Title: Damage mechanics of electromigration in microelectronics copper interconnects

Authors: Cemal Basaran, Minghui Lin

Addresses: Electronic Packaging Laboratory, University at Buffalo, SUNY, New York, USA. ' Electronic Packaging Laboratory, University at Buffalo, SUNY, New York, USA

Abstract: Current density levels are expected to increase by orders of magnitude in nanoelectronics. Electromigration which occur under high current density is the major concern for the nanoelectronics industry. Using a general purpose computational model, which is capable of simulating coupled electromigration and thermo-mechanical stress evolution, several dual damascene copper interconnect structures have been investigated for electromigration damage. Different diffusion boundary conditions including blocking and non-blocking boundary conditions, current crowding effects, interface diffusion effects and material plasticity have been considered. Different damage criteria are used for quantifying material degradation. The computational simulation results match the experimental findings; therefore the model proves to be a useful tool for quantifying damage in nanoelectronics interconnects.

Keywords: electromigration; copper interconnects; thin film; damage mechanics; microelectronics; nanoelectronics; simulation; modelling; thermomechanical stress; boundary conditions; crowding; interface diffusion; material plasticity; materials degradation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMSI.2007.013864

International Journal of Materials and Structural Integrity, 2007 Vol.1 No.1/2/3, pp.16 - 39

Published online: 31 May 2007 *

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