Local temperature measurement of micro-sized metallization line by using scanning thermal microscopy

A novel technique of the scanning thermal microscope was used to measure surface morphology and temperature distribution of Al-Si-Cu metallization line with a micro-sized spatial resolution. The metal line was heated by a Ti-W self-heating buried layer. The localized temperature and micro-sized defects on the line were detected by a thin film thermistor tip for determining the mean time to failure of electromigration and studying failure mechanisms. The temperature difference along the whole line was about 2°C, which was in agreement with that obtained by infrared emission microscope