Plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition of TiN monitored by in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry

Abstract

In situ spectroscopic ellipsometry has been employed to determine the properties of titanium nitride (TiN) films during plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition by alternating TiCl4 precursor dosing and H2–N2 plasma exposure. Besides monitoring the film thickness when optimizing the half reactions, it is shown that spectroscopic ellipsometry is a very valuable tool for in situ studies of (air-sensitive) film properties such as resistivity, and for investigating the nucleation phase during initial film growth.