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Stress Stability of PECVD Silicon Nitride Films During Device Fabrication

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Michael P. Hughey  and
Robert F. Cook
Michael P. Hughey
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Robert F. Cook
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
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Abstract

Conventional, dense dielectrics serve as structural elements in Cu/low-k interconnect structures, and a full understanding of their thermo-mechanical properties is desired to help optimize device fabrication and avoid mechanical failure. Wafer curvature measurements were made on plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) silicon nitride films during thermal cycling to explore the large, irreversible, tensile stress developed. Spectroscopic techniques were used to probe the composition and structure of the films after annealing steps and indicate that reaction of hydrogen-containing defects provides the mechanism for stress change. A simple kinetic model, modified by the inclusion of an equilibrium function of hydrogen defects, is proposed and is found to adequately describe stress development.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 766: Symposium E – Materials, Technology and Reliability for Advanced Interconnects and Low-k Dielectrics - 2003 , 2003 , E6.3
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2003

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