A Comprehensive Study of Low-k SiCOH TDDB Phenomena and Its Reliability Lifetime Model Development

Chen, F.; Bravo, O. Martínez; Chanda, Kaushik; McLaughlin, P.; Sullivan, Timothy D.; Gill, Jason M.R.; Lloyd, J. R.; Kontra, R.; Aitken, J.

doi:10.1109/relphy.2006.251190

Cited by 147 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…[11][12][13][14] It is based on the idea that the BD process is strictly connected to the charge transport mechanism and is considered to be assisted by pre-existing defects, whose density is relatively high in these materials (this is true also for other dielectrics, e.g., high-k). TDDB dependence on the field follows that of Poole-Frenkel or Schottky conduction (which is considered to be the dominant charge transport mechanism)…”

Section: The Anode Hole Release (Ahr) Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[11][12][13][14] Each of these models explains some of the experimentally observable trends (i.e., field/voltage and temperature dependencies and Weibull statistics) of the time to BD (t BD ), which is the amount of time that the dielectric film can sustain a constant voltage stress without losing its insulating properties. However, these models are either empirical or based on over-simplified physical descriptions that do not properly address the microscopic complexity of the bondbreaking process, which can be locally affected by charge carriers, adjacent defects, and statistical variations of the bond properties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A microscopic mechanism of dielectric breakdown in SiO2 films: An insight from multi-scale modeling

Padovani¹,

Gao

Shluger

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Physics

103

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Despite extensive experimental and theoretical studies, the atomistic mechanisms responsible for dielectric breakdown (BD) in amorphous (a)-SiO2 are still poorly understood. A number of qualitative physical models and mathematical formulations have been proposed over the years to explain experimentally observable statistical trends. However, these models do not provide clear insight into the physical origins of the BD process. Here, we investigate the physical mechanisms responsible for dielectric breakdown in a-SiO2 using a multi-scale approach where the energetic parameters derived from a microscopic mechanism are used to predict the macroscopic degradation parameters of BD, i.e., time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) statistics, and its voltage dependence. Using this modeling framework, we demonstrate that trapping of two electrons at intrinsic structural precursors in a-SiO2 is responsible for a significant reduction of the activation energy for Si-O bond breaking. This results in a lower barrier for the formation of O vacancies and allows us to explain quantitatively the TDDB data reported in the literature for relatively thin (3–9 nm) a-SiO2 oxide films.

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Section: The Anode Hole Release (Ahr) Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A microscopic mechanism of dielectric breakdown in SiO2 films: An insight from multi-scale modeling

Padovani¹,

Gao

Shluger

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Physics

103

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“…Dedicated experiments have been performed to investigate the TDDB failure mechanism [7][8][9] , and a significant amount of effort has been invested to develop models which describe the relationship between electric field and lifetime of the devices [10][11][12][13] . The existing studies benefit the community of reliability engineers in microelectronics; however, many challenges still exist and many questions still need to be answered in detail.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<em>In Situ</em> Time-dependent Dielectric Breakdown in the Transmission Electron Microscope: A Possibility to Understand the Failure Mechanism in Microelectronic Devices

Liao

Gall

Yeap

et al. 2015

JoVE

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The time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) in on-chip interconnect stacks is one of the most critical failure mechanisms for microelectronic devices. The aggressive scaling of feature sizes, both on devices and interconnects, leads to serious challenges to ensure the required product reliability. Standard reliability tests and post-mortem failure analysis provide only limited information about the physics of failure mechanisms and degradation kinetics. Therefore it is necessary to develop new experimental approaches and procedures to study the TDDB failure mechanisms and degradation kinetics in particular. In this paper, an in situ experimental methodology in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) is demonstrated to investigate the TDDB degradation and failure mechanisms in Cu/ULK interconnect stacks. High quality imaging and chemical analysis are used to study the kinetic process. The in situ electrical test is integrated into the TEM to provide an elevated electrical field to the dielectrics. Electron tomography is utilized to characterize the directed Cu diffusion in the insulating dielectrics. This experimental procedure opens a possibility to study the failure mechanism in interconnect stacks of microelectronic products, and it could also be extended to other structures in active devices. Video LinkThe video component of this article can be found at

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“…In addition, TDDB has been widely accepted as a test vehicle for assessment of Cu interconnect reliability. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Hundreds of devices (diameter = 100 μm; spacing between two devices~350 μm) were fabricated across large-area, continuous films for statistical assessments. In our TDDB setup, a positive constant electric field (E-field) was applied at room temperature to the top Cu electrode of the device-under-test, with the bottom p ++ Si being grounded, as shown in Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The purpose of performing TDDB measurements at various E-fields is to allow extrapolation of the device lifetime under normal operating conditions (much lower E-fields) by fitting with some analytic models. [19][20][21][22][23] Otherwise, directly conducting TDDB at low E-fields can be extremely time consuming. Among numerous proposed models, E-model, 19 1/E-model, 20,21 and sqrt-E-model 22,23 are chosen for low field lifetime predictions, as shown in Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Studies of two-dimensional h-BN and MoS2 for potential diffusion barrier application in copper interconnect technology

Catalano

Smithe

et al. 2017

npj 2D Mater Appl

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Copper interconnects in modern integrated circuits require a barrier layer to prevent Cu diffusion into surrounding dielectrics. However, conventional barrier materials like TaN are highly resistive compared to Cu and will occupy a large fraction of the crosssection of ultra-scaled Cu interconnects due to their thickness scaling limits at 2-3 nm, which will significantly increase the Cu line resistance. It is well understood that ultrathin, effective diffusion barriers are required to continue the interconnect scaling. In this study, a new class of two-dimensional (2D) materials, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ), is explored as alternative Cu diffusion barriers. Based on time-dependent dielectric breakdown measurements and scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy characterizations, these 2D materials are shown to be promising barrier solutions for Cu interconnect technology. The predicted lifetime of devices with directly deposited 2D barriers can achieve three orders of magnitude improvement compared to control devices without barriers.

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A Comprehensive Study of Low-k SiCOH TDDB Phenomena and Its Reliability Lifetime Model Development

Cited by 147 publications

References 2 publications

A microscopic mechanism of dielectric breakdown in SiO2 films: An insight from multi-scale modeling

A microscopic mechanism of dielectric breakdown in SiO2 films: An insight from multi-scale modeling

<em>In Situ</em> Time-dependent Dielectric Breakdown in the Transmission Electron Microscope: A Possibility to Understand the Failure Mechanism in Microelectronic Devices

Studies of two-dimensional h-BN and MoS2 for potential diffusion barrier application in copper interconnect technology

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