Investigating the electromigration reliability of copper interconnects

Abstract

With changing materials systems and interconnect architectures from Al based metallization to Cu dual damascene based metallization, electromigration (EM) continues to be a major reliability concern. The objectives of this research are to investigate EM behavior of Cu interconnects, develop an in-depth understanding of the EM-induced voiding mechanisms, and lastly to suggest methodologies to improve the reliability of dual damascene Cu interconnects.