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Microstructural Evolution of Aluminum Interconnects During Post-Pattern Anneals: Correlation to Improved Em Lifetime

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2011

B. Miner ,
E.A. Atakov ,
A. Shepela  and
S. Bill
B. Miner
Affiliation:
Digital Equipment Corporation, 77 Reed Road, Hudson, MA 01749
E.A. Atakov
Affiliation:
Digital Equipment Corporation, 77 Reed Road, Hudson, MA 01749
A. Shepela
Affiliation:
Digital Equipment Corporation, 77 Reed Road, Hudson, MA 01749
S. Bill
Affiliation:
Digital Equipment Corporation, 77 Reed Road, Hudson, MA 01749
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Abstract

The number of Al triple point junctions (Ntp) correlates inversely to electromigration lifetimes for partially bamboo interconnects that fail by grain boundary (GB) diffusion. This work emphasizes the evolution of statistical microstructural parameters, Ntp and cluster length distribution, during post-pattern anneals. In addition to statistical measures, the structure of specific clusters before and after anneal is compared from TEM images of the same area of the same sample.

Each post-pattern anneal lowers Ntp and shortens the length of individual polycrystalline segments, but with diminishing returns for subsequent anneals. With a TiN capping layer, the statistical microstructural improvement is less but the longest clusters, those most probable as failure sites, lose triple points during anneal. The distribution of cluster lengths is characteristic for a process.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 338: Symposium – Materials Reliability in Microelectronics IV , 1994 , 333
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1994

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References

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