Development of 〈110〉 texture in copper thin films

Apart from the scientific interest, texture development in copper thin films is of crucial importance to their applications as interconnects or corrosion resistant coating. We report here a dominant 〈110〉 texture of copper thin films - preferred for oxidation-resistant applications - deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering. Scanning electron microscopy shows that the copper films go through a transition from 〈111〉 columns to 〈110〉 hillocks as the deposition proceeds. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicates that the 〈110〉 grains nucleate at boundaries of 〈111〉 grains. Further, we have proposed a stress-driven nucleation and growth model of 〈110〉 grains based on the x-ray diffraction characterization and the TEM observations.