INTERCONNECT MATERIALS FOR VLSI CIRCUITS

Semiconductor technology is presently focused on the development of VLSI circuits with improved performance, higher switching speeds, higher reliability, and lower cost per function. The fabrication of scaled-down devices leads to challenging technological requirements particularly in the field of interconnect materials. The major material and process requirements for device miniaturization are examined. The limitations of commonly used materials and processes, metallization failures, and new metallization schemes for gate electrodes, metal-silicon contacts, and interconnect lines are presented and discussed.