Title :
Advanced wiring RC delay issues for sub-0.25-micron generation CMOS
Author :
Stamper, A.K. ; Fuselier, M.B. ; Tian, X.
Author_Institution :
IBM Corp., Essex Junction, VT, USA
Abstract :
Measured and modeled back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) RC delay data are presented for multilevel sub-0.25 μm generation CMOS ICs. The aluminum and copper BEOL levels were fabricated using metal RIE and damascene processing, respectively. Aluminum BEOL RC variability increases with increasing line height and is primarily caused by within-wafer intermetal dielectric (IMD) CMP removal variation and wafer-to-wafer variation in the printed and etched metal linewidths. Copper BEOL RC variability decreases with increasing line height and is dominated by metal CMP variation for thin lines and by metal trough IMD RIE depth and width tolerances for thick lines. In addition to having 40% lower sheet resistance, copper also has lower BEOL RC variability than aluminum and offers more design flexibility for BEOL RC delay and crosstalk noise optimization
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; capacitance; chemical mechanical polishing; crosstalk; delays; dielectric thin films; electric resistance; integrated circuit interconnections; integrated circuit measurement; integrated circuit metallisation; integrated circuit modelling; integrated circuit noise; sputter etching; 0.25 micron; Al; Al BEOL RC variability; BEOL RC delay; BEOL RC variability; CMOS ICs; Cu; Cu BEOL RC variability; RC delay data measurement; RC delay data modelling; aluminum BEOL levels; back-end-of-the-line RC delay data; copper BEOL levels; crosstalk noise optimization; damascene processing; design flexibility; etched metal linewidth; line height; metal CMP variation; metal RIE; metal trough IMD RIE depth tolerance; metal trough IMD RIE width tolerance; printed metal linewidth; sheet resistance; wiring RC delay; within-wafer intermetal dielectric CMP removal variation; Aluminum; Capacitance; Copper; Delay; Insulation; Manufacturing; Metal-insulator structures; Testing; Wires; Wiring;
Conference_Titel :
Interconnect Technology Conference, 1998. Proceedings of the IEEE 1998 International
Conference_Location :
San Francisco, CA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-4285-2
DOI :
10.1109/IITC.1998.704752
