Effect of SiCN passivation on electromigration reliability of nanotwinned Cu redistribution lines

Yu-Wen Hung; Mai-Phuong La; Yi-Quan Lin; K. N. Tu; Chih Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jmrt.2025.04.139

Effect of SiCN passivation on electromigration reliability of nanotwinned Cu redistribution lines

Yu-Wen Hung
, Mai-Phuong La
, Yi-Quan Lin
, K. N. Tu
, Chih Chen^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

Nanotwinned Cu (NT-Cu), with numerous advantages, is highly suitable for implementation in Cu redistribution lines (RDLs). However, oxidation is a significant reliability concern as it accelerates resistance increase and shortens the electromigration (EM) lifetime of fine-pitch NT-Cu lines. In this study, bare NT-Cu RDLs exhibited a rapid oxide layer growth, which caused a sharp rise in resistance. To prolong the EM lifespan of NT-Cu RDLs and reduce the thermal budget, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) SiCN was applied to passivate NT-Cu surfaces at a low operating temperature of 150 °C. The SiCN layer effectively inhibited oxidation during EM tests at 200 °C by 1.0 × 10⁶ A/cm², resulting in a significant enhancement in the longest EM failure time and mean time to failure (MTTF or T50). The longest EM failure time and T₅₀ of SiCN-covered NT-Cu lines achieved 4433 h and 1930 h, respectively. Compared to other passivation options, such as TiO₂, polyimide (PI), and graphene, the SiCN layer demonstrated the highest effectiveness in extending the EM lifetime of NT-Cu lines. This study presents a viable passivation approach for NT-Cu applications and highlights the SiCN coating layer as a superior choice for enhancing the EM reliability of NT-Cu RDLs.

© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	4938-4945
Number of pages	8
Journal	Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Volume	36
Online published	17 Apr 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2025.04.139
Publication status	Published - May 2025

Funding

This work was financially supported by by NSTC T-Star Center Project: Future Semiconductor Technology Research Center under NSTC 113-2634-F-A49-008 and Center for Advanced Semiconductor Technology Research under Higher Education Sprout Project of Ministry of Education, Taiwan.

Research Keywords

Nanotwinned copper
Redistribution lines
Passivation layer
Reliability
SiCN
Electromigration

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This full text is made available under CC-BY 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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title = "Effect of SiCN passivation on electromigration reliability of nanotwinned Cu redistribution lines",

abstract = "Nanotwinned Cu (NT-Cu), with numerous advantages, is highly suitable for implementation in Cu redistribution lines (RDLs). However, oxidation is a significant reliability concern as it accelerates resistance increase and shortens the electromigration (EM) lifetime of fine-pitch NT-Cu lines. In this study, bare NT-Cu RDLs exhibited a rapid oxide layer growth, which caused a sharp rise in resistance. To prolong the EM lifespan of NT-Cu RDLs and reduce the thermal budget, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) SiCN was applied to passivate NT-Cu surfaces at a low operating temperature of 150 °C. The SiCN layer effectively inhibited oxidation during EM tests at 200 °C by 1.0 × 106 A/cm2, resulting in a significant enhancement in the longest EM failure time and mean time to failure (MTTF or T50). The longest EM failure time and T50 of SiCN-covered NT-Cu lines achieved 4433 h and 1930 h, respectively. Compared to other passivation options, such as TiO2, polyimide (PI), and graphene, the SiCN layer demonstrated the highest effectiveness in extending the EM lifetime of NT-Cu lines. This study presents a viable passivation approach for NT-Cu applications and highlights the SiCN coating layer as a superior choice for enhancing the EM reliability of NT-Cu RDLs. {\textcopyright} 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. ",

keywords = "Nanotwinned copper, Redistribution lines, Passivation layer, Reliability, SiCN, Electromigration",

author = "Yu-Wen Hung and Mai-Phuong La and Yi-Quan Lin and Tu, \{K. N.\} and Chih Chen",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Effect of SiCN passivation on electromigration reliability of nanotwinned Cu redistribution lines

AU - Hung, Yu-Wen

AU - La, Mai-Phuong

AU - Lin, Yi-Quan

AU - Tu, K. N.

AU - Chen, Chih

PY - 2025/5

Y1 - 2025/5

N2 - Nanotwinned Cu (NT-Cu), with numerous advantages, is highly suitable for implementation in Cu redistribution lines (RDLs). However, oxidation is a significant reliability concern as it accelerates resistance increase and shortens the electromigration (EM) lifetime of fine-pitch NT-Cu lines. In this study, bare NT-Cu RDLs exhibited a rapid oxide layer growth, which caused a sharp rise in resistance. To prolong the EM lifespan of NT-Cu RDLs and reduce the thermal budget, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) SiCN was applied to passivate NT-Cu surfaces at a low operating temperature of 150 °C. The SiCN layer effectively inhibited oxidation during EM tests at 200 °C by 1.0 × 106 A/cm2, resulting in a significant enhancement in the longest EM failure time and mean time to failure (MTTF or T50). The longest EM failure time and T50 of SiCN-covered NT-Cu lines achieved 4433 h and 1930 h, respectively. Compared to other passivation options, such as TiO2, polyimide (PI), and graphene, the SiCN layer demonstrated the highest effectiveness in extending the EM lifetime of NT-Cu lines. This study presents a viable passivation approach for NT-Cu applications and highlights the SiCN coating layer as a superior choice for enhancing the EM reliability of NT-Cu RDLs. © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

AB - Nanotwinned Cu (NT-Cu), with numerous advantages, is highly suitable for implementation in Cu redistribution lines (RDLs). However, oxidation is a significant reliability concern as it accelerates resistance increase and shortens the electromigration (EM) lifetime of fine-pitch NT-Cu lines. In this study, bare NT-Cu RDLs exhibited a rapid oxide layer growth, which caused a sharp rise in resistance. To prolong the EM lifespan of NT-Cu RDLs and reduce the thermal budget, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) SiCN was applied to passivate NT-Cu surfaces at a low operating temperature of 150 °C. The SiCN layer effectively inhibited oxidation during EM tests at 200 °C by 1.0 × 106 A/cm2, resulting in a significant enhancement in the longest EM failure time and mean time to failure (MTTF or T50). The longest EM failure time and T50 of SiCN-covered NT-Cu lines achieved 4433 h and 1930 h, respectively. Compared to other passivation options, such as TiO2, polyimide (PI), and graphene, the SiCN layer demonstrated the highest effectiveness in extending the EM lifetime of NT-Cu lines. This study presents a viable passivation approach for NT-Cu applications and highlights the SiCN coating layer as a superior choice for enhancing the EM reliability of NT-Cu RDLs. © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

KW - Nanotwinned copper

KW - Redistribution lines

KW - Passivation layer

KW - Reliability

KW - SiCN

KW - Electromigration

UR - https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001477359900001

U2 - 10.1016/j.jmrt.2025.04.139

DO - 10.1016/j.jmrt.2025.04.139

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 2238-7854

VL - 36

SP - 4938

EP - 4945

JO - Journal of Materials Research and Technology

JF - Journal of Materials Research and Technology

ER -

Effect of SiCN passivation on electromigration reliability of nanotwinned Cu redistribution lines

Abstract

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