ZrN films with low resistivity under different chamber pressures by MOCVD

Abstract

The transitional metal nitride ZrN is known for its exceptional electrical conductivity and ability to display metallic and semiconducting properties by manipulating its stoichiometric ratio. As such, it has garnered significant attention in the realm of microelectronics applications. The MOCVD technique was utilized to grow ZrN films on a Si (111) substrate in this work, and the impact of chamber pressure was analyzed. The growth rate of the ZrN film showed a significant increase as the chamber vacuum rose. The columnar structure with pores appeared in SEM cross-sectional observation, which complies with the SMZ model and can be ascribed to the limited mobility of adsorbed particles. Under 10–20 Torr, a strong preferred orientation of (200) orientation was observed, and the domain matching model was used to explain its lattice-matching relationship with the Si substrate. The ZrN films deposited in our experimental groups demonstrated exceptional conductive properties, with a maximum value of 38 μΩ cm⁻¹. This result highlights the potential of MOCVD-grown ZrN films to serve as conductive layers in Si-based devices. Furthermore, we comprehensively characterized the optical constants of reflectance, refractive index, and extinction coefficient. Analysis reveals that the ZrN film possesses excellent specular reflectivity in the red and near-infrared bands, making it a promising ideal reflective layer for optoelectronic devices.