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Mechanical Characterization of Multilayer Thin Film Stacks Containing Porous Silica Using Nanoindentation and the Finite Element Method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Ke Li ,
Subrahmanya Mudhivarthi ,
Sunil Saigal  and
Ashok Kumar
Ke Li
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering
Subrahmanya Mudhivarthi
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering
Sunil Saigal
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering
Ashok Kumar
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Research Center, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33613, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Novel metal/dielectric material combinations are becoming increasingly important for reducing the resistance-capacitance (RC) interconnection delay within integrated circuits (ICs) as the device dimensions shrink to the sub-micron scale. Copper (Cu) is the material of choice for metal interconnects and SiO2 (with a dielectric constant k = ∼ 3.9) has been used as an interlevel dielectric material in the industry. To meet the demands of the international road map for semiconductors, materials with a significantly lower dielectric constant are needed. In this study, the effects of porosity and layer thicknesses on the mechanical properties of a multilayer thin film (Cu, Ta and SiO2)-substrate (Si) system are examined using nanoindentation and finite element (FE) simulations. A micromechanics model is first developed to predict the stress-strain relation of the porous silica based on the homogenization method for composite materials. An FE model is then generated and validated to perform a parametric study on nanoindentation of the Cu/Ta/SiO2/Si system aiming to predict the mechanical properties of the multilayer film stack.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 875: Symposium O – Thin Films - Stresses and Mechanical Properties XI , 2005 , O2.3
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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