Theory of Electromigration Failure in Polycrystalline Metal Films

多晶铝互连线的电迁移失效 是限制可靠性的主要失效机制之一 的集成电路。 在这项研究中，蒙特卡洛模拟 并对电迁移模型进行了分析研究 基于逾渗的多晶金属薄膜的失效 理论 研究了薄膜平均寿命与薄膜厚度的关系， 寿命分布的温度和程度的 将研究结构紊乱。 实证 分布的膜寿命，这是常用的， 工程应用将被比作蒙特卡洛 结果，提供了一个测试这种分布低得多 失败率比实验上可能的要高。 A theory of the 故障动力学将被构建，这是基于最近的 随机介质中不可逆过程理论的进展。 如果时间允许，这些想法将被应用到相关的问题中 非均质脆性材料中疲劳诱导断裂。 %%% 随着集成电路变得越来越小， 如何连接这些电路中的元件， 对外界来说，变得更加重要。 因为这些 连接或互连变得更小， 互连中可能发生的电路故障增加。 因此， 对潜在机制和可能性的理解 对于预测互连失效的寿命很重要， 装置. 这项拨款是用一种非传统的方法来看待 这个难题。 渗流理论着眼于传导 从一般的观点来看，诸如互连的系统。 是 不像关心那些潜在的物理细节， 问题的更多全球性方面。 这里提出的研究 将首次运用渗流理论 互连寿命的预测，并确定一般 影响互连故障的参数。

Electromigration failure of polycrystalline aluminum interconnects is one of the primary failure mechanisms limiting the reliability of integrated circuits. In this research, Monte Carlo simulations and analytical studies will be made of a model of electromigration failure in polycrystalline metal thin films based on percolation theory. The dependence of the average film lifetime and the distributions of lifetimes on the temperature and degree of structural disorder will be investigated. An empirical distribution for the film lifetime which is commonly employed in engineering applications will be compared to the Monte Carlo results, providing a test of this distribution for much lower failure rates than is possible experimentally. A theory of the failure kinetics will be constructed which is based on recent advances in the theory of irreversible processes in random media. As time permits, these ideas will be applied to the related problem of fatigue-induced fracture in inhomogeneous brittle materials. %%% As integrated circuits become smaller and smaller, the problem of how to connect elements within these circuits, and the circuits themselves to the outside world, becomes more critical. As these connections, or interconnects, become smaller, the probability that circuit failure may occur in the interconnect increases. Thus, an understanding of the underlying mechanisms and of the probability for interconnect failure are important for predicting lifetimes of devices. This grant is using an unconventional approach to look at this difficult problem. Percolation theory looks at conducting systems such as interconnects from a general point of view. It is not as concerned about the underlying physical details as with the more global aspects of the problem. The research proposed here will use percolation theory for the first time to try to make predictions of interconnect lifetimes and determine general parameters which affect interconnect failure.