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Experimental Characterization of the Reliability of Multi-Terminal Dual-Damascene Copper Interconnect Trees

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

C. L. Gan ,
C.V. Thompson ,
K. L. Pey ,
W. K. Choi ,
C. W. Chang  and
Q. Guo
C. L. Gan
Affiliation:
Advanced Materials for Micro- and Nano-Systems Programme, Singapore-MIT Alliance, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576.
C.V. Thompson
Affiliation:
Advanced Materials for Micro- and Nano-Systems Programme, Singapore-MIT Alliance, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
K. L. Pey
Affiliation:
Advanced Materials for Micro- and Nano-Systems Programme, Singapore-MIT Alliance, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576. School of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798.
W. K. Choi
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576.
C. W. Chang
Affiliation:
Advanced Materials for Micro- and Nano-Systems Programme, Singapore-MIT Alliance, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576.
Q. Guo
Affiliation:
Institute of Microelectronics, 11 Science Park Road, Singapore 117685.
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Abstract

The reliability of Cu dual-damascene interconnect trees with 3-terminal (dotted-I), 4-terminal (‘T’) and 5-terminal (‘+’) configurations has been investigated. The lifetime of multiterminal interconnect trees with the same current density through the common middle via was determined to be independent of the number of segments connected at the common junction. Furthermore, our experimental results on dotted-I test structures showed an increase in the reliability of the interconnect tree when the distribution of a same current was not equal in the two connected segments, especially for the cases where one of the segments was acting as a passive reservoir or active source of Cu atoms for the adjoining segment. Due to the low barrier for void nucleation at the Cu/Si3N4 interface, the presence of any small atomic source in neighboring segments will enhance the reliability of a connected segment in which Cu atoms are being drained away. As a consequence, failure can occur in a tree segment which is stressed at significantly lower current densities than more highly stressed adjoining segments.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 766: Symposium E – Materials, Technology and Reliability for Advanced Interconnects and Low-k Dielectrics - 2003 , 2003 , E1.5
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2003

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References

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