Control of Cu morphology on TaN barrier and combined Ru-TaN barrier/liner substrates for nanoscale interconnects from atomistic kinetic Monte Carlo simulations

3D morphology and film quality by analyzing film roughness, island size, substrate exposure, layer occupation rate, film compactness and the effect of annealing. Our results show that Ru-modified TaN with 50% Ru incorporation significantly reduces roughness and islanding, promoting the desired 2D growth. Vacuum annealing further promotes smooth Cu films, eliminating vacancy defects on Ru-modified substrates, while TaN promotes further island formation. This demonstrates the potential of Ru-TaN in optimizing Cu deposition for advanced CMOS interconnects and showcases a new, robust approach for atomistic simulation of metal deposition on a range of substrates.