Impact of sputter deposition parameters on molybdenum nitride thin film properties

Molybdenum and molybdenum nitride thin films are presented, which are deposited by reactive dc magnetron sputtering. The influence of deposition parameters, especially the amount of nitrogen during film synthesization, to mechanical and electrical properties is investigated. The crystallographic phase and lattice constants are determined by x-ray diffraction analyses. Further information on the microstructure as well as on the biaxial film stress are gained from techniques such as transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and the wafer bow. Furthermore, the film resistivity and the temperature coefficient of resistance are measured by the van der Pauw technique starting from room temperature up to 300 degrees C. Independent of the investigated physical quantity, a dominant dependence on the sputtering gas nitrogen content is observed compared to other deposition parameters such as the plasma power or the sputtering gas pressure in the deposition chamber.