Crystallographic orientation of aluminum whiskers formed by electromigration using transmission electron microscopy

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 370-371
Author(s):  
D. R. Kitchen ◽  
S. L. Linder ◽  
R. E. Omlor ◽  
P. F. Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Integrated Circuit ◽  
Crystallographic Orientation ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Device Performance ◽  
Aluminum Films ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Current Densities ◽  
Short Circuits ◽  
Multi Level

Electromigration is a well known phenomenon in the aluminum films of an integrated circuit and occurs at elevated temperatures under the influence of current densities exceeding 10 amps/cm2. The failure modes are characteristically cracks, voids or hillocks in the metal lines, causing open-circuits. The majority of research in the electromigration of aluminum conductors examines the formation of these voids and hillocks in the linestripes. This is unfortunate since experiments have shown that short-circuits caused by whisker formation between adjacent stripes or between multi-level structures can be equally damaging to device performance. Most previous work has involved examining whiskers grown by annealing, however, very little work has been carried out on whiskers produced by electromigration. In this investigation aluminum whiskers formed by electromigration were studied with a transmission electron microsope to determine their crystallographic orientation.

Sample Preparation of Aluminum Bridge Test Vehicles for Tem In-Situ Crystallographic Studies of Electromigration

1987 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. E. Rhoden ◽  
J. V. Maskowitz ◽  
D. R. Kitchen ◽  
R. E. Omlor ◽  
P. F. Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Integrated Circuit ◽  
Circuit Reliability ◽  
Test Vehicle ◽  
Aluminum Films ◽  
Current Densities ◽  
Integrated Circuit Reliability ◽  
A Current

IntroductionElectromigration in aluminum films has been identified as an increasing concern for integrated circuit reliability. Electromigration is the mass transport of atoms in a conductor under a current stress. Electromigration occurs in conductors experiencing current densities greater than 105 A/cm2 and is accelerated by high temperature. The damage to aluminum films manifests itself in the formation of voids, hillocks and whiskers along the conductor. This paper presents a test vehicle preparation procedure which can be used to investigate electromigration.

In situ STEM observations of electromigration on thin aluminum stripes

1986 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 740-741
Author(s):  
J. V. Maskowitz ◽  
W. E. Rhoden ◽  
D. R. Kitchen ◽  
R. E. Omlor ◽  
P. F. Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Integrated Circuit ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Circuit Reliability ◽  
Vlsi Technology ◽  
Thin Aluminum ◽  
Current Densities ◽  
Short Circuits ◽  
A Current

The existence of electromigration in thin films has been acknowledged since the early sixties. Electromigration is described as the main transport for atoms in a conductor under a current stress. Initial interest had been of a theoretical nature as electromigration had little impact on circuit reliability. With the maturing of Very Large Scale Integrated Circuit (VLSI) technology, current densities are exceeding 106 Amps/cm2 while linestripes are reaching into the submicron range. In this environment, electromigration can cause unwanted open or short circuits in thin films. This has serious implications on the reliability of any integrated circuit. By 1990, millions of transistors may be fabricated on a chip with feature sizes smaller than the wavelength of visible light.

Strain Field Distribution in Submicron Devices by TEM/CBED. A European Project

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1076-1077
Author(s):  
A Armigliato ◽  
R Balboni ◽  
G P Carnevale ◽  
P Colpani ◽  
S Frabboni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Distribution ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Integrated Circuit ◽  
Strain Field ◽  
Local Stress ◽  
Device Performance ◽  
Simulation Tools ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Electron Diffraction Technique ◽  
Convergent Beam

It is now widely accepted that one of the major issues for the future deep sub-micron integrated circuit (IC) technologies regarding yield, device performance and stability and device and product reliability, is the mechanical stress built up in the layers and substrate. It is therefore important to give a quantitative account of these stresses and this can only be achieved by disposing of reliable, performant (as to spatial resolution) and quantitative techniques for the local stress determination in the substrate, of adequate and dedicated process simulation tools and of sensitive methods to analyse the stress effects on device performance.The only experimental technique presently available which allows the strain field distribution in sub-micron CMOS devices is the convergent beam electron diffraction technique of the transmission electron microscopy. Its sensitivity is of the order of 10-4 and its spatial resolution is of 1 nm if a TEM/FEG is employed.

High-temperature oxidation of CoGa: Influence of the crystallographic orientation on the oxidation rate

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 2489-2498 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Koops ◽  
D. Hesse ◽  
M. Martin
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Crystallographic Orientation ◽  
High Temperature Oxidation ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Electron Backscatter Diffraction ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Temperature Oxidation ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Backscatter Diffraction

The crystallographic orientation plays an important role in high-temperature oxidation of the intermetallic compound CoGa. When CoGa is exposed to air at elevated temperatures, the oxide β–Ga2O3 is formed, and different scale growth rates are observed, depending on the crystallographic orientation of the CoGa grains. This dependence is a consequence of the anisotropy of the gallium diffusion rate through the β–Ga2O3 scale and of a topotaxial orientation relationship occurring between β–Ga2O3 and CoGa. The combination of ex situ techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction with optical microscopy, applied in situ resulted in a thorough understanding of these relations and of the oxidation process in general.

Characterization of RF Sputtered ZnO Piezoelectric Films Using Transmission Electron Microscope

1975 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 86-87
Author(s):  
Kemining W. Yeh ◽  
Richard S. Muller ◽  
Wei-Kuo Wu ◽  
Jack Washburn
Keyword(s):  
Integrated Circuit ◽  
Acoustic Waves ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Surface Acoustic Waves ◽  
Electromechanical Properties ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Saw Devices ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
High Degree

Considerable and continuing interest has been shown in the thin film transducer fabrication for surface acoustic waves (SAW) in the past few years. Due to the high degree of miniaturization, compatibility with silicon integrated circuit technology, simplicity and ease of design, this new technology has played an important role in the design of new devices for communications and signal processing. Among the commonly used piezoelectric thin films, ZnO generally yields superior electromechanical properties and is expected to play a leading role in the development of SAW devices.

Scanning Electron Microscopy in Hybrid Microelectronics

1976 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 456-457
Author(s):  
S. Khadpe ◽  
R. Faryniak
Keyword(s):  
Integrated Circuits ◽  
Thick Film ◽  
Integrated Circuit ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Circuit Components ◽  
Hybrid Microcircuit ◽  
Electrical Connections ◽  
Scanning Electron

The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is an important tool in Thick Film Hybrid Microcircuits Manufacturing because of its large depth of focus and three dimensional capability. This paper discusses some of the important areas in which the SEM is used to monitor process control and component failure modes during the various stages of manufacture of a typical hybrid microcircuit.Figure 1 shows a thick film hybrid microcircuit used in a Motorola Paging Receiver. The circuit consists of thick film resistors and conductors screened and fired on a ceramic (aluminum oxide) substrate. Two integrated circuit dice are bonded to the conductors by means of conductive epoxy and electrical connections from each integrated circuit to the substrate are made by ultrasonically bonding 1 mil aluminum wires from the die pads to appropriate conductor pads on the substrate. In addition to the integrated circuits and the resistors, the circuit includes seven chip capacitors soldered onto the substrate. Some of the important considerations involved in the selection and reliability aspects of the hybrid circuit components are: (a) the quality of the substrate; (b) the surface structure of the thick film conductors; (c) the metallization characteristics of the integrated circuit; and (d) the quality of the wire bond interconnections.

In situ TEM measurements of the electrical properties of interface dislocations

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1338-1339
Author(s):  
F. M. Ross ◽  
R. Hull ◽  
D. Bahnck ◽  
J. C. Bean ◽  
L. J. Peticolas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Properties ◽  
Electronic Device ◽  
In Situ Tem ◽  
Device Performance ◽  
Misfit Dislocations ◽  
Electrical Characteristics ◽  
Strained Layer ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Interfacial Dislocations

We describe an investigation of the electrical properties of interfacial dislocations in strained layer heterostructures. We have been measuring both the structural and electrical characteristics of strained layer p-n junction diodes simultaneously in a transmission electron microscope, enabling us to correlate changes in the electrical characteristics of a device with the formation of dislocations.The presence of dislocations within an electronic device is known to degrade the device performance. This degradation is of increasing significance in the design and processing of novel strained layer devices which may require layer thicknesses above the critical thickness (hc), where it is energetically favourable for the layers to relax by the formation of misfit dislocations at the strained interfaces. In order to quantify how device performance is affected when relaxation occurs we have therefore been investigating the electrical properties of dislocations at the p-n junction in Si/GeSi diodes.

Ion thinning of integrated circuit transverse specimens for transmission electron microscopy

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1426-1427
Author(s):  
F. Shaapur
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Integrated Circuit ◽  
Substrate Surface ◽  
Homogeneous Material ◽  
Material System ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Motion Profile

Non-uniform ion-thinning of heterogenous material structures has constituted a fundamental difficulty in preparation of specimens for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A variety of corrective procedures have been developed and reported for reducing or eliminating the effect. Some of these techniques are applicable to any non-homogeneous material system and others only to unidirectionalfy heterogeneous samples. Recently, a procedure of the latter type has been developed which is mainly based on a new motion profile for the specimen rotation during ion-milling. This motion profile consists of reversing partial revolutions (RPR) within a fixed sector which is centered around a direction perpendicular to the specimen heterogeneity axis. The ion-milling results obtained through this technique, as studied on a number of thin film cross-sectional TEM (XTEM) specimens, have proved to be superior to those produced via other procedures.XTEM specimens from integrated circuit (IC) devices essentially form a complex unidirectional nonhomogeneous structure. The presence of a variety of mostly lateral features at different levels along the substrate surface (consisting of conductors, semiconductors, and insulators) generally cause non-uniform results if ion-thinned conventionally.

TEM Sample Preparation Tricks for Advanced DRAMs

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching Shan Sung ◽  
Hsiu Ting Lee ◽  
Jian Shing Luo
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Integrated Circuit ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Tem Analysis ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Characterization Of Materials

Abstract Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) plays an important role in the structural analysis and characterization of materials for process evaluation and failure analysis in the integrated circuit (IC) industry as device shrinkage continues. It is well known that a high quality TEM sample is one of the keys which enables to facilitate successful TEM analysis. This paper demonstrates a few examples to show the tricks on positioning, protection deposition, sample dicing, and focused ion beam milling of the TEM sample preparation for advanced DRAMs. The micro-structures of the devices and samples architectures were observed by using cross sectional transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and optical microscopy. Following these tricks can help readers to prepare TEM samples with higher quality and efficiency.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document