Tomography of integrated circuit interconnect with an electromigration void

An integrated circuit interconnect was subject to accelerated-life test conditions to induce an electromigration void. The silicon substrate was removed, leaving only the interconnect test structure encased in silica. We imaged the sample with 1750 eV photons using the 2-ID-B scanning transmission x-ray microscope at the Advanced Photon Source, a third-generation synchrotron facility. Fourteen views through the sample were obtained over a 170 degrees range of angles (with a 40 degrees gap) about a single rotation axis. Two sampled regions were selected for three-dimensional reconstruction: one of the ragged end of a wire depleted by the void, the other of the adjacent interlevel connection (or "via"). We applied two reconstruction techniques: the simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique and a Bayesian reconstruction technique, the generalized Gaussian Markov random field method. The stated uncertainties are total, with one standard deviation, which resolved the sample to 200 +/- 70 and 140 +/- 30 nm, respectively. The tungsten via is distinguished from the aluminum wire by higher absorption. Within the void, the aluminum is entirely depleted from under the tungsten via. The reconstructed data show the applicability of this technique to three-dimensional imaging of buried defects in submicrometer structures relevant to the microelectronics industry. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)00509-0].