Reliability Implications of Nitrogen Contamination During Deposition of Sputtered Aluminum/Silicon Metal Films

Abstract

Aluminum/Silicon (Al/Si) sputtered metal films for MOS integrated circuit metalization deposited under conditions of nitrogen contamination coupled with a subsequent silicon nitride (Si3N4) passivation can seriously impact product relialility. The reliability implications of this sputtered metallization process will be discussed. The discussion will include film characteristics and structure, description f the failure mechanism, life modeling, accelerated testing, and electromigration behavior.