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Effects of microstructure on the formation, shape, and motion of voids during electromigration in passivated copper interconnects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Z-S. Choi ,
R. Mönig  and
C.V. Thompson
Z-S. Choi
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
R. Mönig
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
C.V. Thompson
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
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Abstract

In situ scanning electron microscope observations have been performed on passivated damascene Cu interconnect segments of different widths during accelerated electromigration tests. In some cases, voids form and grow at the cathode. However, an alternative failure mode is also observed, during which voids form distant from the cathode end of the interconnect segment and drift toward the cathode, where they eventually lead to failure. The number of observations of this failure mode increased with increasing linewidth. During void motion, the shape and the velocity of the drifting voids varied significantly. Postmortem electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis was performed after in situ testing, and a correlation of EBSD data with the in situ observations reveals that locations at which voids form, their shape evolution, and their motion all strongly depend on the locations of grain boundaries and the crystallographic orientations of neighboring grains.

Keywords

ElectromigrationMicrostructureTexture
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , February 2008 , pp. 383 - 391
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2007

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