Increasing electromigration resistance in an interconnect structure of a semiconductor device by forming an alloy

Abstract

By introducing a metallic species into an exposed surface area of a copper region, the electromigration behavior of this surface area may be significantly enhanced. The incorporation of the metallic species may be accomplished in a highly selective manner so as to not unduly affect dielectric material positioned adjacent to the metal region, thereby essentially avoiding undue increase of leakage currents.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Generally, the present disclosure relates to the formation of microstructures, such as advanced integrated circuits, and, more particularly, to the formation of conductive structures, such as copper-based metallization layers, and techniques to reduce electromigration and other stress-induced mass transport effects during operation.

[0003] 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

[0004] In the field of fabricating modern microstructures, such as integrated circuits, there is a continuous drive to steadily reduce the feature sizes of microstructure elements, thereby enhancing the functionality of these structures. For instance, in modern integrated circuits, minimum feature sizes, such as the channel length of field effect transistors, have reached the deep sub-micron range, thereby increasing performance of these circuits in terms of speed and / or power consumption. As the size of individual circuit elements is reduced with every n...

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0023]Various illustrative embodiments are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0024]The present subject matter will now be described with reference to the attached figures. Various structures, systems and devices are schematically depicted in the drawings for purposes of explanation only and so as to not obscure the present disclosure with details that are well kno...

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Generally, the present disclosure relates to the formation of microstructures, such as advanced integrated circuits, and, more particularly, to the formation of conductive structures, such as copper-based metallization layers, and techniques to reduce electromigration and other stress-induced mass transport effects during operation.

[0003] 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

[0004] In the field of fabricating modern microstructures, such as integrated circuits, there is a continuous drive to steadily reduce the feature sizes of microstructure elements, thereby enhancing the functionality of these structures. For instance, in modern integrated circuits, minimum feature sizes, such as the channel length of field effect transistors, have reached the deep sub-micron range, thereby increasing performance of these circuits in terms of speed and / or power consumption. As the size of individual circuit elements is reduced with every n...

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0023]Various illustrative embodiments are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0024]The present subject matter will now be described with reference to the attached figures. Various structures, systems and devices are schematically depicted in the drawings for purposes of explanation only and so as to not obscure the present disclosure with details that are well kno...

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