Composition-Tunable Properties of Cu(Ag) Alloy for Hybrid Bonding Applications

In the present study, the properties of Cu(Ag) alloy films were studied to evaluate their potential use as an alternate material for interconnection in hybrid bonding. Thin alloy films of Cu(Ag) were deposited by pulsed electrochemical deposition (PED) using a sulfuric acid-based bath, rotating disk electrode, and hot entry. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was used to measure the silver content of the films, with us finding that it decreases with increasing duty cycle. Thereafter, bright field scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) imaging in combination with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was used to visualize the thin film microstructure and to confirm the uniform distribution of silver throughout the film, with no bands being seen despite the pulsed nature of the deposition. Film resistance was measured by a four-point probe to quantify the impact of Ag content on resistivity, with us finding the expected linear relationship with the Ag content in the film. Furthermore, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the films was measured using X-ray diffraction, and modulus and hardness were measured via nanoindentation, revealing linear dependences on the Ag content as well. Notably, the addition of 1.25 atom% Ag resulted in a significant increase in the CTE from 17.9 to 19.3 ppm/K, Young's modulus from 111 to 161 GPa, and film hardness from 1.70 to 3.99 GPa. These simple relationships offer a range of properties tunable via the duty cycle of the pulsed plating, making Cu(Ag) a promising candidate for engineering wafer-to-wafer metal interconnections.