Investigation of electromigration properties and plasma charging damages for plasma treatment process in Cu interconnects

Abstract

This work reported the electrical performance impact of plasma treatment prior to the dielectric deposition of 0.13pm Copper dual damascene process. The experiment showed the sequence of plasma treatment process dominated electromigration (EM) immunity. On the contrast, the antenna effect experiment indicated that the superiority of electromigration immunity was paid for the degeneracy of plasma induced charging damages. An optimal solution between electromigration immunity and threshold voltage shifts induced by plasma charging damages was proposed.

Comparison of H2and NH3Treatments for Copper Interconnects

“…NH 3 and H 2 plasma treatments are used in current Cu metallization as both generate H species, which can remove the Cu oxide layer from the Cu surface by an oxidation-reduction reaction [10]. Many studies have investigated the effects of NH 3 and H 2 plasma treatments on EM lifetime [11][12][13]. All such studies have revealed that these plasma treatments improve EM reliability of Cu lines.…”