Effects of Deposition Conditions on Texture in Copper Thin Films on Si (111)

Abstract

The texture of copper films deposited on bare Si (111) is studied using a partially ionized beam deposition technique. A change in deposition parameters (percent ions and substrate bias) radically alters the texture from epitaxial to fiber. Under conditions indicative of deposition by evaporation, a sharp texture typified by a Cu {531} ‖ Si (111) relationship is observed. At measurable ion energy levels, the film texture becomes Cu (111). A narrowly defined set of conditions promotes epitaxy which breaks down into a fiber texture for conditions of successively higher ion energy. The role of internal (boundary) energy and interfacial (substrate/film and film/ambient) energy are discussed.