NiAl as a potential material for liner- and barrier-free interconnect in ultrasmall technology node.

Because of aggressive downscaling of the dimensions of future semiconductor devices, they will suffer from increased line resistivity and resistance-capacitance delay. In this work, NiAl thin films are investigated as a potential liner- and barrier-free interconnect material. The results show that NiAl has strong adhesion, does not undergo interdiffusion with SiO2, and has a favorable resistivity size effect. These features suggest that NiAl is a good candidate for replacing Cu as a liner- and barrier-free interconnect for linewidths below 7 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]