An Understanding of the Non-isothermal Grain Growth Behavior of Sono-Electroplated Cu Thin Film
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An Understanding of the Non-isothermal Grain Growth Behavior of Sono-Electroplated Cu Thin Film Archana Mallik • Sabita Rout
Received: 13 June 2012 / Accepted: 26 February 2013 / Published online: 2 May 2013 Ó The Institution of Engineers (India) 2013
Abstract The kinetics and microstructural evolution during the non-isothermal growth of 763 nm thick sonoelectroplated Cu thin film has been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The DSC scan from 25 °C to 400 °C at a ramp rate of 2 °C min-1 was found to consist of one main exothermic peak with postshoulder peaks. The grain growth mechanism and mode were discussed by determining the activation and surface energies of the films before and after the thermal scans. The kinetic observation was correlated with the morphological investigations. An abnormal growth tendency of the grains was found past the normal growth. Keywords Grain growth Thin films Copper Thermal properties Sono-electrodeposition
Introduction Growth is liable to corrupt the properties of a deposit and defeat the purpose of deposition at the first place. Grain growth can occur during deposition of thin films or during post-deposition processing. This not only can result in a dramatic increase in the average crystal size in a film, but can also result in changes in the average crystal orientation and can even result in epitaxial films. It is therefore not surprising that, grain growth can profoundly affect the mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties of thin
A. Mallik (&) S. Rout Electrometallurgy and Corrosion Laboratory, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela 769008, India e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
films [1–3]. However, as-plated films are generally unstable at room temperature, exhibiting a property known as self-annealing [4]. During the process, the grain size of the as-deposited films changes from a few tens of nanometers to a few microns in times of a few hours to a few days. These grains may grow either normally or abnormally, film’s thickness and grain size being the deciding factor [5]. Based on experimental observations the driving forces responsible for the microstructural evolution may include grain boundary energy, surface energy, residual stress, dislocation density, stacking fault energy and Zener pinning [1, 5]. Systematical investigations have already emphasized the preferred candidature of sono-electrodeposition for thin film synthesis, but the ex-situ grain growth characteristics of deposited films are yet to be established for future generation additive free clean technology for circuit applications. The present article represents an attempt to focus on the aforementioned relatively unexplored research area. The study primarily embodies qualitative details for the microstructural evolution during the growth transient period.
Experimental Blanket Cu films of 763 nm thickness were dep
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