义。 ***

9713439 Barmak It is the objective of this research to understand the kinetics of thin film reactions and the morphology of associated product microstructures. The focus is on two prototypical systems, Ti/Al and Nb/Al. The former system is of importance in semiconductor metallization schemes while the latter is a simpler model system with qualitatively similar reaction kinetics. Studies include the reactions of Ti and Nb with pure A1 and the effects of Cu in A1 on phase reactions in these systems given the importance of Cu alloying in mitigating electromigration failure in integrated circuits. Reaction kinetics are investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the microstructure of reactant and product phases by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM studies are used to correlate the location of product phase nucleation sites with the microstructural features of the reactant layers, such as triple junctions. Partially reacted samples are examined in cross section by high resolution analytical electron microscopy (AEM) to measure the composition profiles in the reactants and products at various times and to clarify the effect of reactant and product grain boundaries on the progress of the reaction. Complementary analytical calculations and simulations are used to interpret the experimental results. These include a kinetic model of phase formation based on coupled rate equations and a lattice model of phase growth and impingement which permits the determination of space-time correlations in evolving microstructures. %%% This research on the kinetics of microstructure formation in thin films is important to the application of metallic films in the magnetics and electronics industries. ***