Guidelines for intermediate back end of line (BEOL) for 3D sequential integration

For the first time the thermal stability of a new fluorine-free (F-free) W barrier coupled with W interconnections enabling 22% line 1 resistance improvement is evaluated in view of 3D VLSI integration. Integrated with ULK, no resistance nor lateral capacitance degradation is observed up to 550°C 5h while preserving good reliability. For additional thermal stability a TEOS/W stability is demonstrated up to 600°C 2h. Both types of interconnection stacks have been successfully integrated on devices with 28nm design rules and show similar performance for MOSFETs and Ring Oscillators (RO) as compared to the ULK/Cu stack. Finally, iBEOL guidelines are given at the end in view of 3D sequential integration.