Publication
Journal of Applied Physics
Paper

Electromigration in Al(Cu) two-level structures: Effect of Cu and kinetics of damage formation

View publication

Abstract

The electromigration characteristics and kinetics of damage formation for Al(Cu,Si) line segments on a continuous W line and Al(Cu)/W two-level interconnect structures have been investigated. The mass transport as a function of temperature was measured using a drift-velocity technique. The flux divergence at the line/stud contact was found to be responsible for formation of open failure in the interconnect structure, as shown by a direct correlation observed between mass depletion at the contact and resistance increase of the line/stud chain. The depletion of Al at the stud contact is preceded by an incubation period during which Cu is swept out a threshold distance from the cathode of the line. This leads to a damage formation process which is controlled by both Cu electromigration along grain boundaries and dissolution of the Al2Cu precipitates. This is distinctly different from single-level interconnects measured using a conventional electromigration test site. Measurements of the mean failure lifetime in the two-level interconnect yield an activation energy of 0.58 eV for Al, in contrast to 0.78 and 0.83 eV for Al(0.5 wt % Cu) and Al(2 wt % Cu), respectively. The activation energies of the electromigration drift velocity were found to be 0.86 and 0.68 eV for Cu and Al in Al(2 wt % Cu, 3 wt % Si), respectively. These results enable one to infer that the kinetic process is controlled by electromigration of Cu along grain boundaries instead of by dissolution of the Al2Cu precipitates.

Date

Publication

Journal of Applied Physics

Authors

Share