The effect of current density and stripe length on resistance saturation during electromigration testing

Filippi, R.; Wachnik, R.; Aochi, H.; Lloyd, J. R.; Korhonen, M. A.

doi:10.1063/1.117521

Cited by 52 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The importance of EM is largely due to the fact that it is the most common mechanism of failure of the metallic interconnects present in any electronic device. 1-3 As a consequence, a huge number of experimental [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] and theoretical [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] studies have been and are yet devoted to the subject, especially in the context of modern nanoelectronics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The geometry of the line plays a crucial role on the EM damage. 1-3, 9,27 In fact, the depletion and accumulation of mass in different regions of the film, under the driving force exerted by the electronic current, determines the growth of mechanical stress gradients. The last ones give rise to an atomic back-flow which contrasts the EM process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biased resistor network model for electromigration failure and related phenomena in metallic lines

et al. 2004

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Electromigration phenomena in metallic lines are studied by using a biased resistor network model. The void formation induced by the electron wind is simulated by a stochastic process of resistor breaking, while the growth of mechanical stress inside the line is described by an antagonist process of recovery of the broken resistors. The model accounts for the existence of temperature gradients due to current crowding and Joule heating. Alloying effects are also accounted for. Monte Carlo simulations allow the study within a unified theoretical framework of a variety of relevant features related to the electromigration. The predictions of the model are in excellent agreement with the experiments and in particular with the degradation towards electrical breakdown of stressed Al-Cu thin metallic lines. Detailed investigations refer to the damage pattern, the distribution of the times to failure (TTFs), the generalized Black's law, the time evolution of the resistance, including the early-stage change due to alloying effects and the electromigration saturation appearing at low current densities or for short line lengths. The dependence of the TTFs on the length and width of the metallic line is also well reproduced. Finally, the model successfully describes the resistance noise properties under steady state conditions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biased resistor network model for electromigration failure and related phenomena in metallic lines

et al. 2004

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“…Resistance saturation was first demonstrated experimentally by Filippi and co-workers. 6,7 and for Al technology (jL) crit,∆R is about 4000A/cm. 6 …”

Section: B Immortality Due To Resistance Saturationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Length Effects on the Reliability of Dual-Damascene Cu Interconnects

et al. 2002

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Abstract--The effects of interconnect length on the reliability of dual-damascene Cu metallization have been investigated. As in Al-based interconnects, the lifetimes of Cu lines increase with decreasing length. However, unlike Al-based interconnects, no critical length exists, below which all Cu lines are 'immortal'. Furthermore, we found multi-modal failure statistics for long lines, suggesting multiple failure mechanisms. Some long Cu interconnect segments have very large lifetimes, whereas in Al segments, lifetimes decrease continuously with increasing line length. It is postulated that the large lifetimes observed in long Cu lines result from liner rupture at the bottom of the vias, which allows continuous flow of Cu between the two bond pads. As a consequence, the average lifetimes of short lines and long lines can be higher than those of lines with intermediate lengths.

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“…The criterion for immortality, (jL) cr , is an important parameter in IC layout design. Immortality has been demonstrated for Al-based metallization systems [2][3] and has also been recently reported for Cu interconnects [4][5][6], though with a wide range of values from 1500 A/cm to 3700 A/cm, depending on the structure of the interconnects. In addition, Cu-based interconnects are sometimes said to have a 'probabilistic' immortality that is dependent on the location of the void formation [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Mortality Dependence of Cu Dual Damascene Interconnects on Adjacent Segment

Chang¹,

Gan

Thompson

et al. 2004

MRS Proc.

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Three terminal ‘dotted-I’ interconnect structures, with vias at both ends and an additional via in the middle, were tested under a variety of test conditions. Failures (mortalities) were observed even when segments were tested under conditions that would not have led to failure in two-terminal structures. Mortalities were found in right segments with jL values as low as 1250 A/cm, which is lower when compared to the immortality condition (jL)cr of 3700 A/cm reported for similar via-terminated structures. Moreover, we found that the mortality of a dotted-I segment is dependent on the direction and magnitude of the current in the adjacent segment. These results suggest that there is not a definite value of the jL product that defines true immortality in individual segments that are part of an interconnect tree. More importantly, the critical jL value for a single segment of Cu interconnects may be reduced or increased by an adjacent segment. Therefore independently determined (jL)cr values cannot be directly applied to interconnects with branched segments, but rather the magnitude as well as the direction of the current flow in the adjoining segments must be taken into consideration in evaluating the immortality of interconnect segments in an interconnect network.

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The effect of current density and stripe length on resistance saturation during electromigration testing

Cited by 52 publications

References 4 publications

Biased resistor network model for electromigration failure and related phenomena in metallic lines

Biased resistor network model for electromigration failure and related phenomena in metallic lines

Length Effects on the Reliability of Dual-Damascene Cu Interconnects

Mortality Dependence of Cu Dual Damascene Interconnects on Adjacent Segment

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