Defect and electromigration characterization of a two level copper interconnect

Parikh, S.; Educato, J. L.; Wang, A.; Zheng, Baolong; Wijekoon, K.; Chen, J.; Rana, Vijaya; Cheung, R.; Dixit, G.

doi:10.1109/iitc.2001.930054

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…The Mean Time To Failure (MTTF) t 50 was calculated choosing as failure criterion a +2% increase in the original resistance, and not the traditional +20% used for aluminum interconnects. This was done in order to take into account the damage repair phenomenon; a +20% threshold would have overlooked it [7]. The stress condition was a current density J ranging from 3.7MA/cm 2 to 4.5MA/cm 2 at a temperature of 227C and 250C.…”

Section: B Measurement Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electromigration-aware design

Stan

2009

2009 European Conference on Circuit Theory and Design

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The most common wearout phenomena that impact reliability are: metal electromigration (EM), time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), hot carrier induced damage (HCID), negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) and thermal cycling. This paper focuses on electromigration and proposes two novel solutions. The first is the use of routing (or slotted) vias for improving electromigration performance for dual damascene copper interconnect without increasing the lateral dimensions of the wires. The second is the use of electromigration "reliability sensors" in order to detect impending failure of interconnect. The proposed solutions show good results in simulations and measurements of test structures.

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Section: B Measurement Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electromigration-aware design

Stan

2009

2009 European Conference on Circuit Theory and Design

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“…The importance of a pre-clean e.g. a NH, -or NH, M,-plasma treatment, has been highlighted also by Lloyd et al [2,5,6] . The key point here is to remove a Cu-oxide film that has possibly formed on the copper surface before the cap-layer deposition [7] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The Influence of The SIN Cap Process on The Voltage Breakdown and Electromigration Performance of Dual Damascene Cu Interconnects

Cao¹,

Xing

Xu³

et al. 2011

ECS Trans.

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The influence of the SiN cap-layer deposition process including different pre-clean treatments on the voltage breakdown (VBD) and electromigration (EM) behavior of copper dual damascene metallization has been studied. A remarkable improvement for voltage breakdown and electromigration were revealed depending primarily on the pre-clean treatment before cap-layer deposition rather than the deposition process itself.On one hand an "aggressive" pre-clean treatment yields improved Cu/SiN-interface properties with higher electromigration failure times and activation energies (1.23 ... 1.27eV). On the other hand these pre-clean treatments were found to induce voltage breakdown failures because of the redundant Cu/Cu 2+ or Copper Silicide defects induced in the Dielectric (FSG)/SiN-interface during the plasma pre-clean treatment. The micro damage on surface and copper Silicide was found to increase with the pre-clean intensity. In contrast, No VBD risk is related to "less aggressive" pre-clean treatments.The results indicate the need to adjust the SIN cap-layer process parameters with respect to both VBD&EM performance to meet the overall reliability requirements. INTRODUCTIONThe interface between the copper and the capping layer is to be the dominant diffusion pathway in copper dual damascene interconnects. Therefore, the properties of this particular interface play a key role for wear-out mechanisms such as electro-migration and voltage breakdown, limiting the life time of complex integrated copper interconnect systems.SIN-and Sic-based films are widely used as capping materials for copper interconnects. It has been published in several studies that the EM life time depends on the adhesion behavior, i.e. the sticking coefficient between cap-layer and copper surface. Good adhesion and hence large EM life times are enabled by a tightly bonded interface which suppresses the migration along this pathway. In contrast, a poorly adhering interface would correspond with enhanced diffusion and lower EM life times

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“…interface [133,134]. Hydrogen plasma treatment is known to form hydride on the Cu surface with no change in microstructure [135,136] and to clean the Cu surface [135] providing better adhesion between Cu and subsequently deposited Si3N4 dielectric cap layer.…”

Section: Effect Of Widthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study higher lifetime was observed for passivated interconnects, but the activation energy was lower. Also, improvement due to NH3 treatment after CMP is suggested[98]. In reference[99] a novel selfassembled ZrN cap technology to replace dielectric-cap layer is reported.…”

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confidence: 99%

Study of electromigration-induced voiding mechanisms in Cu interconnects

Vairagar¹

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Defect and electromigration characterization of a two level copper interconnect

Cited by 12 publications

References 1 publication

Electromigration-aware design

Electromigration-aware design

The Influence of The SIN Cap Process on The Voltage Breakdown and Electromigration Performance of Dual Damascene Cu Interconnects

Study of electromigration-induced voiding mechanisms in Cu interconnects

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