Texture and resistivity of dilute binary Cu(Al), Cu(In), Cu(Ti), Cu(Nb), Cu(Ir), and Cu(W) alloy thin films

Annealing of dilute Cu(Al), Cu(In), Cu(Ti), Cu(Nb), Cu(Ir), and Cu(W) alloy films resulted in the lowest resistivity for Cu(Ti) and Cu(In) and the strongest 〈111〉 fiber texture also for Cu(Ti). Electron-beam evaporated films with compositions in the range of 2.0–4.2 at. % and thicknesses in the range of 420–560 nm were annealed at 400 °C for 5 h. Four-point probe resistance measurements, x-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering, and particle-induced x-ray emission were used to characterize the films and to follow the changes in film texture, phase constitution, and resistivity upon annealing. The behavior of the alloy films was compared and contrasted with that for a pure evaporated Cu film.