High Amplitude AC Tests of 300-nm Damascene Interconnect Structures

Published

April 1, 2007

Author(s)

David T. Read, Roy H. Geiss, Glenn Alers

Abstract

The AC fatigue test technique, which uses cyclic joule heating to apply thermal cycles to thin-film structures, was applied to copper lines and vias in damascene dielectric structures on silicon substrates. Specimen chips with two different types of dielectric, oxide and low-k, were tested. The lines were 300 nm wide; various via widths were tested. At 100 Hz, cyclic temperature ranges from 400 to 900 degrees C produced line lifetimes between 10 and 1 million seconds. Similar lifetimes were reached in the vias for temperature ranges between 100 and 500 degrees C. The data were plotted as number of load reversals to failure against cyclic temperature range; the data trends for the two different types of dielectric were indistinguishable. When the line data were fit to the Basquin equation for mechanical fatigue, the temperature ranges for both dielectrics at the 1-reversal intercept were above 1000 degrees C. The via data were more scattered, but trended toward a lower intercept temperature.

Proceedings Title

Materials Research Society Conference Proceedings: Materials, Processes, Integration, and Reliability

Conference Dates

April 9-13, 2007

Conference Location

San Francisco, CA, USA

Conference Title

2007 Materials Research Society Spring Meeting

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

copper, damascene, fatigue, interconnect, microelectronics, reliability, strain, stress, temperature

Citation

Read, D. , Geiss, R. and Alers, G. (2007), High Amplitude AC Tests of 300-nm Damascene Interconnect Structures, Materials Research Society Conference Proceedings: Materials, Processes, Integration, and Reliability, San Francisco, CA, USA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=50519 (Accessed April 16, 2024)