Co-W nanocrystalline electrodeposits as barrier for interconnects

This study was performed in order to investigate a possibility to obtain Co-W microbumps via electrochemical routes, because this alloy recently has gained attraction as a novel barrier against copper diffusion. In order to be applied in flip-chip technology, barrier layers should be void-free and uniformly deposited on the entire area of a die to ensure high reliability and high performance of wafer bump-solder interface. To meet these requirements, a set of potentiostatic and galvanostatic electrodeposition was carried out from a citrate electrolyte, at pH 5 and at room temperature. The tests done confirm that void-free Co-W bumps with a uniform tungsten content along the bump can be obtained by potentiostatic and galvanostatic electrodeposition. Successful electrodeposition of Cu/Co-W/Sn layers with good adhesion between them and uniformity on the entire array of bumps also was obtained. The XPS data confirm that electrodeposited Co-W layers can act as a good barrier between Sn and Cu.Published online: 11 May 2014status: publishe