Role of Cu film texture in grain growth correlated with twin boundary formation

To understand the role of Cu film texture in grain growth at room temperature (RT) in relation to twin boundary formation Cu films were deposited on various barrier materials and the Cu film texture was investigated by X-ray diffraction. Cu grain growth was rapid on a barrierless SiO2/Si substrate and very slow on a Ta barrier due to strong (1 1 1) texture. The growth rate and the average grain diameter after being kept at RT for up to ∼60 days were maximum at a (2 0 0)Cu peak to (2 2 2)Cu peak area ratio of ∼1.0, where {1 1 1}, {1 0 0} and {5 1 1} grains coexisted. Such coexistence of three or more orientations of grains is essential in facilitating Cu grain growth at RT. Similarly, the average twin boundary (TB) density was maximum when Cu grain growth was facilitated. TB formation in nano-sized Cu grains was not controlled by grain size, but due to grain growth. The TB could be annealing twins caused by irregularities in the stacking sequence during relatively fast grain growth. The Cu film texture is concluded to be determined at the beginning of deposition, and the wettability of various barrier materials by the Cu films plays a key role in determining the film texture

Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry Analysis of Self-Formed Ti-Rich Interface Layer Growth in Cu(Ti)/Low-k Samples

A new fabrication technique to prepare ultrathin barrier layers for nanoscale Cu wires was proposed in our previous studies. Ti-rich layers formed at Cu(Ti)/dielectric layer interfaces consisted of crystalline TiC or TiSi and amorphous Ti oxides. The primary control factor for the Ti-rich interface layer composition was C concentration in the dielectric layers rather than the formation enthalpy of the Ti compounds. To investigate Ti-rich interface layer growth in Cu(Ti)/dielectric layer samples annealed in ultrahigh vacuum, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) was employed in the present study. Ti peaks were obtained only at the interfaces for all samples. Molar amounts of Ti atoms segregated to the interfaces (n) were estimated from Ti peak areas. Log n values were proportional to log t values. Slopes were similar for all samples, suggesting similar growth mechanisms. The activation energy (E) for Ti atoms reacting with the dielectric layers containing carbon (except SiO2) tended to decrease with decreasing C concentration (decreasing k), while those for the SiO2 layers were much higher. Reaction rate coefficients [Z · exp(−E/RT)] were insensitive to C concentration in the dielectric layers. These factors lead to the conclusion that growth of the Ti-rich interface layers is controlled by chemical reactions, represented by the Z and E values, of the Ti atoms with the dielectric layers, although there are a few diffusion processes possible

In situ observation of semisolid fe-2.5c-1.5si gray cast iron

Fe-2.5C-1.5Si gray cast iron evaluated in previous works exhibited promising potential as semisolid raw material presenting low levels of maximum stress and viscosity, similar to Al-Si alloys. This work is intended to investigate phase transformations and liquid phase formation for the Fe-2.5C-1.5Si gray cast iron in order to understand the performance of the alloy during the semisolid processing. Thus in situ heating experiments via high temperature laser scanning confocal microscopy were performed to analyze the solid-to-liquid transition. At room temperature alloy presented a matrix of pearlite and ferrite with type D flake graphite. During the heating process the main transformations observed were graphite precipitation on the austenite grain boundaries, graphite precipitates and flakes graphite growing and coarsening with the increasing of temperature and the beginning of melt around 1140°C. Coarsened flakes at high temperatures resulted in a liquid continuous network after melting, thereby the liquid phase was formed surrounding and wetting homogeneously the solid phase. This favors the detachment of grains from each other and leads to the intended solid globules immersed in liquid2566368FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP2011/19997-0; 2015/06965-