Corrosion inhibition in microelectronic copper thin film

Abstract

This project focuses on the inhibition of copper corrosion in both ambient air and aqueous media through the use of organic thin films. The effectiveness of a corrosion inhibitor depends on a number of factors, such as the structure and chemical make-up (functional groups) of the inhibitor, the stability of the chelate and the experimental conditions such as inhibitor concentration, temperature of deposition, deposition time and types of solvent used. The stability of the chelate is an important factor in determining the inhibition efficiency of the inhibitors. The packing density of the inhibitor molecules on the copper surface also plays an important role in influencing the film inhibitive properties as a greater barrier against the transport of corrosive species. The nature and position of different substituted functional group on the benzene ring of an aromatic inhibitor is critical to its inhibition efficiency. These studies are further extended to characterizing corrosion products on copper trenches used in making microelectronic integrated circuits.