Ru-Ta alloy was investigated as the diffusion barrier layer in Cu dual damascene interconnects, and Cu filling property and reliability performances with RuTa/RuTa(N) stacked barrier structure were mainly evaluated. RuTa strongly orientated to Ru(002) and the lattice misfit between Ru(002) and Cu(111) was lower than that between Ta(110) and Cu(111). The wettability of Cu seed on RuTa was much better than that on Ta. The barrier property against Cu diffusion of RuTa/RuTa(N) stacked barrier structure kept the equivalent barrier property of conventional Ta/TaN one. Filling property of Cu electroplating was improved by using Ru-Ta alloy barrier, and trenches of 45 nm in width could be filled successfully due to the suppression of the agglomeration of Cu seed on the sidewall of trench. Via resistance with RuTa/RuTa(N) barrier was much lower than that with Ta/TaN one due to its low resistivity. The estimated life time of via electromigration with RuTa/RuTa(N) barrier was longer than that with Ta/TaN one because of the good wettability and filling property inside via. Consequently, Cu filling property and reliability performance can be improved with RuTa/RuTa(N) stacked barrier structure in Cu interconnects. Copper (Cu) interconnects have been applied to ultra large scale integrated circuits (ULSIs) to reduce the resistance of wiring and resistive-capacitive (RC) delay since the introduction of 130 nm complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOSs). As the feature size of trench and via continues to shrink, filling the gaps with Cu electroplating becomes more difficult. For perfectly gap filling, the opening of trench and via after the deposition of barrier and Cu seed have to be kept enough by thinning barrier and/or Cu seed. However, thinning Cu seed leads to Cu being agglomerated on the sidewall of both trench and via where Cu seed is too thin due to its poor coverage, resulting in the formation of voids inside trench and via. Therefore, one challenging issue for Cu interconnects is to fill trench and via completely without the agglomeration of Cu seed on the diffusion barrier layer.New barrier metals that have better wettability with Cu than conventional Tantalum (Ta) have been studied to achieve continuous and smooth Cu film on them.1-26 Among them, Cobalt (Co) and Ruthenium (Ru) have been most frequently suggested for suppressing the agglomeration of Cu seed. Co is known to have the good film properties such as the low resistivity, the high melting point and the good adhesion with Cu. However, Co has the serious problems with chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process and wet etching process. Co is corroded readily during CMP process and wet etching process, and the slits are occurred between Cu wiring and the interlayer dielectric. It results in the degradation of the device yield and reliability performance. As for Ru, the barrier property against Cu diffusion is not enough, and CMP process for Ru is a difficult technology and the scratch occurred during CMP process leads to the degradation of the device yie...
Microstructures of joints between a Ni-8 mass%P UBM (under bump metallization) and three different Pb-free solders, i.e., Sn-Ag, SnAg-Cu and Sn-Ag-Cu-Bi were studied by transmission electron microscopy. The phases formed near the joint interfaces as well as inside the solders during soldering were identified on the basis of electron diffraction and EDX analysis without ambiguity. In the Ni-P under bump metallization near the interface with the solders, P-denuded Ni-20 mass%P layer was observed, where a high density of columnar voids were formed. Also, in Ni(Cu) SnP intermetallic, which is adjacent to the P-denuded Ni-20 mass%P, a high density of spherical voids were observed. These voids degrade the joint strength. Change of the above microstructures during thermal cycling between 253 K and 453 K was also observed.
Dual damascene Cu interconnects with Keff below 2.0 have been demonstrated for the first time. Air gaps between Cu lines were formed with a low K SiOC film in a carefully designed manner. CoWP cap layers were introduced to protect the Cu lines and to eliminate a dielectric liner layer. In addition, AGE (Air Gap Exclusion) was applied to solve crucial problems related to the air gaps. Keff of 1.9 was obtained at 65nm design rule, which surpassed by far ITRS target (2.5 2.8) for hp45. It was also confirmed that leakage current between lines was suppressed by the formation of the air gaps.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.