Numerical Analysis of Allowable Current Density for Electromigration of Interconnect Tree Structure With Reservoir

The high current density induces electromigration (EM) in metal lines used for electric wirings in integrated circuits. The growth of voids formed by EM in the line material leads to the line failure. Recently, multilevel interconnections are widely used in the circuit in electronics devices and MEMS. Metal lines aligned on upper and lower layer are connecting through the vias in the multilevel interconnections. The reservoir structure is often constructed in the line structure to prevent the EM damages. There is a threshold current density relating to the EM damage of the lines in the interconnection with vias. It is important to evaluate the threshold value for determination of an allowable electric current of the line. In this study, a numerical simulation technique for analyzing the atomic density distributions in the line material under high current density was used to evaluate the EM risks of metal lines in the several cases of interconnect tree structure with reservoir. The thresholds of current density leading to EM damage were calculated in the simulations considering the reservoir locations and pattern of electric current flow in the tree.