Electromigration failure modes and Blech effect in single-inlaid Cu interconnects

Stacye R. Thrasher; Cristiano Capasso; Larry Zhao; Richard Hernandez; Peggy Mulski; Stewart Rose; Timothy Nguyen; Hisao Kawasaki

doi:10.1117/12.404869

23 October 2000 Electromigration failure modes and Blech effect in single-inlaid Cu interconnects

Stacye R. Thrasher, Cristiano Capasso, Larry Zhao, Richard Hernandez, Peggy Mulski, Stewart Rose, Timothy Nguyen, Hisao Kawasaki

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4229, Microelectronic Yield, Reliability, and Advanced Packaging; (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.404869
Event: International Symposium on Microelectronics and Assembly, 2000, Singapore, Singapore

Abstract

This work demonstrates that we can prevent electro migration failures in single-inlaid copper during DC electro migration testing by taking advantage of the Blech effect. This effect, also known as stres-induced backflow, was coined after IA Blech, who first reported this phenomenon for aluminum metal lines. As the metal ions move toward the anode end of the line, as stress build-up occurs opposing the electron wind, thus constrain the void growth. Therefore, a critical length exists for which no electro migration occurs for a specific current density in metal lines. This Blech effect is evident in lines short enough for the stress to fully inhibit the ovoid evolution. We performed electro migration testing of single-inlaid copper metal lines ranging from 5 to 250 micrometers in length. The testing was performed at 300 degrees C with a stress current density of 1.4 X 10⁶ A/cm². The shorter lines did not show any resistance increase even after hundreds of hours of testing, while the longer lines failed at the same time, independent of the line length. The critical product, was calculated to be between 2800 and 3500 A/cm at 300 degrees C for single-inlaid copper.

Citation Download Citation

Stacye R. Thrasher, Cristiano Capasso, Larry Zhao, Richard Hernandez, Peggy Mulski, Stewart Rose, Timothy Nguyen, and Hisao Kawasaki "Electromigration failure modes and Blech effect in single-inlaid Cu interconnects", Proc. SPIE 4229, Microelectronic Yield, Reliability, and Advanced Packaging, (23 October 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.404869

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