Internal friction: a fast technique for electromigration failure analysis

Internal friction (IF) describes the mechanical energy losses in vibrating samples due to stress-induced movement of defects in solids. Such experiments on thin films provide direct experimental access to the examination of grain boundary diffusion phenomena, which are known to be the main origin of electromigration. It is found that for a series of Al-alloys there exists a correlation between the results from IF experiments and electromigration lifetime tests. Thus IF is suggested as a complementary method to the standard test procedures. The method can be applied to samples prepared from wafers coated in industry production lines. Sample preparation and test requires only a few hours.<>