Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-s22k5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-14T02:32:40.362Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Micromechanics Measurements Applied to Integrated Circuit Microelectronics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

David R. Clarke
David R. Clarke*
Affiliation:
Materials Department, College of Engineering University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 91360–[email protected]
Get access

Abstract

As in other engineered structures, fracture occasionally occurs in integrated microelectronic circuits. Fracture can take a number of forms including voiding of metallic interconnect lines, decohesion of interfaces, and stress-induced microcracking of thin films. The characteristic feature that distinguishes such fracture phenomena from similar behaviors in other engineered structures is the length scales involved, typically micron and sub-micron. This length scale necessitates new techniques for measuring mechanical and fracture properties. In this work, we describe non-contact optical techniques for probing strains and a microscopic “decohesion” test for measuring interface fracture resistance in integrated circuits.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 473: Symposium J – Materials Reliability in Microelectronics VII , 1997 , 27
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. DeWolf, I., Vanhellemont, J., Romano-Rodriquez, A., Norstrom, H. and Maes, H. E., Micro-Raman, E. study of stress distribution in local isolation structures and correlation with transmission electron microscopy. J. App. Phys. 71 898–906 (1992).Google Scholar
2. Ma, Q., Chiras, S., Clarke, D. R. and Suo, Z., High resolution determination of the stresses in individual interconnect lines and the variation due to electromigration. J. App. Phys. 78 1614–1622 (1995).Google Scholar
3. Ma, Q. and Clarke, D. R., Stress measurement in single and polycrystalline ceramics using their optical fluorescence. J. Am. Cerarti. Soc., 76 1433–1440 (1993).Google Scholar
4. Wen, Q., Ma, Q. and Clarke, D. R., In-situ fluorescence strain sensing of the stress in interconnects, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc, 356 591–596 (1995).Google Scholar
5. He, M. Y., Lipkin, J., Clarke, D. R., Evans, A. G. and Tenhover, M., Residual stresses in dielectrics caused by metallization lines and pads. Acta Mater. 44 2353–2359 (1996).Google Scholar
6. He, J. and Clarke, D. R., Determination of the piezospectroscopic coefficients of chromium doped sapphire. J. Am. Ceram. Soc, 78 1347–1353 (1995).Google Scholar
7. Wen, Q., PhD Thesis, University of California, Santa Barbara (1996).Google Scholar
8. Bagchi, A., Lucas, G. E., Suo, Z. and Evans, A. G., A new procedure for measuring the decohesion energy for thin ductile films on substrates. J. Mater. Res. 9 1734–1741 (1994).Google Scholar
9. Xu, G., Ragan, D. D., Clarke, D. R., He, M. Y., Ma, Q. and Fujimoto, H., Measurement of the Fracture Energy of SiO2/TiN Interfaces Using the Residually-Stressed Thin-Film Micro-Strip Test, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 458 In Press.Google Scholar
10. Ma, Q., Fujimoto, H., Flinn, P., Jain, V., Adibi-Rizi, F., Moghadam, F. and Dauskardt, R., Quantitative measurement of interface fracture energy in multilayer thin-film structures. Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 391 91–96 (1995).Google Scholar
11. He, M. Y., Xu, G., Clarke, D. R., Ma, Q. and Fujimoto, H., The Energy Release Rate for Decohesion in Thin Multilayered Films on Substrates, These proceedings.Google Scholar