Failure mechanisms of PVD Ta and ALD TaN barrier layers for Cu contact applications

2007 ◽  
Vol 84 (11) ◽  
pp. 2669-2674 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Zhao ◽  
Zs. Tőkei ◽  
A. Haider ◽  
S. Demuynck
Author(s):  
Jin Young Kim ◽  
R. E. Hummel ◽  
R. T. DeHoff

Gold thin film metallizations in microelectronic circuits have a distinct advantage over those consisting of aluminum because they are less susceptible to electromigration. When electromigration is no longer the principal failure mechanism, other failure mechanisms caused by d.c. stressing might become important. In gold thin-film metallizations, grain boundary grooving is the principal failure mechanism.Previous studies have shown that grain boundary grooving in gold films can be prevented by an indium underlay between the substrate and gold. The beneficial effect of the In/Au composite film is mainly due to roughening of the surface of the gold films, redistribution of indium on the gold films and formation of In2O3 on the free surface and along the grain boundaries of the gold films during air annealing.


Author(s):  
Robert C. Cieslinski ◽  
H. Craig Silvis ◽  
Daniel J. Murray

An understanding of the mechanical behavior polymers in the ductile-brittle transition region will result in materials with improved properties. A technique has been developed that allows the realtime observation of dynamic plane stress failure mechanisms in the transmission electron microscope. With the addition of a cryo-tensile stage, this technique has been extented to -173°C, allowing the observation of deformation during the ductile-brittle transition.The technique makes use of an annealed copper cartridge in which a thin section of bulk polymer specimen is bonded and plastically deformed in tension in the TEM using a screw-driven tensile stage. In contrast to previous deformation studies on solvent-cast films, this technique can examine the frozen-in morphology of a molded part.The deformation behavior of polypropylene and polypropylene impact modified with EPDM (ethylene-propylene diene modified) and PE (polyethylene) rubbers were investigated as function of temperature and the molecular weight of the impact modifier.


2003 ◽  
Vol 766 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Sekiguchi ◽  
J. Koike ◽  
K. Ueoka ◽  
J. Ye ◽  
H. Okamura ◽  
...  

AbstractAdhesion strength in sputter-deposited Cu thin films on various types of barrier layers was investigated by scratch test. The barrier layers were Ta1-xNx with varied nitrogen concentration of 0, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.5. Microstructure observation by TEM indicated that each layer consists of mixed phases of β;-Ta, bcc-TaN0.1, hexagonal-TaN, and fcc-TaN, depending on the nitrogen concentration. A sulfur- containing amorphous phase was also present discontinuously at the Cu/barrier interfaces in all samples. Scratch test showed that delamination occurred at the Cu/barrier interface and that the overall adhesion strength increased with increasing the nitrogen concentration. A good correlation was found between the measured adhesion strength and the composing phases in the barrier layer.


Author(s):  
Ng Sea Chooi ◽  
Chor Theam Hock ◽  
Ma Choo Thye ◽  
Khoo Poh Tshin ◽  
Dan Bockelman

Abstract Trends in the packaging of semiconductors are towards miniaturization and high functionality. The package-on-package(PoP) with increasing demands is beneficial in cost and space saving. The main failure mechanisms associated with PoP technology, including open joints and warpage, have created a lot of challenges for Assembly and Failure Analysis (FA). This paper outlines the sample preparation process steps to overcome the challenges to enable successful failure analysis and optical probing.


Author(s):  
Suk Min Kim ◽  
Jung Ho Lee ◽  
Jong Hak Lee ◽  
Hyung Ki Kim ◽  
Myung Sick Chang ◽  
...  

Abstract We report an analysis of a single shared column fail on DRAM technology using a nano-probing technique in this work. The electrical characteristics of the failed transistors show that the column fails were caused by two different failure mechanisms: abnormal contact and implant profiles. We believe that electrical analysis using nano-probing will be a powerful tool for non-visible failure analysis in the future because it is impossible to clearly reveal these two different failure mechanisms solely using physical failure methods.


Author(s):  
Z. G. Song ◽  
S. P. Neo ◽  
S. K. Loh ◽  
C. K. Oh

Abstract New process will introduce new failure mechanisms during microelectronic device manufacturing. Even if the same defect, its root causes can be different for different processes. For aluminum(Al)-tungsten(W) metallization, the root cause of metal bridging is quite simple and mostly it is blocked etch or under-etch. But, for copper damascene process, the root causes of metal bridging are complicated. This paper has discussed the various root causes of metal bridging for copper damascene process, such as those related to litho-etch issue, copper CMP issue, copper corrosion issue and so on.


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