A novel process for fabricating conformal and stable TiN-based barrier films

A new process for preparing TiN-based barrier films is reported. The process consists of thermal decomposition of a metallorganic precursor, tetrakis(dimethylamino)-titanium, followed by postdeposition annealing in silane ambient. Thin films fabricated using this approach have much higher stability and lower resistivity than those prepared using thermal decomposition alone. The new barrier films are conformal and exhibit good barrier performance for Al metallization.