The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 05, 2007
Filed:
Jun. 06, 2005
Daniel J. Stillman, Dallas, TX (US);
Nancy R. Ota, Keller, TX (US);
Cheryl Hartfield, McKinney, TX (US);
Daniel J. Stillman, Dallas, TX (US);
Nancy R. Ota, Keller, TX (US);
Cheryl Hartfield, McKinney, TX (US);
Texas Instruments Incorporated, Dallas, TX (US);
Abstract
One embodiment of the invention is a method for evaluating a material such as low-k dielectric, by a stress-generating test tool such as a needle. The evaluation object is shaped as a stack of adhering layers: low-k dielectric, first metal (preferably copper), barrier metal (preferably tantalum nitride), and second metal (preferably aluminum). A numerical correlation is established between a cracking in the barrier metal layer caused by probing and a damage in the layer of insulating material-to-be-tested. A predetermined number of locations of the top metal layer is selected for the probing step comprising touch-down, applying force, and lifting is repeated so that the number of repeats provide a pre-determined statistical confidence level. The top metal layer is then removed by a chemical etch solution so that the etch solution also penetrates into any stress-created cracks of the barrier metal layer underneath the imprints, and further dissolves a portion of the first metal layer, generating cavities in the first metal layer. The occurrence of all first metal cavities is recorded and correlated with the probing.