US5627101A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method of fabricating polysilicon electromigration sensor which can detect and monitor electromigration in composite metal lines on integrated circuit structures
Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co TSMC Ltd
•
Filing: 1995-12-04
•
Granted: 1997-05-06
•
Expires: 2015-12-04
Abstract
Abstract A polysilicon sensor is described which can be incorporated onto a silicon wafer containing integrated circuits for the purpose of detecting and monitoring electromigration(EM) in metal test stripes representative of the interconnection metallurgy used by the integrated circuits. The sensor capitalizes on the property of silicon whereby a small increase in temperature causes a large increase in carrier concentration. In this regard, the local temperature rise of an adjacent metal line undergoing EM failure manifests itself as a decrease in resistance of the sensor. The sensor is particularly suited for testing multi-level metallurgies such as those having an aluminum alloy sandwiched between metallic layers such as those used for diffusion barriers and anti-reflective coatings. Its fabrication is compatible with conventional MOSFET processes which use a self-aligned polysilicon gate. It can be particularly useful when built into the wafer kerf area or into a manufacturing test site(MTS) where it can be used to qualify the metallization of a particular job. Structures built into the wafer kerf can be tested immediately after metallization while those built into MTS chips can be reserved for long term reliability testing.
Inventors
- 👤 Chih-Sheng Lin
- 👤 Shun-Yi Lee
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 04:48
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01R; G01R31/00; G01R31/28; G01R31/2851; G01R31/2855; G01R31/2856; G01R31/2858; H; H10; H10P; H10P74/00; H10P74/27; H10P74/277; G01R31/2853; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S438/00; Y10S438/927
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
331 words
A method of fabricating an electromigration sensor structure comprising: providing a semiconductor substrate; forming a first insulating layer of silicon oxide over said semiconductor substrate; depositing a layer of intrinsic polysilicon over said first insulating layer; depositing a first layer of photoresist over said polysilicon layer; patterning said first layer of photoresist to form a photoresist stripe; implanting dopant atoms into the polysilicon adjacent to said photoresist stripe; stripping said first photoresist layer; depositing a second layer of photoresist over said polysilicon layer; patterning said second layer of photoresist to form a wider stripe of photoresist which straddles the position of the first photoresist stripe such that the second photoresist stripe covers a portion of the ion implanted polysilicon on each side of the intrinsic section defined by said first photoresist layer; etching said polysilicon layer utilizing an anisotropic etching technique with end point detect capability thereby forming a polysilicon stripe having an intrinsic center section and heavily doped side sections; stripping said second photoresist layer; depositing a second insulating layer over said semiconductor substrate; depositing a third photoresist layer over said second insulating layer; patterning said third photoresist layer to expose said second insulating layer over said heavily doped side sections; etching said second insulating layer with an anisotropic etching technique with end point detect capability to expose said heavily doped side sections of said polysilicon stripe; stripping said third photoresist layer; depositing a metallization layer over the surface of said semiconductor substrate; depositing a fourth layer of photoresist over said metallization layer and patterning said photoresist to expose 1) connections from the heavily doped edges of the polysilicon stripe to probe contact pads and 2) a metal stripe over the intrinsic section of the polysilicon stripe with connections from each end of said metal stripe to probe contact pads; etching said metallization layer in the areas exposed by said fourth layer of photoresist using an anisotropic etching technique with end point detect capability; and stripping said fourth photoresist layer.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
331 words
A method of fabricating an electromigration sensor structure comprising: providing a semiconductor substrate; forming a first insulating layer of silicon oxide over said semiconductor substrate; depositing a layer of intrinsic polysilicon over said first insulating layer; depositing a first layer of photoresist over said polysilicon layer; patterning said first layer of photoresist to form a photoresist stripe; implanting dopant atoms into the polysilicon adjacent to said photoresist stripe; stripping said first photoresist layer; depositing a second layer of photoresist over said polysilicon layer; patterning said second layer of photoresist to form a wider stripe of photoresist which straddles the position of the first photoresist stripe such that the second photoresist stripe covers a portion of the ion implanted polysilicon on each side of the intrinsic section defined by said first photoresist layer; etching said polysilicon layer utilizing an anisotropic etching technique with end point detect capability thereby forming a polysilicon stripe having an intrinsic center section and heavily doped side sections; stripping said second photoresist layer; depositing a second insulating layer over said semiconductor substrate; depositing a third photoresist layer over said second insulating layer; patterning said third photoresist layer to expose said second insulating layer over said heavily doped side sections; etching said second insulating layer with an anisotropic etching technique with end point detect capability to expose said heavily doped side sections of said polysilicon stripe; stripping said third photoresist layer; depositing a metallization layer over the surface of said semiconductor substrate; depositing a fourth layer of photoresist over said metallization layer and patterning said photoresist to expose 1) connections from the heavily doped edges of the polysilicon stripe to probe contact pads and 2) a metal stripe over the intrinsic section of the polysilicon stripe with connections from each end of said metal stripe to probe contact pads; etching said metallization layer in the areas exposed by said fourth layer of photoresist using an anisotropic etching technique with end point detect capability; and stripping said fourth photoresist layer.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the first insulating layer is a field oxide isolation layer and is between 3000 and 5000 Angstroms thick.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said second insulating layer is silicon oxide and is between 6000 and 10,000 Angstroms thick.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the second insulation layer is a phosphosilicate glass and is between 6000 and 10,000 Angstroms thick.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the second insulation layer is a borophosphosilicate glass and is between 6000 and 10,000 Angstroms thick.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the implanted dopant atoms are arsenic.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the implanted dopant atoms are phosphorous.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said polysilicon stripe is 1 to 2 microns wider than said metal stripe.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the resistivity of said polysilicon stripe is no less than 100 ohm cm. at 25° C.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the anisotropic etching technique for etching the polysilicon is reactive-ion-etching with chlorine and argon.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the anisotropic etching technique for etching the second insulating layer is reactive-ion-etching with tetrafluoromethane.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the anisotropic etching technique for etching the metallization layer is reactive-ion-etching.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the metallization layer is an aluminum-silicon-copper alloy.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the metallization layer comprises a first layer of titanium, a second layer of titanium nitride, and a third layer of an aluminum-silicon-copper alloy.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the metallization layer comprises a first layer of titanium, a second layer of titanium nitride, a third layer of an aluminum-silicon-copper alloy and a fourth layer selected from the group consisting of titanium, titanium-tungsten alloy, and titanium nitride.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the structure is fabricated within a manufacturing-test-site(MTS) chip included in a self-aligned polysilicon gate MOSFET product chip mask set.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the metal stripes on the MTS is subjected to long term reliability testing after process completion and wafer dicing.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the structure is fabricated within the kerf area of wafers containing self-aligned polysilicon gate MOSFET product chips.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the metal stripe is tested for electromigration failure in order to assure the quality of metallization of a manufacturing job prior to continued processing.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-05-05 | 2000-11-04 | 2001-05-06 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-05-05 | 2004-11-04 | 2005-05-06 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-05-05 | 2008-11-04 | 2009-05-06 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |