Characterization of flip chip bonded structure with Cu ABL power bumps

•The ABL (advanced bump layer) bumps to improve power distribution were newly idealized and designed.•The process feasibility of flip chip bonded structure with Cu ABL bumps has been demonstrated.•The process reliability issues were investigated for Cu ABL bumps.•The electrical resistivity of Cu ABL bump daisy chain system was estimated to 3.3E−8 Ω m.

Power distribution in both 2D and 3D integrated circuit (IC) devices becomes one of the key challenges in device scaling, because the on-chip power dissipation becomes significantly severe and causes thermal reliability issues. In this study, the process solution to resolve the on-chip power dissipation by improving power distribution was investigated through newly designed power bumps called ABL (advanced bump layer) bumps. Rectangular-shaped Cu ABL bumps were fabricated and bonded on Si substrate using flip chip bonding process. The bump height difference in signal and ABL power bumps, bonding interface, and electrical resistivity of flip chip bonded structure were evaluated. The lowest electrical resistivity of Cu ABL bump system was estimated to be 3.3E−8 Ω m. The process feasibility of flip chip bonded structure with Cu ABL bumps has been demonstrated.