Effect of current direction on the lifetime of different levels of Cu dual-damascene metallization

Electromigration in the lower metal (M1) and the upper metal (M2) of Cu dual-damascene interconnections has been studied. The failure times of M2 test structures are significantly longer than those of identical M1 structures. It is proposed that this asymmetry is the result of a difference in the location of void formation and growth, which is believed to be related to the ease of electromigration-induced void nucleation and growth at the Cu/Si3N4 interface. Asymmetric via reliability is therefore an intrinsic characteristic of current Cu interconnect technology.