Abstract
The enhanced electromigration (EM) performance of 20 nm-wide Cu interconnects with a Mn-doped Cu seed and a Mn-based barrier is studied by means of low-frequency (LF) noise measurements and atom probe tomography (APT). While the EM activation energy of reference interconnects without Mn is 0.8 eV, standard EM tests revealed an activation energy of 1.0 eV for Cu(Mn) interconnects. The LF noise measurements confirm the activation energy of 1.0–1.1 eV in the Cu(Mn) interconnects, but also the activation energy of 0.8 eV is still visible, though less pronounced. Furthermore, the extent to which the mechanism at 0.8 eV is suppressed is strongly subjected to sample variations. These observations are confirmed by APT; Mn is found at the top surface and small clusters of Mn are present in the Cu bulk up to 5 nm away from the sidewalls. Mn segregation at the grain boundaries was not observed such that the hypothesis of Mn blocking grain boundary diffusion cannot be confirmed.
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