What is a barrier metal?
Barrier metal is a thin layer of metal, whether in the form of a plating or a movie that is located between two objects to prevent other soft metal objects from being contaminated. For example, copper and brass components in modern fries and circuits always include a thin layer of metal plating around them to prevent the cuddling of crystalline semiconductors themselves. Sometimes barrier metals are made of ceramics such as tungsten nitride, rather than real metals, but are still considered barrier metals.
barrier metals require specific physical properties to be useful for the semiconductor industry. Obviously, the barrier metal must be sufficiently inert to prevent contaminating the surrounding materials themselves; However, semiconductor production is built around the electricity flow throughout the equipment. Therefore, the barrier metal must be conductive enough to prevent the electric flow.
very few metals meet both these criteria, which Jaans that only a small handful of mattThe e -series acts as a barrier metal in semiconductors. Titan nitride is the most common barrier metal in semiconductors. Chrome, tantalum, tantalum nitride and tungsten nitride are also used.
conductivity and hardness are not the only two properties that take into account the barrier metal; The thickness of the barrier metal also plays a key role in its efficiency. Soft metals like copper can penetrate a barrier that is too thin. Any soft metal that penetrates into a thin barrier can contaminate the vulnerable object on the other side. On the other hand, metal plating, which is too strong, significantly affects the flow of electricity in the perimeter. The semiconductor engineers spend a lot of time in testing laboratories trying to get balance in order.
Not all barrier metals shield shield crystalline semiconductor. Soft metals corrupt me hard to make the surfaces of tal and this contamination mIt can lead to product failure in top devices. The thin layer of inert metal preventing the contact of two other metals is known as a diffuse barrier. Diffuse barriers are often found between the layers of plates and protect metal components from soldering.
2 In general, barriers of metal plate diffusion require the same inert properties as semiconductor barriers, but they must also be able to follow different metals on both sides. Gold, nickel and aluminum are three common metals used for diffuse barriers.