ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF INTEGRATED-CIRCUIT METAL LINE THICKNESS

Resistance measurements of thin aluminum-silicon alloy lines, 10 and 3 0 mu m wide, were made at various temperatures in the 9.2-295.5 K rang e. Deviations from Matthiessen's rule were observed over the whole tem perature range. At temperatures near room ambient data for these lines are in good agreement with those reported for aluminum-copper alloy w ires. A formalism was developed to calculate line thickness and cross- sectional area from electrical resistance data. Line thickness calcula tions are in good agreement with thickness data measured via scanning electron microscopy. The stress distributions in these lines were mode led by using finite element stress analysis. The results show large st ress gradients localized at the line edge region, whereas at the centr al part of the line there is a high stress value and a low stress grad ient. In submicrometer lines the whole line body is under large stress gradients.