Published In
Journal of The Electrochemical Society
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2010
Subjects
Atomic force microscopy, Mass spectrometry, Semiconductor films
Abstract
The corrosion behavior of electrochemically deposited copper thin films in deaerated and non-deaerated commercial cleaning solutions containing HF was investigated. Potentiodynamic polarization experiments were carried out to determine active, active–passive, passive, and transpassive regions. Corrosion rates were calculated from Tafel slopes. The addition of hydrogen peroxide to the solution and its influence on corrosion was also investigated by employing inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The ICP-MS and potentiodynamic methods yielded comparable Cu dissolution rates. Surface analysis using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, performed before and after the cleaning solution treatment, did not reveal any indication of pitting corrosion. The presence of hydrogen peroxide in the cleaning solution led to more than an order of magnitude suppression of copper dissolution rate. We ascribe this phenomenon to the formation of interfacial CuO detected by XPS on the wafer surface that dissolves at a slower rate in dilute HF.
DOI
10.1149/1.3245999
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/11953
Citation Details
Nabil G. Mistkawi, Makarem A. Hussein, Malgorzata Ziomek-Moroz, and Shankar B. Rananavare, “Corrosion Behavior of Copper Thin Films in Organic HF Containing Cleaning Solution for Semiconductor Applications,” J. Electrochem. Soc., 157(1), C24 (2010).
Description
This is the publisher's final PDF. © The Electrochemical Society, Inc. 2010. All rights reserved. Except as provided under U.S. copyright law, this work may not be reproduced, resold, distributed, or modified without the express permission of The Electrochemical Society (ECS). The archival version of this work was published here: http://jes.ecsdl.org/content/157/1/C24.abstract