Experimental study of copper contamination in VLSI technology

Abstract

This thesis records the details of two investigations that were performed. The first investigation, believed to be the first of its kind, was on the study of the feasibility of using second harmonic microscopy (SHM) to measure copper concentration and possible diffusion mechanisms at the surfaces and interfaces of microelectronic interconnect structures. The second investigation was on the impact of intentional copper contamination on the performance of semiconductor devices. Copper contamination, both from backside and frontside of wafers were studied