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Impurity Tracing of Diffusion Mechanisms in Hillock Growth on Aluminum Films
Author(s) -
Rosen N. D.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9918(199602)24:2<119::aid-sia108>3.0.co;2-7
Subject(s) - hillock , auger electron spectroscopy , impurity , materials science , grain boundary diffusion coefficient , silicon , grain boundary , diffusion , surface diffusion , aluminium , metallurgy , atomic diffusion , chemistry , crystallography , composite material , microstructure , physics , organic chemistry , adsorption , nuclear physics , thermodynamics
Hillock growth on aluminum interconnects is a major concern of the microelectronics industry, and there has been dispute on the relative importance of such possible factors in hillock growth as surface diffusion, grain boundary diffusion and film/surface interface diffusion. Aluminum films were sputter‐deposited on silicon substrates in layers, with silver and magnesium introduced as impurities in the top and bottom layers and pure aluminum in‐between. The films were then annealed, after which SIMS and Auger electron spectroscopy were employed to characterize the composition of the hillocks and other sites on the film growth surface. The objective was to determine the region in which the material in the hillocks had originated, and thus to deduce the diffusion mechanisms by which it had been transported. Preliminary results suggest that grain boundary diffusion is the principal mass transport mechanism supplying material for hillock growth.