Observation of TaB x O y Along the Ta Diffusion Path Through a Boron and Oxygen Containing Tri-layer Structure

Diffusion and migration of elements are commonly observed in the fabrication of multilayer thin-film devices, including those of STT-RAM. The CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB tri-layer thin-film stack has been widely used in the design of STT-RAM devices as the functional magnetic-tunnel-junction (MTJ) structure. Such issues faced in the fabrication of these devices have been extensively researched from the stand point of engineering the materials property and structure to achieve the best MTJ performance. In this work, we conducted a detailed examination of the chemical-state change of the Ta and B in a CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB/Ta film stack by using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. We showed that the chemical-state change of Ta and B is a result of the Ta diffusion phenomena through the CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB tri-layer structure. In particular, we report the evidences of the formation of TaBxOy compound at some considerable depth away from the Ta layer. Also of value to XPS spectroscopy, the Ta binding energy for such TaBxOy compound is reported for the first time.