Metrology for MRAM Layer Thickness, Density & Roughness
Application Note
RSMD008
XTRAIA MF-3000 EDXRF can measure metal layers, except for the MgO layer. The measurement time is faster than WDXRF and suitable for wafer mapping.
A small X-ray beam spot and small edge exclusion make the XTRAIA MF-3000 suitable for deposition process control.
Figure 1: MRAM process layer EDXRF spectrum and X-ray excitation. Measurement target layer: CoFeB, Cu, Ta, Ti, Pt, Co, W, NiFe, Mo, IrMn, etc.
Measuring performance
| Layer | Ru / CoFeB | Ta | Pt |
| X-ray | Cu-tube | Au-tube | Mo-tube |
| Incident angle | 5° /20° | 20° | 5° |
| Measuring time | 10 sec | 30 sec | 10 sec |
| Thickness | ||||
| Layer | Ru | Pt | T | *CoFeB |
| Unit | Angstrom | |||
| Average | 199.42 | 207.10 | 208.58 | 202.14 |
| Maximum | 200.60 | 208.03 | 209.09 | 203.09 |
| Minimum | 198.85 | 206.38 | 207.36 | 200.72 |
| Range | 1.75 | 1.65 | 1.73 | 2.37 |
| Std. Dev. | 0.57 | 0.55 | 0.68 | 0.65 |
| R.S.D. (%) | 0.28 | 0.27 | 0.33 | 0.32 |
*CoFeB: Fixed composition
MRAM QC structure
- Measurement with multiple X-ray tubes
- XRF measurement can determine PtMn and CoFeB layer when each composition is fixed
MRAM metal layer measurement for QC
| Layer# | Layer | Elements |
| L6 | Pt | Pt |
| L5 | Ru | Ru |
| L4 | Ti | Ti |
| Le | NiFe | Ni |
| L2 | CoFeB | Co |
| L1 | Ta | Ta |
| Si-Sub | ||
Quality check measuring (Multilayer)
| Layer# | Layer | Elements | Tube |
| L6 | Pt | Pt | Mo |
| L5 | Ru | Ru | Cu |
| L4 | Ti | Ti | Cu |
| Le | NiFe | Ni | Au |
| L2 | CoFeB | Co | Cu |
| L1 | Ta | Ta | Au |
| Si-Sub | |||
| Layer | Pt | Ru | Ti | NiFe | CoFeB | Ta |
| Element | Pt | Ru | Ti | Ni | Co | Ta |
| Unit | (Å) | |||||
| 1 | 202.99 | 201.13 | 200.29 | 200.29 | 199.80 | 200.00 |
| 2 | 200.80 | 200.90 | 199.52 | 201.46 | 199.82 | 200.53 |
| 3 | 200.00 | 202.21 | 200.35 | 197.37 | 200.00 | 199.07 |
| 4 | 199.27 | 203.73 | 200.25 | 200.58 | 199.90 | 200.40 |
| 5 | 200.31 | 200.21 | 200.16 | 200.28 | 200.19 | 200.30 |
| 6 | 199.93 | 201.24 | 200.28 | 199.27 | 199.81 | 200.27 |
| 7 | 201.73 | 202.43 | 199.89 | 197.23 | 200.05 | 200.67 |
| 8 | 199.67 | 200.85 | 201.05 | 202.77 | 199.97 | 198.80 |
| 9 | 200.86 | 200.96 | 200.81 | 201.46 | 199.93 | 199.73 |
| 10 | 202.06 | 201.75 | 200.28 | 199.12 | 199.76 | 200.13 |
| Average | 200.76 | 201.54 | 200.29 | 199.98 | 199.93 | 199.99 |
| Std. Dev. | 1.18 | 1.02 | 0.43 | 1.78 | 0.13 | 0.62 |
| R.S.D. (%) | 0.59 | 0.51 | 0.21 | 0.89 | 0.06 | 0.31 |
Measurement with small edge exclusion
XRR analysis of CoFeB layer
- No reference sample required
- Thickness, density and roughness analysis from the XRR fringes
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