Effects of Substrate Coating with Metal Spraying on Residual Stresses in Sputtered Titanium-Nitride Films
Yoshio Miyoshi, Hirotaka Tanabe, Tohru Takamatsu, Teiichiro Sameshima. Takeshi Ejima and Katsuhiko Ueda
Abstract:In the sputter coating process, as a by-product, deposits are formed on the inner wall of the vacuum chamber, and a large number of particles are generating from the deposits. Today, the particle problem is recognized as one of the most serious because these particles create a high ratio of defective products. Recently, it has been observed that coating the inner wall of the vacuum chamber by metal spraying before sputter coating reduces the particle generation. But, a clear explanation of this mechanism has not been made. In order to clarify it, a fundamental study on the effect of pre-coating to a substrate by metal spraying on the properties of sputtered films was carried out. The residual stresses in titanium-nitride films sputtered on the aluminum-alloy substrates coated with various sprayed films were measured by X-ray stress measurement. It was found that the residual stresses in sputtered titanium-nitride films manufactured on substrates coated by metal spraying were lower than those on substrates without pre-coating. In order to specify the determinant factors of residual stress in sputtered titanium-nitride film on the pre-coated substrate, the influence of the residual stress and the surface configuration of spray coating on residual stress in sputtered titanium-nitride film was investigated. It was found that one of the main factors affecting the residual stress was the surface configuration of spray coating, and with the residual stress increasing with an increase in the surface roughness of spray coating. Key Words:Residual stress, X-ray diffraction, Particle, Deposit, TiN, Sputtering, Metal spraying, Surface roughness, Semiconductor device