Microstructure Evolution and Protrusion of Electroplated Cu-Filled Through-Silicon Vias Subjected to Thermal Cyclic Loading

Abstract

Through-silicon vias (TSVs) have become an important technology for three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D IC) packaging. Protrusion of electroplated Cu-filled vias is a critical reliability issue for TSV technology. In this work, thermal cycling tests were carried out to identify how the microstructure affects protrusion during thermal cycling. Cu protrusion occurs when the loading temperature is higher than 149°C. During the first five thermal cycles, the grain size of Cu plays a dominant role in the protrusion behavior. Larger Cu grain size before thermal cycling results in greater Cu protrusion. With increasing thermal cycle number, the effect of the Cu grain size reduces and the microstrain begins to dominate the Cu protrusion behavior. Higher magnitude of microstrain within Cu results in greater protrusion increment during subsequent thermal cycles. When the thermal cycle number reaches 25, the protrusion rate of Cu slows down due to strain hardening. After 30 thermal cycles, the Cu protrusion stabilizes within the range of 1.92 μm to 2.09 μm.