Reliability modeling for ULSI interconnects

Electromigration (EM) and stress-induced voiding (SIV) are the two major reliability concerns for metal interconnects in integrated circuits. In particular, with the dimensions of interconnect scaled into nano regime and the inclusion of low-k materials as dielectrics, the reliability aspects for on...

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Main Author: Hou, Yue Jin
Other Authors: Tan Cher Ming
Format: Theses and Dissertations
Language:English
Published: 2010
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/42101
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-421012023-07-04T16:53:34Z Reliability modeling for ULSI interconnects Hou, Yue Jin Tan Cher Ming School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Centre for Integrated Circuits and Systems DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Microelectronics Electromigration (EM) and stress-induced voiding (SIV) are the two major reliability concerns for metal interconnects in integrated circuits. In particular, with the dimensions of interconnect scaled into nano regime and the inclusion of low-k materials as dielectrics, the reliability aspects for on chip interconnects are becoming more challenging. In this work, both EM and SIV failure physics are investigated using finite element based modeling and verified through experiments. The most fundamental aspect of EM is diffusion, where electron wind force (EWF) is considered as the only source of driving force for EM mass transport. As interconnect line width becomes narrow, the effects of the surrounding materials on EM can no longer be accounted for by the modification of the atomic diffusivity as in the traditional diffusion path approach. In this work, a modified EM modeling methodology is proposed to improve the EM modeling accuracy. This methodology is based on the driving force approach and its mathematical formulations are derived based on Green’s theorem. Three important driving forces are considered in this work: electron wind force (EWF), temperature gradient induced driving force (TGIDF), and thermo-mechanical stress gradient induced driving force (SGIDF). The formulations are implemented through finite element analysis (FEA), and the EM void nucleation and its growth can be simulated through the developed static and dynamic simulation FEA codes. It is found that the thermo-mechanical stress gradient induced driving force is the dominant driving force for EM failure in M2 test structures. The modeling results are consistent with our experimental results on reservoir effect structures. DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (EEE) 2010-09-17T04:00:59Z 2010-09-17T04:00:59Z 2010 2010 Thesis Hou, Y. J. (2010). Reliability modeling for ULSI interconnects. Doctoral thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/42101 10.32657/10356/42101 en 223 p. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Microelectronics
spellingShingle DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Microelectronics
Hou, Yue Jin
Reliability modeling for ULSI interconnects
description Electromigration (EM) and stress-induced voiding (SIV) are the two major reliability concerns for metal interconnects in integrated circuits. In particular, with the dimensions of interconnect scaled into nano regime and the inclusion of low-k materials as dielectrics, the reliability aspects for on chip interconnects are becoming more challenging. In this work, both EM and SIV failure physics are investigated using finite element based modeling and verified through experiments. The most fundamental aspect of EM is diffusion, where electron wind force (EWF) is considered as the only source of driving force for EM mass transport. As interconnect line width becomes narrow, the effects of the surrounding materials on EM can no longer be accounted for by the modification of the atomic diffusivity as in the traditional diffusion path approach. In this work, a modified EM modeling methodology is proposed to improve the EM modeling accuracy. This methodology is based on the driving force approach and its mathematical formulations are derived based on Green’s theorem. Three important driving forces are considered in this work: electron wind force (EWF), temperature gradient induced driving force (TGIDF), and thermo-mechanical stress gradient induced driving force (SGIDF). The formulations are implemented through finite element analysis (FEA), and the EM void nucleation and its growth can be simulated through the developed static and dynamic simulation FEA codes. It is found that the thermo-mechanical stress gradient induced driving force is the dominant driving force for EM failure in M2 test structures. The modeling results are consistent with our experimental results on reservoir effect structures.
author2 Tan Cher Ming
author_facet Tan Cher Ming
Hou, Yue Jin
format Theses and Dissertations
author Hou, Yue Jin
author_sort Hou, Yue Jin
title Reliability modeling for ULSI interconnects
title_short Reliability modeling for ULSI interconnects
title_full Reliability modeling for ULSI interconnects
title_fullStr Reliability modeling for ULSI interconnects
title_full_unstemmed Reliability modeling for ULSI interconnects
title_sort reliability modeling for ulsi interconnects
publishDate 2010
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/42101
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