Impact of process steps on electrical and electromigration performances ofcopper interconnects in damascene architecture

The impact of IC fabrication process steps on electrical and reliability ch aracteristics of dual damascene copper interconnects has been analyzed. It is demonstrated that thermal treatments could have a negative impact on ele ctrical performances unless a suitable encapsulation step of copper lines i s performed. Electromigration performances are also strongly affected by an nealing and the role that impurities have in dominating the diffusion paths is evidenced by experiments on differently fabricated copper structures of various widths. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.