Ohmic contact electromigration

Abstract

In this paper olimic contact electromigration is briefly reviewed. After a short introduction on the main contact failure mechanisms and technological solutions, the effect of contact scaling on electromigration is considered. Then, guidelines on test structures and lifetest set-up for contact electromigration studies are given, with particular reference to the thermal characterization needed to extract reliable data from lifetest experiments. Finally, the most recent experimental results obtained with both aluminum based metallizations and contacts making use of silicides or barrier layers are reviewed and compared.