Low-Temperature Deposition of Metal Silicon Nitrides from Silicon Halide Precursors

Metal silicon nitride nanolaminates are formed at temperatures of 200-400 C by alternating ALD monolayers or thin CVD layers of metal nitride and silicon nitride. The silicon nitride layers are formed from a silicon halide precursor, causing nitrogen bonds to replace the halogen bonds, which is a lower-energy reaction than bonding nitrogen to elemental silicon. The silicon content, and thereby the resistivity, of the nanolaminate can be tuned by either a sub-saturation dose of the silicon halide precursor (forming ALD sub-monolayers) or by the relative number of metal nitride and silicon nitride layers. Resistivities between 1 and 500 ·cm, suitable for ReRAM embedded resistors, can be achieved. Some of the nanolaminates can function as combination embedded resistors and electrodes.