Failure mechanisms and optimum design for electroplated copper Through-Silicon Vias (TSV)

Through-silicon vias (TSVs) have garnered a lot of interest in recent years because TSV is a key enabling technology for three dimensional (3D) integrated circuit (IC) stacking, silicon interposer technology, and advanced wafer level packaging (WLP). There has been significant effort in TSV fabrication and electrical design. However, considerably less work has been done on thermo-mechanical analysis and mechanical design of these structures. Due to the high coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between Si and the conducting material in the vias, thermo-mechanical reliability is a major concern. This paper uses finite-element (FE) models and X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments for the thermo-mechanical analysis of TSVs. Two-dimensional thermo-mechanical finite-element models have been built to analyze the stress/strain distribution in the TSV structures, and the models show that large stress gradients and plastic deformation exist near the corner of electroplated Cu pads. The stress results from the finite-element models have been compared against XRD experimental data. A fracture mechanics analysis has also been performed, and the fracture analysis shows that Cu/SiO₂ interfacial cracks and SiO₂ cohesive cracks are more likely to initiate and propagate at those corner locations.