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The application of TEM in investigating the evolution of microstructure during solid phase crystallization of the amorphous Si, $Si_{1-x}Ge_x,\;and\;Si_{1-x}Ge_x/Si$ films deposited on $SiO_2$ substrate, in identifying the failure mechanism of the TiN barrier layer in the Cu-metallization scheme, and in comparing the microstructure of the as-deposited Cu-Cr and Cu-Ti alloy films are discussed. First, it is identified that the evolution of microstructure in Si and $Si_{1-x}Ge_x$ alloy films strongly depends on the concentration of Ge in the film. Second, the failure mechanism of the TiN diffusion barrier in the Cu-metallization is the migration of the Cu into the Si substrate, which results in the formation of a dislocation along the Si {111} plane and precipitates (presumably $Cu_{3}Si$) around the dislocation. Finally, the microstructure of the as-deposited Cu-Cr and Cu-Ti alloy films is also quite different in these two cases. From these several cases, we demonstrate that the information which we obtained using TEM is critical in understanding the behavior of materials.
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