Deposition of zirconium boride thin films by direct current triode sputtering

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Abstract
Specular, crack-free thin films of the refractory conductor zirconium boride have been deposited for possible applications in combined contact/diffusion barrier metallization schemes. Films were deposited by dc triode sputtering, which allowed the independent study of the effects of sputtering pressure, target voltage, and current on the film properties. The mole ratio of boron in the films increased (composition tending to ZrB2) and the resistivity decreased with increasing deposition rates which at a fixed target voltage and sputtering pressure increased almost linearly with target current. Decrease in sputtering pressure, with only a minor change in deposition rate, dramatically decreased resistivity and caused stress in the films to change from tensile to compressive. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy correlated reduced oxygen content to reduced resistivity. Triode sputtering permitted deposition of films at 2 mTorr with a resistivity of 162 μΩ cm which is the lowest reported value for as-deposited films.

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