Alternating-current induced thermal fatigue of gold interconnects with nanometer-scale thickness and width

With dramatic reduction in sizes of microelectronic devices, the characteristic width and thickness of interconnects in large-scale integrated circuits have reached nanometer scale. Thermal fatigue damage of so small interconnects has attracted more and more attentions. In this work, thermal fatigue of Au interconnects, 35 nm thick and 0.1-5 μm wide, is investigated by applying various alternating current densities to generate cycling temperature and strain in them. A multi-probe measuring system is installed in a scanning electron microscope and a probe-type temperature sensor is for the first time introduced into the system for real-time measuring the temperatures on the pads of the tested interconnects. A one-dimensional heat conduction equation, which uses measured temperatures on the pads as boundary conditions and includes a term of heat dissipation through the interface between the interconnect and the oxidized silicon substrate, is proposed to calculate the time-resolved temperature distribution along the Au interconnects. The measured fatigue lifetimes are presented versus current density and thermal cyclic strain, and the results show that narrower Au lines are more reliable. The failure mechanism of those Au interconnects differs from what is observed in thick interconnects with relatively larger grain size. Topography change caused by localized plasticity on the less-constrained surfaces of the interconnects have not been observed. Instead, grain growing and reorienting due to local temperature varying appear, and grain boundary migration and mergence take place during high temperature fatigue in such thin and narrow interconnects. These results seem to reflect a strain-induced boundary migration mechanism, and the damage morphology also suggests that fatigue of the interconnects with decreased grain size and film thickness is controlled by diffusive mechanisms and interface properties rather than by dislocation glide. Open circuit eventually took place by melting at a region of severely damage cross-sectional area with the grain growing and reorienting.