Comparative Cu diffusion studies in advanced metallizations of Cu and Al-Cu based thin films

Availability of diffusion data is important in the evaluation of the prospect of substituting Cu for Al-Cu metallization for improving electrical and electromigration performance. Measurements have been made of 67Cu radioactive tracer diffusion in Cu, Cu-0.4Zr and several Al-Cu thin films of commonly used compositions. Grain boundary self diffusion in Cu is described by δDb = 1.5×10-9 exp (-0.92eV/kT) cm3/sec. The activation energy for Cu diffusion in Al, Al-1% Cu and Al-0.5Cu-0.15Ti thin films depends on the amount of Cu present and varies in the 0.4 - 1.0 eV range. The measured diffusion parameters in the two alloy systems are compared and contrasted with those available from electromigration studies.