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Mechanical Properties of Electroplated Copper Thin Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

R. Spolenak ,
C. A. Volkert ,
K. Takahashi ,
S. Fiorillo ,
J. Miner  and
W. L. Brown
R. Spolenak
Affiliation:
Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
C. A. Volkert
Affiliation:
Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ 07974 Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung, Stuttgart, Germany
K. Takahashi
Affiliation:
Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
S. Fiorillo
Affiliation:
Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
J. Miner
Affiliation:
Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
W. L. Brown
Affiliation:
Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
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Abstract

It is well known that the mechanical properties of thin films depend critically on film thickness However, the contributions from film thickness and grain size are difficult to separate, because they typically scale with each other. In one study by Venkatraman and Bravman, Al films, which were thinned using anodic oxidation to reduce film thickness without changing grain size, showed a clear increase in yield stress with decreasing film thickness.

We have performed a similar study on both electroplated and sputtered Cu films by using chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) to reduce the film thickness without changing the grain size. Stress-temperature curves were measured for both the electroplated and sputtered Cu films with thicknesses between 0.1 and 1.8 microns using a laser scanning wafer curvature technique. The yield stress at room temperature was found to increase with decreasing film thickness for both sets of samples. The sputtered films, however, showed higher yield stresses in comparison to the electroplated films. Most of these differences can be attributed to the different microstructures of the films, which were determined by focused ion beam (FIB) microscopy and x-ray diffraction.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 594: Symposium V – Thin Films - Stresses & Mechanical Properties VIII , 1999 , 63
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2000

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References

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