TDDB at low voltages: An electrochemical perspective

TDDB lifetime projections at operating voltages for backend of line (BEOL) dielectrics have been based on accelerated testing at high fields and extrapolation to operating conditions based on electric field dependent dielectric wearout models. As operating voltages are reduced to 1V range, such intrinsic field acceleration based wearout mechanisms become negligible making such extrapolations questionable. At the same time, as we scale the BEOL geometries, extrinsic wearout mechanisms involving copper and moisture can impact TDDB reliability. In this paper, we, for the first time, investigate extrinsic reliability in low voltage regime where electrochemical redox reactions are possible. We formulate a physical electrochemical model for TDDB. We present analytic solution for limiting cases that show TDDB lifetime dependence on voltage or electric field depending on relative rates of electrode reactions and field assisted ion transport. Generalization to higher voltages are also discussed.

[1]  Simone Wannemaker.  Electron Transfer In Chemistry And Biology An Introduction To The Theory , 2016 .

[2]  J. McPherson.  Reliability Physics and Engineering , 2010 .

[3]  D. Lang,et al.  Oxidation mechanism of ionic transport of copper in SiO2 dielectrics , 2004 .

[4]  Kong Boon Yeap,et al.  In situ study on low-k interconnect time-dependent-dielectric-breakdown mechanisms , 2014 .

[5]  Martin Z. Bazant,et al.  Electrochemical Thin Films at and above the Classical Limiting Current , 2005, SIAM J. Appl. Math..

[6]  P. M. Biesheuvel,et al.  Current-induced membrane discharge. , 2012, Physical review letters.

[7]  A. Nitzan.  Chemical Dynamics in Condensed Phases: Relaxation, Transfer, and Reactions in Condensed Molecular Systems , 2006 .

[8]  Martin Z. Bazant,et al.  Current-Voltage Relations for Electrochemical Thin Films , 2005, SIAM J. Appl. Math..

[9]  A. Kornyshev,et al.  Conductivity and space charge phenomena in solid electrolytes with one mobile charge carrier species, a review with original material , 1981 .

[10]  Peng Bai,et al.  Charge transfer kinetics at the solid–solid interface in porous electrodes , 2014, Nature Communications.

[11]  Rudolph A. Marcus,et al.  Electron transfer reactions in chemistry. Theory and experiment , 1993 .

[12]  C. Gentil,et al.  Transistor based study of the electrolyte/SiO2 interface , 2006 .

[13]  R. Waser,et al.  Effects of Moisture on the Switching Characteristics of Oxide‐Based, Gapless‐Type Atomic Switches , 2012 .

[14]  R. Waser,et al.  Nanoionic transport and electrochemical reactions in resistively switching silicon dioxide. , 2012, Nanoscale.

[15]  É. Itskovich,et al.  Electric current across the metal–solid electrolyte interface I. Direct current, current–voltage characteristic , 1977 .

[16]  M. Bazant,et al.  Lifetime of high- k gate dielectrics and analogy with strength of quasibrittle structures , 2009 .

[17]  Front dynamics during diffusion-limited corrosion of ramified electrodeposits , 1999, physics/9902006.

[18]  Martin Z Bazant,et al.  Theory of chemical kinetics and charge transfer based on nonequilibrium thermodynamics. , 2012, Accounts of chemical research.

[19]  P. M. Biesheuvel,et al.  Diffuse-charge effects on the transient response of electrochemical cells. , 2009, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[20]  Gaddi S. Haase.  A model for electric degradation of interconnect low-k dielectrics in microelectronic integrated circuits , 2009 .

[21]  Sean W. King,et al.  Observation of space charge limited current by Cu ion drift in porous low-k/Cu interconnects , 2010 .

[22]  C. Chidsey,et al.  Free Energy and Temperature Dependence of Electron Transfer at the Metal-Electrolyte Interface , 1991, Science.

[23]  Martin Z. Bazant,et al.  Imposed currents in galvanic cells , 2009 .

[24]  David G. Grier,et al.  The charge of glass and silica surfaces , 2001 .