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Transition metal carbides, nitrides, and borides for electronic applications

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Abstract

Compounds of transition metals from Groups IV and V with carbon, nitrogen, or boron (e.g., NbC, TiN, and ZrB2) are electronically conductive but are also very hard and have high melting points. These materials resist electromigration and prevent diffusion because their strong interatomic bonding makes the activation energy for diffusion very high. Carbides and nitrides form the NaCl crystal structure, but are nonstoichiometric with nonmetal atom vacancies that scatter electrons. This defect-controlled resistivity can be eliminated with an order-disorder transformation at a specific nonmetal/metal ratio. The diborides are essentially sentially stoichiometric and have low resistivities. These metallic ceramics can be deposited as thin films to form interconnects and diffusion barriers in ultralarge-scale integrated circuits.

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Authors
  1. Wendell S. Williams
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Wendell S. Williams earned his Ph.D. in physics at Cornell University in 1956. He was a research physicist with Union Carbide Corporation, a professor of physics and engineering at the University of Illinois, and department chair of materials science and engineering at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Williams, now retired, is a member of TMS.

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Williams, W.S. Transition metal carbides, nitrides, and borides for electronic applications. JOM 49, 38–42 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02914655

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