High-current characterization of dual-damascene copper interconnects in SiO/sub 2/- and low-k interlevel dielectrics for advanced CMOS semiconductor technologies

The ESD robustness of copper (Cu) interconnects in low-k interlevel dielectrics (ILD) is shown for the first time. Critical-current density to failure J/sub crit/, high-current resistance change /spl Delta/R/R/sub o/, and thermal impedance /spl theta//sub TH/ are determined for Cu-based interconnects with silicon dioxide (SiO/sub 2/) and low-k interlevel dielectrics. Experimental results indicate that ESD robustness of Cu-based interconnects in low-k ILD (k=2.9) is affected by low-k material (compared to Cu wires in SiO/sub 2/ ILD), yet have superior ESD robustness compared to Al-based interconnects.