Barrier Properties of Thin ZrNxFilms Prepared by Radical-Assisted Surface Reaction

We have prepared thin ZrN x films at low temperatures without substrate heating. In the proposed process, radical species generated by the catalytic decomposition of NH 3 molecules react on the sputtered Zr film to form ZrN x . The barrier performance of the obtained 5-nm-thick ZrN x film is as good as that prepared by reactive sputtering at 350 °C, indicating the usefulness of the proposed method in forming ZrN x films at low temperatures. We have also demonstrated the general effectiveness of the method for ZrN x preparation in addition to the previous result of TiN x .