The continual evolution of integrated circuit architecture places ever-increasing demands on the metal and dielectric thin films used in fabricating these circuits. Not only must these materials meet performance and manufacturability requirements, they must also be highly reliable for many years under operating conditions. A thorough understanding of the failure mechanisms and the effect of processing conditions and material properties on reliability is required to achieve this, particularly if it is to be done while minimizing cost and maximizing performance. This book brings together researchers from academia and industry to discuss fundamental mechanisms and phenomena in the reliability field. Topics include: solder and barrier-layer reliability; electromigration modeling; electromigration in interconnects; advanced measurement techniques; mechanical behavior of back-end materials and adhesion and fracture.
