A direct measurement of electromigration induced drift velocity in Cu dual damascene interconnects

A dual damascene structure with an additional 25 nm Ta diffusion barrier embedded into the upper Cu layer was fabricated to measure the drift velocity of electromigration. The embedded diffusion barrier layer successfully confined void growth into a long and regular shape between the SiN layer and embedded Ta layer. Edge depletion was observed to initiate from the cathode end and elongate into a long and regular shape due to the confinement of the intermediate Ta diffusion barrier layer. With this test structure, electromigration induced drift displacement can be accurately measured with a linear dependence on time. Measurement was conducted at a series of temperatures to obtain the Cu/capping interface diffusion controlled activation energy.