Texture and Grain Boundary Structure Dependence of Hillock Formation in Thin Metal Films

Abstract

AbstractThe development of hillocks on metal films during annealing is detrimental to downstream processing of integrated circuit structures. This work focuses upon the local character of texture and grain boundary structure near hillocks in metal films. It is apparent from the results that local grain boundary structure and texture strength are important parameters in identifying locations in the films that are preferentially susceptible to failure under given conditions. Results in aluminum and platinum films indicate that non-(111) oriented grains preferentially contain hillocks. In addition, (111) oriented grains with boundaries characterized by high angle rotations about random axes are prone to hillock formation.