Effects of corner position and operating condition on electromigration failure in angled bamboo lines without passivation layer

Abstract

The atomic flux divergence due to electromigration, AFD gen, has been formulated considering two-dimensional distributions of current density and temperature within polycrystalline and bamboo line structures without passivation. The divergence AFD gen has been identified as a governing parameter of electromigration damage by experimental verification. Recently, an AFD gen-based method for predicting the lifetime and failure site in an unpassivated bamboo line was proposed based on numerical simulation of the failure process of a metal line. Availing of the advantage of the universal method, the effects of corner position, corner angle and operating conditions on the lifetime and failure location in angled metal lines are discussed. The lifetime and failure location varied with the line shape and operating conditions. Understanding these effects on metal line failure gives important knowledge for enhancing the electromigration endurance of metal lines.