Tantalum Nitride (TaN)-Granules

Characteristic




Tantalum nitride (TaN) is a chemical compound, a nitride of Tantalum. There are multiple phases of compounds, stoichimetrically from Ta2N to Ta3N5 including TaN.




Chemical formula：TaN

Molar mass：194.955 g/mol

Appearance：black crystals

Density：14.3 g/cm3

Melting point：3,090 °C (5,590 °F; 3,360 K)

Solubility in water：insoluble

Crystal structure：Hexagonal, hP6







Application




It is sometimes used in integrated circuit manufacture to create a diffusion barrier or "glue" layers between copper, or other conductive metals. In the case of BEOL processing (at c. 20 nm), Copper is first coated with Tantalum, then with TaN using physical vapour deposition (PVD); this barrier coated copper is then coated with more copper by PVD, and infilled with electrolytically coated copper, before being mechanically processed.




It also has application in thin film resistors. It has the advantage over nichrome resistors of forming a passivating oxide film which is resistant to moisture.