Line Length Dependence of Small, Electromigration Induced Resistance Changes in Aluminum

Abstract

AbstractTwo series of experiments were carried out to investigate the line length dependence of changes in the electrical resistance caused by passing a DC current through thin film Al conductors. First, the effect of adding side branches with a spacing of 5 μ m to 150 μ m long lines was studied. Experiments performed at T = 148 °C and at a DC current density of 0.5 MA/cm2 showed three effects due to adding the side branches: i) the magnitude of the resistance changes is reduced, ii) the resistance changes saturate on a time scale of one hour, and iii) the resistance changes fully recover after switching off the current. In the second series of experiments the current, temperature and line length dependence of resistance changes induced in short (3-100 μ m) lines between bonding pads were studied. For current densities smaller than a certain length dependent critical value the resistance saturates after applying the current and relaxes back to the original value after removing the current. The time to relax back, which is comparable to the time to reach saturation, is proportional to the sample length squared. This and the activation energy derived from the temperature dependence of the relaxation process suggest strongly that the observed time dependence of the resistance changes is determined by grain boundary diffusion (electromigration) along the whole length of the line.