Two particularly important reliability issues facing the integration of low-
κ dielectric films are the fracture energy of the barrier-dielectric
interface and the barrier layer integrity during processing. We have noticed
that the compressive stresses in the barrier layers on low- κ dielectrics
lead to spontaneous delamination and formation of telephone-cord like
morphologies. These morphologies allow the measurement of fracture energy
and are advantageous over artificially contrived features to yield realistic
debonding parameters. The fracture energy of common barrier films, TaN and
Ta, was determined using this method for varying porosity nanoporous silica
and MSQ. Detailed characterization of the telephone cord morphology using a
combination of Optical Microscopy, SEM and Profilometry was done. The
fracture energy for Ta on different low-κ dielectrics was evaluated using a
1-D model for straight buckles. The kinetic coefficient of buckling was also
evaluated.