Characterization of stress migration in sub-micron metal interconnects

Fernandes, Maria G.; Kawasaki, H.; Klein, J.; Jawarani, D.; Subrahmanyan, R.; Yu, Tat-Kwan; Pintchovski, F.

doi:10.1063/1.45705

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…22 In order to study the stress-induced voiding in detail and clear manner, long-term stress relaxation experiments would be necessary. Although voids in passivated lines are believed to form primarily by relaxation of hydrostatic tensile stresses, 3 a correlation between void formation and stress relaxation was observed in this experiment over a 15 h period.…”

Section: B Stress Relaxation and Voidingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Linewidth dependence of stress relaxation and microstructural change in passivated Al(Cu) lines

Yeo¹

1997

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena

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In situ transmission electron microscopy study of plastic deformation and stress-induced voiding in Al-Cu interconnects Stress relaxation and microstructural change in passivated Al(Cu) lines during isothermal annealing AIP Conf.Relaxation of thermally induced stresses in passivated line structures can lead to void formation, and its rate is strongly correlated with microstructural change in the lines. A bending beam technique was used to measure the thermal stress relaxation behavior of passivated Al ͑1 wt % Cu͒ line structures with 3, 1, and 0.5 m linewidths as a function of temperature up to 15 h. Our data indicate that stress relaxation in Al͑Cu͒ lines depends on line geometry and temperature, and exhibits log ͑time͒ kinetics, which is consistent with a thermally activated dislocation glide mechanism. The observed behavior can be explained by a combined result of the driving force due to the effective shear stress and kinetics due to thermally activated mass transport. Scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope techniques were used to study stress-induced voiding as a function of aging time and temperature. A strong correlation between stress relaxation rate and void density was observed for 1 m wide lines, but not for 0.5 m wide lines. A lower void density of 0.5 m wide lines suggests that the bamboo grain structure may influence the mass transport and retard void formation.

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Section: B Stress Relaxation and Voidingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…22 It is worth noting that the stress relaxation measurement can be complementary to the resistometric method. 22 It is worth noting that the stress relaxation measurement can be complementary to the resistometric method.…”

Section: B Stress Relaxation and Voidingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linewidth dependence of stress relaxation and microstructural change in passivated Al(Cu) lines

Yeo¹

1997

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena

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“…A resistometric method has been very widely used to study stress-induced voiding [ 191; however, a stress relaxation measurement can be complementary to the resistometric method. The resistometric method is more sensitive to large voids extending across the entire line [19], whereas the stress relaxation method may be more sensitive to void density. Combination of a resistometric method with a stress relaxation measurement can further reveal the details of stress-induced voiding.…”

Section: Long-term Stress Relaxationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress relaxation and microstructural change in passivated Al(Cu) lines

Yeo

1996

Proceedings of International Reliability Physics Symposium RELPHY-96

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Relaxation of stresses in passivated AI lines can lead to void formation. Stress relaxation behavior of passivated Al(1 wt.% Cu) lines with 3, 1, and 0.5 pm linewidths has been studied by using a bending beam technique. Our data show that there are two distinct stress relaxation regimes: one due to dislocation glide which occurs during a short period of annealing, and the other due to stress-induced voiding during a long-term annealing. The short-term stress relaxation in AI(Cu) lines depends on both line geometq and temperature, which can be explained as a combined result of the driving force (effective shear stress) and mass transport kinetics (temperature). The long-term stress relaxation behavior can be correlated with stress-induced voiding.

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In situ transmission electron microscopy study of plastic deformation and stress-induced voiding in Al–Cu interconnects

Jawarani

Kawasaki

Yeo

et al. 1997

Journal of Applied Physics

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Plastic deformation in submicron wide Al-1 wt %Cu interconnects was studied in situ using a straining device in the transmission electron microscope. Dislocation motion occurred readily in unpassivated lines but was nonexistent in passivated lines due to the presence of stiff oxide sidewalls. Instead heterogeneous void nucleation occurred on straining to a critical limit. The void morphology was always near hemispherical and the nucleation always took place at the line edges. Further stretching of the lines led to a rupture of the sidewalls away from the lines, resulting in immediate dislocation motion. Void nucleation, cross slip, and operation of dislocation sources at line edges were all recorded on video. It was noted that dislocations almost parallel to the plane of the lines are rarely observed and furthermore, their movement is sluggish. Based on the dislocation configuration observed in these lines, a generalized geometrical model was arrived at in order to determine the significance of grain orientation on yield stress of passivated lines with columnar, bamboo grains. Frequent occurrence of twinning within the grains indicated that plastic deformation was indeed restricted in confined metal lines.

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Characterization of stress migration in sub-micron metal interconnects

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Linewidth dependence of stress relaxation and microstructural change in passivated Al(Cu) lines

Linewidth dependence of stress relaxation and microstructural change in passivated Al(Cu) lines

Stress relaxation and microstructural change in passivated Al(Cu) lines

In situ transmission electron microscopy study of plastic deformation and stress-induced voiding in Al–Cu interconnects

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