Join imec, one of the world's premierresearch centers in nanotechnology, at its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium, tostudy the stochastic current fluctuations within metal conductors.Understanding the link with their reliability properties is key in shaping thetechnologies of tomorrow.
Constant progress in lithography hasenabled a steady decrease in transistor dimensions, resulting in a significantrise in integrated circuits (IC) performances. From a few transistors in 1958,ICs are now composed of several billions devices connected by kilometers ofinterconnects.
Today's advanced technologies interconnectwidths are around 20 nm or less. Even very low operating currents lead tocurrent densities which are significantly above 106 A/cm². These high current densities makeinterconnects very vulnerable to electromigration. Electromigration is themovement of atoms under the influence of an electric current. The constantimpact of electrons on metal ions produces an exchange of momentum, ultimatelyleading to the displacement of atoms and the creation of voids.Electromigration reliability is classically tested using constant currentstresses at elevated temperatures on packaged interconnects. Traditionally,these tests are very long and destructive.
Recently, imec proved that a link existsbetween the stochastic fluctuation of the current (low-frequency noise, seeFig. 1) in interconnects and their electromigration behavior [1]. The goal ofthis internship is to use this method to compare different metallizationschemes for copper and advanced metal interconnects. The study should lead tothe following achievements:
Type of internship: Master internship
Duration: 4 to 6 months
Required educational background: Materials Engineering
Supervising scientist(s): For further information or for application, please contact Emmanuel Chery (< email deleted for security reasons >)
The reference code for this position is 2026-INT-273. Mention this reference code in your application.
Only for self-supporting students.
Applications should include the following information:
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Constant progress in lithography hasenabled a steady decrease in transistor dimensions, resulting in a significantrise in integrated circuits (IC) performances. From a few transistors in 1958,ICs are now composed of several billions devices connected by kilometers ofinterconnects.
Today's advanced technologies interconnectwidths are around 20 nm or less. Even very low operating currents lead tocurrent densities which are significantly above 106 A/cm². These high current densities makeinterconnects very vulnerable to electromigration. Electromigration is themovement of atoms under the influence of an electric current. The constantimpact of electrons on metal ions produces an exchange of momentum, ultimatelyleading to the displacement of atoms and the creation of voids.Electromigration reliability is classically tested using constant currentstresses at elevated temperatures on packaged interconnects. Traditionally,these tests are very long and destructive.
Recently, imec proved that a link existsbetween the stochastic fluctuation of the current (low-frequency noise, seeFig. 1) in interconnects and their electromigration behavior [1]. The goal ofthis internship is to use this method to compare different metallizationschemes for copper and advanced metal interconnects. The study should lead tothe following achievements:
- Bycomparing different metallization schemes using various liners and cappingmaterials, the contribution from each interface in the degradation mechanismwill be deduced. Ultimately it will allow us to select the most reliableprocess.
- Usingour new measurement setup, measurements at higher temperatures will be carried,and will allow us to study higher activation energies.
The following activities are foreseen:
- Deepunderstanding of the link between the physics of electromigration and thelow-frequency noise in metals.
- Datawill be collected on a wide range of copper metallization schemes using ouradvanced low-frequency noise tester.
- Datapreparation and data analyses will be performed by the student.
- Performpackage level electromigration stresses to compare LFN and EM activationenergies.
Type of internship: Master internship
Duration: 4 to 6 months
Required educational background: Materials Engineering
Supervising scientist(s): For further information or for application, please contact Emmanuel Chery (< email deleted for security reasons >)
The reference code for this position is 2026-INT-273. Mention this reference code in your application.
Only for self-supporting students.
Applications should include the following information:
- resume
- motivation
- current study
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
