Microstructure Evolution and Effect on Resistivity for Cu Nanointerconnects and Beyond

In this paper, we investigate the microstructure evolution in Cu, Co and Ru nanointerconnects and the scaling effect on resistivity. The scaling effect on microstructure of Cu interconnects was analyzed to the 24 nm linewidth for the 14 nm node using a high-resolution TEM precession microdiffraction technique. The TEM study was supplemented by a Monte Carlo simulation to investigate grain growth in nanointerconnects based on local energy minimization. The scaling effect on electrical resistivity was analyzed for Cu, Ru and Co nanointerconnects, taking into account the contributions from surface and grain boundary scatterings. The results for Cu and Co are consistent with recent experiments.