Method and structure for determining thermal cycle reliability

• US 9,443,776 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2015
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marvell Asia Pte Limited (Marvell Technology Group Limited)
• Original Assignee: GlobalFoundries, Inc.
• Inventors: Filippi, Ronald G., Gill, Jason P., McGahay, Vincent J., McLaughlin, Paul S., Murray, Conal E., Rathore, Hazara S., Shaw, Thomas M., Wang, Ping-Chuan
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thinh T
• Application Number:
  US14/729,446
• Publication Number:
  US 20150262899A1
• Time in Patent Office: 468 Days
• Field of Search: 257/48, 257/773, 257/774, 257/776, 257/758, 257/E23.002, 438/11, 438/14, 438/15, 438/18, 438/638
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/32 Additional lead-in metallisation on a device or substrate, e.g. additional pads or pad portions, lines in the scribe line, sacrificed conductors arrangements for conducting electric current to or from the solid state body in operation H01L23/48
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/34 Circuits for electrically characterising or monitoring manufacturing processes, e. g. whole test die, wafers filled with test structures, on-board-devices incorporated on each die, process control monitors or pad structures thereof, devices in scribe line switching, multiplexing, gating devices G01R19/25; process control with lithography, e.g. dose control, G03F7/20; structures for alignment control by optical means G03F7/70633
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/5226 Via connections in a multilevel interconnection structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/562 Protection against mechanical damage H01L23/02, H01L23/28 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0268 for electrical inspection or testing
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0269 for visual or optical inspection
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/092 Dispersed materials, e.g. conductive pastes or inks
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 438/927 Electromigration resistant metallization
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49004 including measuring or testing of device or component part

Abstract

A test structure used to determine reliability performance includes a patterned metallization structure having multiple interfaces, which provide stress risers. A dielectric material surrounds the metallization structure, where a mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) between the metallization structure and the surrounding dielectric material exist such that a thermal strain value is provided to cause failures under given stress conditions as a result of CTE mismatch to provide a yield indicative of reliability for a manufacturing design.

Claims

1. A test structure used to determine reliability performance, comprising:

a patterned metallization structure having a plurality of interfaces, which form stress risers, the metallization structure including at least one of;

a via chain formed through layers of patterned metallization in the semiconductor structure such that a plurality of widths of vias are used to adjust strain in different layers; and

a dummy structure formed to provide a via density in an area of the semiconductor structure to adjust strain in adjacent structures of the test structure; and

a dielectric material surrounding the metallization structure, where a mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) between the metallization structure and the surrounding dielectric material exists such that failures occur under given stress conditions to provide a yield indicative of reliability for a manufacturing design.

2. The structure as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

dummy structures not electrically connected to the metallization structure and placed near ends of the test structure to reduce the variation in thermal strain at corner or end vias.

3. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the metallization structure is separated from metal pads to reduce thermal expansion effects caused by the metal pads.

4. The structure as recited in claim 3, wherein the distance between the metallization structure and the bond pads is such that a reduction in thermal strain of any via is within 5% of a maximum value of thermal strain that exists between the metallization structure and the dielectric material for a completely isolated via.

5. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the metallization structure further comprises multiple sections electrically connected and separated by a distance to reduce thermal expansion effects caused by adjacent vias.

6. The structure as recited in claim 5, wherein the distance between the sections is such that a reduction in thermal strain of any section is within 5% of a maximum value of thermal strain that exists between the metallization structure and the dielectric material for a completely isolated section of vias.

7. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the same strain value is employed across all of the vias in the test structure.

8. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the mismatch in CTE between the metallization structure and the dielectric material is greater than about 20 ppm/°

C.

9. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the dummy structures are not electrically connected to the metallization structure and are placed near ends of the test structure to reduce the variation in thermal strain at corner or end vias.

10. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the metallization structure further comprises multiple sections electrically connected and separated by a distance to reduce thermal expansion effects caused by adjacent vias.