Effect of the critical size of initial voids on stress-induced migration

Abstract

The stress-induced migration phenomenon is one of the problems related to the reliability of metal interconnections in semiconductor devices. This phenomenon causes voids and fractures in interconnections. The basic feature of this phenomenon is vacancy migration to minute initial voids. Expanding initial voids grow into larger voids and fractures. The purpose of this work is to theoretically clarify the effects of residual thermal stress and void surface stress on the behavior of the initial voids which exist immediately after a passivation process. Using a spherical metal sample with a spherical void under external stress, vacancy absorption or emission was investigated between the void surface and the sample surface. The behavior of vacancies and atoms was also investigated in interconnections under residual thermal stress. We show that the void or sample surface becomes a vacancy sink or source, depending on the mutual relationship between the surface stress due to the surface-free energy and the residual thermal stress. We also reveal that the initial voids, which exist immediately after a passivation process, grow into larger voids and fractures when the size of the initial voids exceeds the critical size. If the size of the initial void can be controlled to below the critical size, voids and fractures do not occur.