Electromigration in Submicron Dual-damascene Cu/low-k Interconnects

Electromigration (EM) lifetime characteristics and failure mechanism were investigated for Cu/porous-low-k interconnects and compared to Cu/oxide. The porous low-k dielectric was JSR LKD-5109TM, an MSQ-based spin-on organosilicate material with k = 2.2. The activation energies for EM failure were found to be 0.9 - 1.0 eV for the porous MSQ and 0.8 eV for oxide while the current density exponents for both materials were found to be similar, 1.2 - 1.3. This range of activation energies are commonly associated with mass transport at the Cu/cap-layer interface and suggest a similar mass transport mechanism; interfacial diffusion. Porous MSQ structures showed the same distinct failure morphology as observed in other Cu/low-k interconnects: voiding at the cathode and lateral Cu extrusion at the anode under the cap layer, which seems to be related to the thermo-mechanical properties of Cu/low-k interconnects. The shorter lifetime characteristics of Cu/low-k interconnects comparing to Cu/oxide can be attributed to a smaller back stress, due to less thermomechanical confinement. Results of this study indicate that thermo-mechanical properties of low-k interconnects are important parameters in controlling EM reliability of Cu/low-k interconnects.