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Abstract

In a previous paper (A. Scorzoni, S. Franceschini, R. Balboni, M. Impronta, I. De Munari, and F. Fantini, Are high resolution resistometric methods really useful for the early detection of electromigration damage? Microelectr. Reliab. 1997;37(10/11):1479–1482), we reported largely different electromigration lifetimes and different high resolution early resistance changes measured on two nominally identical lots of 4 μm wide lines tested at moderately accelerated stress conditions. A microstructural analysis on unstressed samples was performed in order to detect the reason which induced these differences. The analysis confirmed a major defectivity of the lot with shorter lifetime: we detected the presence of TiAl3 precipitates at the interface between the Al–Cu and the Ti-based metal barrier. This was not easily detectable by means of simple visual inspection. These additional findings confirm that a quick electrical detection of the metallization quality could be feasible by means of high resolution resistance measurements without the need of time-consuming direct examination of production lots.