Synchrotron x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy studies of interfacial reaction paths and kinetics during annealing of fully-002-textured Al/TiN bilayers

The interfacial reaction paths and kinetics in highly 002-textured Al/TiN bilayers, grown on SiO2, were studied. It was found that TiN barrier failure is initiated at the Al/TiN interface with the formation of a thin continuous AlN interfacial layer which is initially in the metastable zinc-blende structure through a local epitaxial relationship with the underlying TiN.