The History Of Copper Interconnection Technology

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II. HISTORY OF THE INTERCONNECT In 1947 with the invention of the transistor, the role of the interconnect has proven to be a critical component in the design and manufacture of integrated circuits1. Various metals and manufacturing techniques have been employed, from pure Aluminum to Tungsten plugs to the metal that is used in the High Volume Manufacture of integrated circuit today, Copper. To achieve greater functionality and increased speed, different techniques of depositing a conductive metal were implemented. Had an article that discussed 1-2 layers in the 1980’s – look for it Figure 1 – Approximate progression of interconnect conductor technology2 The basis of Copper Interconnect Technology can be found in 3 existing techniques …show more content…

Polishing The smoothing of rough surfaces is as old as time. In the Neolithic age man used manual polishing techniques to make basic necessities i.e. clothing, weaponry, to recent advances in the chemical and mechanical polishing of structures on a nanoscale. The term coined that covers the flattening or smoothing of surfaces is planarization12. The slicing of single crystal silicon heralded the use of a combination of chemical and mechanical polishing in semiconductors, and as such, is considered an old technology. Planar or specular surfaces are required for the manufacture of transistors and require a polish process that can produce such a finish13. Electro-polishing or Chemical Mechanical Polish (CMP) was introduced into the fabrication environment in the 1980’s by IBM 14. It was found that the manufacturing process, etch back, did not meet the planar surface requirements that the increase in metal layers required15. CMP is applicable to all metal types; particularly the commonly used interconnect metals, Aluminum and Tungsten, making it a universal …show more content…

Even though, the plating solution additives work to achieve a conformal fill, there is excess copper across the wafer surface, contributing to a topographical problem affecting downstream manufacturing processes including but most importantly Lithography. Chemical Mechanical Polish (CMP) utilizes the universal actions of grinding, lapping and polishing during the application of speed and pressure and chemical assistance, slurry, to provide a global planar surface for interconnect manufacture. The main tool components of CMP are a rotary table (platen), a polishing pad, and a method of applying the chemical abrasive liquid (slurry). Force is applied in the form of pressure to the wafer against the pad and using the speed from the platen the removal of copper occurs28. Slurry is applied as the purely mechanical motion will not remove the copper with the required planarization, it will create defects. The slurry works in tandem with the pressure on the polishing pad and the speed with which the platen is rotating to remove the defined amount of metal. Figure XX The schematics for CMP

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