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Local Microstructure and Stress in Al(Cu) Thin Film Structures Studied by X-Ray Microdiffraction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2011

B.C. Valek,
N. Tamura,
R. Spolenak,
A.A. MacDowell,
R.S. Celestre,
H.A. Padmore,
J.C. Bravman,
W.L. Brown,
B. W. Batterman and
J. R. Patel
B.C. Valek
Affiliation:
Dept. Materials Science & Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford CA 94305, USA
N. Tamura
Affiliation:
ALS/ LBNL, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley CA 94720, USA
R. Spolenak
Affiliation:
Agere Systems, formerly of Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill NJ 07974, USA
A.A. MacDowell
Affiliation:
ALS/ LBNL, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley CA 94720, USA
R.S. Celestre
Affiliation:
ALS/ LBNL, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley CA 94720, USA
H.A. Padmore
Affiliation:
ALS/ LBNL, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley CA 94720, USA
J.C. Bravman
Affiliation:
Dept. Materials Science & Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford CA 94305, USA
W.L. Brown
Affiliation:
Agere Systems, formerly of Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill NJ 07974, USA
B. W. Batterman
Affiliation:
ALS/ LBNL, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley CA 94720, USASSRL/SLAC, Stanford University, P.O.BOX 43459, Stanford CA 94309, USA
J. R. Patel
Affiliation:
ALS/ LBNL, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley CA 94720, USASSRL/SLAC, Stanford University, P.O.BOX 43459, Stanford CA 94309, USA
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Abstract

The microstructure of materials (grain orientation, grain boundaries, grain size distribution, local strain/stress gradients, defects, …) is very important in defining the electromigration resistance of interconnect lines in modern integrated circuits. Recently, techniques have been developed for using submicrometer focused white and monochromatic x-ray beams at synchrotrons to obtain local orientation and strain information within individual grains of thin film materials. In this work, we use the x-ray microdiffraction beam line (7.3.3) at the Advanced Light Source to map the orientation and local stress variations in passivated Al(Cu) test structures (width: 0.7, 4.1 μm) as well as in Al(Cu) blanket films. The temperature effects on microstructure and stress were studied in those same structures by in-situ orientation and stress mapping during a temperature cycle between 25°C and 345°C. Results show large local variations in the different stress components which significantly depart from their average values obtained by more conventional techniques, yet the average stresses in both cases agree well. Possible reasons for these variations will be discussed.

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References

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