Electroplating copper for semiconductor interconnects incorporates impurities, which have long been implicated as inhibiting recrystallization in fine features. In this study, a multilayer structure with intentional impurity fluctuations was plated with a microfluidic device to investigate how varying concentrations influenced the final microstructure. The distribution of impurities was analyzed using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry depth profiling, which found the bands of impurities were preserved at room temperature despite grain growth proceeding throughout the entire thickness of the film. Therefore, impurity variations of these magnitudes are not expected to be the major pinning force for recrystallizing grains in fine features.
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