Electromigration in integrated circuit interconnects studied by X-ray microscopy

Schneider, Gerd; Denbeaux, Gregory; Anderson, Erik H.; Bates, W.; Salmassi, Farhad; Nachimuthu, Ponnusamy; Pearson, A.; Richardson, Dylan; Hambach, D.; Hoffmann, Nadine; Haße, W; Hoffmann, K.

doi:10.1016/s0168-583x(02)01565-3

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…However, for failure localization the whole die or at least a part of the die has to be thinned. Wet etch using acid mixtures is one approach to thin Si substrates homogeneously [40,41]. Even considering that it is more difficult to fabricate X-ray optical elements for hard X-rays (thicker zone plates are needed which requires higher aspect ratios of the zone structures), spatial resolutions down to 30 nm have already been reported [42].…”

Section: X-ray Microscopy and X-ray Tomographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Nano-Scale Analysis Using Synchrotron-Radiation: Applications in the Semiconductor Industry

Zschech¹,

Geisler²,

Rinderknecht³

et al. 2008

CNANO

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In semiconductor industry, process control and physical failure analysis were dominated by light and electron microscopy as well as surface analysis techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) until the end of the last century. During the past decade, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray reflectivity (XRR) have been successfully applied in out-of-fab analytical labs. In addition to XRF and TXRF, some additional X-ray techniques -e.g. XRD, XRR and XPS -have been moved or are in the process to be moved from lab-based studies to in-line applications, using cleanroom compatible thin film characterization tools in wafer fabs. Lab-based smallangle X-ray scattering (SAXS) tools are applicable for pore size characterization in porous thin films. Advanced transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) and X-ray computed tomography (XCT) systems with sub-100 nm resolution are currently being evaluated for their use in out-of-fab analytical labs. Apart from the on-site use of laboratory X-ray sources, synchrotron-radiation sources have been used in all fields of X-ray techniques: diffraction (SR-XRD), spectroscopy (SR-XPS, XAFS) and microscopy (SR-TXM/XCT). The high brightness and collimation of SR beams provide unique possibilities, e.g. for in-situ X-ray microdiffraction, photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM) and in-situ TXM/XCT.In this paper, we demonstrate the high potential of the X-ray techniques for semiconductor industry, we describe potential implementations of these techniques for current and future applications, particularly for advanced process development and process monitoring, and we provide an outlook showing that we are living in a decade which is characterized by a breakthrough in the industrial application of Xray techniques. The application focus of this review is on the study of two types of nanostructures with typical dimensions less than 100 nm: artificial nanolayers and nanostructures caused by thin film deposition and patterning (litho/etch) processes as well as nanostructured materials, i. e. thin film materials with a "sub-structure" on sub-100 nm length scale.

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Section: X-ray Microscopy and X-ray Tomographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Nano-Scale Analysis Using Synchrotron-Radiation: Applications in the Semiconductor Industry

Zschech¹,

Geisler²,

Rinderknecht³

et al. 2008

CNANO

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“…The X-ray beam penetrates the sample through this trench. Figures 6(A-E) shows a sequence of X-ray micrographs of a copper via/line interconnect structure, which were captured with 40 nm lateral resolution at 1.8 keV photon energy during an in-situ electromigration experiment [15,16]. The via was stressed at a temperature of about 150°C at a current density of about 3 x 10 7 A/cm 2 .…”

Section: Materials Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Soft X‐ray Microcopy at the ALS

Denbeaux

Fischer

Schneider

et al. 2003

Synchrotron Radiation News

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“…Metal is the main interconnecting material in integrated circuits (ICs) [1]. Due to its good mechanical, thermal and optical properties, it is also widely used as the structural material in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabricating metal structures with taper angles and smooth sidewalls

Fu¹,

Li²,

He³

et al. 2017

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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Metal structures with taper angles and smooth sidewalls are very useful in theoretical analyses. In this study, an approach for implementing this kind of metal structure is developed, and an analytical model is discussed in detail. Using this method, an experimental investigation on plasma etching of Mo is conducted. By optimizing the process parameters, Mo lines with taper angles that can be adjusted from 15°–90° are achieved, and the minimum sidewall roughness is 0.8 nm.

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Electromigration in integrated circuit interconnects studied by X-ray microscopy

Cited by 7 publications

References 9 publications

Nano-Scale Analysis Using Synchrotron-Radiation: Applications in the Semiconductor Industry

Nano-Scale Analysis Using Synchrotron-Radiation: Applications in the Semiconductor Industry

Soft X‐ray Microcopy at the ALS

Fabricating metal structures with taper angles and smooth sidewalls

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