Modeling Extreme Bottom-Up Filling of Through Silicon Vias

Published

August 29, 2012

Author(s)

Daniel Josell, Daniel Wheeler, Thomas P. Moffat

Abstract

Extreme bottom-up superfilling of through silicon vias (TSV) was recently described wherein deposition occurs on the bottom surface of the vias with negligible deposition on their sidewalls or the field around them. The process uses a deposition suppressing additive whose deposition-blocking adsorbate is subject to breakdown through the metal deposition reaction. Positive feedback associated with this suppressor disruption coupled with resistive electrolyte losses decouples the interface potential from the applied potential and underlies the bottom-up feature filling dynamic. A simple pseudo steady state model that links suppressor disruption with voltage drop between the reference and working electrodes in resistive electrolytes is shown to capture essential aspects of the bottom-up filling process. Understanding the coupling of potential and additive concentration gradients provides a rational design strategy for bottom-up filling of recessed surface features that offers to minimize unneeded deposition on the substrate surface thereby permitting substantially decreased fill times and more efficient materials utilization.

Citation

Journal of the Electrochemical Society

Pub Type

Journals

Citation

Josell, D. , Wheeler, D. and Moffat, T. (2012), Modeling Extreme Bottom-Up Filling of Through Silicon Vias, Journal of the Electrochemical Society (Accessed January 30, 2026)