AbstractThe microstructure of interconnect material is know to influence its electromigration and stress-voiding properties. In addition to many factors responsible for the microstructure development, the barrier layer could be a major contributing factor as it forms the substrate for the copper films above. The microstructure of the barrier films based on its deposition technique could determine the final microstructure of the copper film. In the present work we examine the effect of two

more »

... ent barrier layers (Ta and TaN) and different stackings of these two materials on the microstructure on the copper seed (PVD) and electroplated films using EBSD, AFM and XRD. The results show that the plated films have a predominantly (111) texture and uniform grain size. But the (111) texture maximum varied with the barrier layer stacking underneath the plated film.