X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characteristics of the W/TiN/Si and W/TiN/SiO2/Si structures

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been used to study the characteristics of titanium nitride (TiN) as a nucleation layer for the deposition of low pressure chemical vapor deposited tungsten (LPCVD-W) onto SiO2. The XPS depth profiles and the chemical analysis of the as-deposited W/TiN/Si (with sputtered TiN) and W/TiN/SiO2/Si (with LPCVD-TiN) structures suggest that the chemical interaction of TiN with W and with Si/SiO2 substrates tends to be minimal.