Abstract
Physical characterization of as-deposited and
1000
°
C
annealed
Ta
x
Al
1
−
x
N
thin films was performed using several characterization techniques. X-ray diffraction metrology shows that the crystallographic phase and crystallinity of TaN and AlN films vary with composition. The unannealed TaN film was cubic TaN, while the annealed TaN was mixed hexagonal
Ta
2
N
and hexagonal TaN. Both AlN films were hexagonal, with the annealed film having a higher crystalline fraction. However,
Ta
x
Al
1
−
x
N
films displayed a relatively small change in crystalline fraction and crystallography. Well behaved capacitors were fabricated, and a work function of
∼
5.0
eV
was obtained.