Thermal fatigue testing of thin metal films

Mönig, Reiner; Keller, Robert R.; Volkert, Cynthia A.

doi:10.1063/1.1809260

Cited by 86 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The decrease in temperature along the length of the line is due to the bond-pad area acting as a heat sink in addition to the line-substrate heat flow. Both results were in agreement with FEA results (Mönig et al, 2004).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 93%

“…The new measurement technique, described elsewhere (Keller et al, 2002;Mönig et al, 2004), imposes strains in patterned metal lines adhered to Si substrates through mismatched coefficients of thermal expansion between the lines and the substrate. Knowledge of the spatial-and timeresolved thermal state of the test line provides information about the strain distribution in the specimens, a key factor in the test method.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatially and temporally resolved thermal imaging of cyclically heated interconnects by use of scanning thermal microscopy

Barbosa

Slifka

2008

Microscopy Res & Technique

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A scanning thermal microscope with a Wollaston probe was used to investigate the spatial distribution and temporal variation of temperature in interconnect structures subjected to thermal cycling. The probe, utilized in passive temperature sensing mode, was calibrated from 20 degrees C to 200 degrees C using a single-layer aluminum microdevice. Spatial measurements were performed on nonpassivated aluminum interconnects sinusoidally heated by a 6 MA/cm(2) current at 200 Hz. The interconnects were determined to have temperatures that decreased with position from a maximum located at the center of both the interconnect length and width. Time-resolved temperature measurements were performed on the same structures sinusoidally heated by a 6 MA/cm(2) current at 2 Hz. Both the peak-cycle temperature and average-cycle temperature were found to decrease with increasing distance from the center of the width of the interconnects.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatially and temporally resolved thermal imaging of cyclically heated interconnects by use of scanning thermal microscopy

Barbosa

Slifka

2008

Microscopy Res & Technique

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“…The surface failure evolution of the Au interconnects in this paper are compared with the works of Mönig et al, 8 Park et al, 9 and Moreau et al 11 for the Cu interconnects. The strong surface roughness with visible extensive grain growth and wrinkles producing in their thick and wide Cu interconnects are not observed in the present ultrathin and ultrafine Au interconnects.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Besides, a failure based on dislocation slide fatigue mechanism does also not appear in our experiments, demonstrating the existing conclusion that the thinner metal interconnects will exhibit diffusive fatigue rather than dislocation slide under relatively larger current density. 8 In addition, the electromigration-induced damage is not considered in the paper. Because the typical characteristics of electromigration 16 which is the transport of material, such as voids, hillocks, and whiskers, are not found in topographical SEM images of the tested lines.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alternating-current induced thermal fatigue of gold interconnects with nanometer-scale thickness and width

Sun

Ling

2011

Review of Scientific Instruments

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A technique for contactless measurement of water temperature using Stokes and anti-Stokes comparative Raman spectroscopy Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 033105 (2012) Creating a high temperature environment at high pressure in a gas piston cylinder apparatus Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 014501 (2012) Pressure-driven capillary viscometer: Fundamental challenges in transient flow viscometry Rev. Sci. Instrum. 82, 125111 (2011) Note: Signal conditioning of a hot-film anemometer for a periodic flow rate monitoring system Rev. Sci. Instrum. 82, 126109 (2011) Airfoil sampling of a pulsed Laval beam with tunable vacuum ultraviolet synchrotron ionization quadrupole mass spectrometry: Application to low-temperature kinetics and product detection Rev. Sci. Instrum. 82, 124102 (2011) Additional information on Rev. Sci. Instrum. With dramatic reduction in sizes of microelectronic devices, the characteristic width and thickness of interconnects in large-scale integrated circuits have reached nanometer scale. Thermal fatigue damage of so small interconnects has attracted more and more attentions. In this work, thermal fatigue of Au interconnects, 35 nm thick and 0.1-5 μm wide, is investigated by applying various alternating current densities to generate cycling temperature and strain in them. A multi-probe measuring system is installed in a scanning electron microscope and a probe-type temperature sensor is for the first time introduced into the system for real-time measuring the temperatures on the pads of the tested interconnects. A one-dimensional heat conduction equation, which uses measured temperatures on the pads as boundary conditions and includes a term of heat dissipation through the interface between the interconnect and the oxidized silicon substrate, is proposed to calculate the time-resolved temperature distribution along the Au interconnects. The measured fatigue lifetimes are presented versus current density and thermal cyclic strain, and the results show that narrower Au lines are more reliable. The failure mechanism of those Au interconnects differs from what is observed in thick interconnects with relatively larger grain size. Topography change caused by localized plasticity on the less-constrained surfaces of the interconnects have not been observed. Instead, grain growing and reorienting due to local temperature varying appear, and grain boundary migration and mergence take place during high temperature fatigue in such thin and narrow interconnects. These results seem to reflect a strain-induced boundary migration mechanism, and the damage morphology also suggests that fatigue of the interconnects with decreased grain size and film thickness is controlled by diffusive mechanisms and interface properties rather than by dislocation glide. Open circuit eventually took place by melting at a region of severely damage cross-sectional area with the grain growing and reorienting.

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