Electromigration Strain Gradients

9530043 Cargill This small grant for exploratory research (SGER) supports a study of strain and composition gradients associated with electromigration in passivated polycrystalline aluminum - 5% copper conductor lines. The objective is to apply a new experimental approach to the long standing problem of electromigration in order to improve understanding and test theories concerning the origins, control, and consequences of strain and composition distributions in polycrystalline metallization structures undergoing electromigration. The program integrates capillary optics with X-ray diffraction apparatus and energy dispersive X-ray detection. One of the challenges in the work is to achieve the necessary spatial resolution in microdiffraction measurements while having sufficient incident X-ray flux to make accurate diffraction measurements in a practical time period. %%% This research provides a demonstration of the approach described above, and should permit the first direct , spatially resolved measurements of strain gradients during electromigration in passivated conductor lines. It should advance scientific understanding and industrial design practice. ***