ZIRCONIUM AS AN ADHESION MATERIAL IN A MULTI-LAYER WIRING SUBSTRATE

Abstract: A layer of zirconium (44) can be used as an adhesion layer between a ceramic or polyimide substrate (40) and subse­ quently applied metallic layers (46,48,50). Following the zirconium layer, copper can be deposited (46) followed by a reaction barrier layer (48) and a wettable surface layer (50) such as gold. This type of structure can be used for pin brazing, chip joining, and/or wire connections.

Description: This invention relates to a metallic structure for making circuit interconnection between an integrated circuit and a substrate. As the integrated circuit density continues to increase towards Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI), the increases in both the input/output (I/O) counts and wiring densities have placed stringent demands on the multi-layer chip packaging technologies. In order to interconnect large numbers of integrated circuit (IC) chips, each containing high densities of I/O terminals, the ability to produce fine and precise patterns with great reduction of lead pitch is becoming increasingly crucial to the success of future VLSI packaging technologies. Today's thick film multi-layer ceramic (MLC) technology has reached a limit, because the silk screening method is not capable of producing patterns with a minimum line width of less than 75µm, and the sintering process is plagued with large dimensional tolerances. Thick film MLC technology by itself is not enough to meet the requirements for advanced VLSI packaging technology. One method of providing inter-chip wiring and I/O interconnections utilizes thin film polyimide packages on top of a conventional MLC base. The structure consists of a MLC substrate as a base to supply current and mechanical support and thin film layers processed on top of the MLC base to provide inter-chip wiring and to fan-out the semiconductor chip contacts to the thin film wiring layers. Among the materials tested, the use of polyimide as a low dielectric insulating layer between finely patterned high conductivity copper layers achieves the best performance. One of the problems, however, with the use of copper for fine wiring, is that a pure copper to polyimide bond is not capable of withstanding the subsequent process and handling steps. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method for enhancing the adhesion between copper and a polyimide substrate. EP-A2-0 190 820 describes a thin-film metal conductor system in which a zirconium layer underlies the conductive layer to improve the adhesion of the conductor system to the substrate. The teaching of this patent application relates to the formation of conductor lines rather then the interconnection between different wiring systems, such as that on an integrated circuit and a substrate. Another metallic system to form a wiring system on a substrate is described in FR-B-2 041 392, where the conductor lines are defined in a sandwich layer, in which the first metallic film is formed of titanium, zirconium or molybdenum, the second layer of gold or copper and third layer of titanium, zirconium and molybden. The formation of reliable interconnection pads between different wire systems is again not addressed. The object of the invention as described in claim 1 is to provide a metallic structure that connects reliably the wiring systems of an integrated circuit and of a substrate to provide good electrical contact, and good mechanical adhesion between polyimide or ceramic substrates and selected metallic layers. In accordance with these objects, a thin layer of zirconium is used as an adhesion layer between a polyimide layer and a copper, aluminum, or gold layer. The adhesion strength between zirconium and polyimide is superior to alternative adhesion layers such as chromium or titanium. Furthermore, sputter cleaning of the polyimide surface is unnecessary with zirconium. As an alternative, zirconium and copper, aluminum, or gold can be co-deposited at the beginning of film deposition. Additionally, for those applications where polyimide is not necessary for packaging, zirconium can be used as an adhesion layer directly to a ceramic substrate. Following the zirconium layer, copper, aluminum, or gold can be deposited followed by a reaction barrier layer and a wettable surface layer such as gold. This type of structure can be used for pin brazing, chip joining, and/or wire connections. In the following, the invention will be more fully understood with reference to the description of an embodiment and the drawings wherein: Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-layer ceramic substrate with a multi-layer polyimide structure. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a substrate with a 4-layer metallic I/O pad. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a substrate with a polyimide layer and metal structure. A multi-layer ceramic (MLC) substrate 10 is shown in Fig. 1. MLC is known in the art to be comprised of a plurality of thin ceramic sheets which are then aligned and sintered together to form a thick MLC substrate for making circuit interconnections for semiconductor devices. The ceramic material can be the alumina ceramic (Al₂O₃) or the glass ceramic type, one form of which is known as alpha- cordierite. Contained within the layers 12 of substrate 10 are conductors which are used to carry electrical signals through the substrate 10. Some of these conductors are illustrated as vias 14, 16, and 18 which are used to carry signals to and from the top and bottom surfaces of substrate 10, where they can connect with other components. For making electrical connections with vias 14, 16, and 18, a multi-layer metal structure which includes a thin zirconium layer has shown excellent mechanical and electrical properties. While the actual structure of the multi-layer metallurgy varies depending upon the type of interconnection, the use of the zirconium layer is common to all structures. For example, the multi-layer pad 22 which is used for connecting pin 24 to via 18, engineering change pad 28, and surface pads 31, consist of four layers in accordance with the invention. The capture pads 26 which are connected to vias 14 and 16 consist of a three layer metal structure and are not part of the present invention. Also shown in Fig. 1 is a 3-layer polyimide structure comprised of polyimide layers 36, 37, 38. This polyimide structure is used for redistribution, inter-chip wiring 27 and interconnections between the substrate 10 and semiconductor chip 34. Additionally, wiring within the polyimide layers can also be used to connect one semiconductor chip directly to other chips. 4-Layer Metallurgy For metal pads that will be subjected to soldering or brazing for circuit interconnections, a 4-layer structure in accordance with the invention comprising a zirconium adhesion layer, a copper layer, a reaction barrier layer, and a wettable surface layer is employed. Examples of the types of pads which require a 4-layer structure are pad 22 which has pin 24 brazed to it; engineering change pad 28; and surface pads 31 which connect to the solder balls 32 on semiconductor chip 34. Referring to Fig. 2, the sequence of metallizing the pads begins with the alignment of a mask (not shown) with the substrate 40, which may be either ceramic, organic or metallic in nature. The type of mask used, metal, plastic, polymer, photoresist, etc. is not critical to this invention and can be any type commonly used in the art. If polyimide is not to be used as a dielectric layer, the formation of the multi-layer thin film pad 42 begins with the deposition of a thin layer of zirconium 44. The zirconium layer 44 can be deposited by electron gun evaporation, sputtering, ion plating or other methods known in the art. The thickness of the zirconium layer 44 is preferably within the range 3-200 nanometers. A layer 46 of copper, aluminum or gold is next deposited over zirconium layer 44, using the same deposition mask structure. Layer 46 can also be deposited using the deposition techniques described above, with a preferred thickness in the range 2-20 microns. To prevent layer 46 from reacting with a solder or braze during subsequent manufacturing processes, a reaction/diffusion barrier layer 48 with a thickness in the range 0.5-3.0 micrometers is deposited. The reaction barrier layer can be zirconium, titanium, chromium, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum or nickel. Finally, a wettable surface layer 50 is applied to enhance the wettability of the multi-layer film for brazing or soldering. Gold, in the range 0.3-10.0 microns has been found to be effective.If polyimide layers are to be used with the multi-layer metallurgy, the process described is modified to include additional steps. Referring to Fig.3, a substrate 60 is provided. Substrate 60 can be ceramic, or a previously deposited layer of polyimide. A layer 62 of polyimide is sprayed or spun on, with a thickness of approximately 5.0 micrometers. Following this layer, a second layer 64 of soluble polyimide is applied. Layer 64 will be used as a lift-off layer after metal deposition. A photoresist layer 66 is applied and dried, and a metallization pattern is lithographically defined and developed as well-known in the art. Using the developed photoresist pattern as an etch mask, layers 64 and 62 are etched in a reactive ion etch chanber using O₂ or a mixture of O₂/CF₄, creating via 68. Then, the metal layers are deposited as described previously. Lift-off is achieved by immersing the substrate 60 in a solvent capable of dissolving soluble polyimide layer 64, such as n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP). If the metallurgy is to cover a portion of a metal layer previously applied, it may be necessary to sputter clean the surface to remove any oxidation that may have formed on the metal surface, prior to depositing an additional multi-layer structure. This same process can be repeated as necessary to create a multi-layer wiring structure as shown in Fig. 1.

Claims: A metallic structure for interconnecting the wiring systems of an integrated circuit and of a substrate, comprising: a layer (44) of zirconium applied to the substrate (40); a metal layer (46) covering the zirconium layer, the metal being selected from the group consisting of copper, aluminum and gold; a reaction barrier layer (48) overlaying the metal layer (46), where the reaction barrier layer is selected from the group consisting of zirconium, titanium, chromium, tungsten and molybdenum; a wettable layer (50) of gold overlaying the reaction barrier layer (48). The metallic structure of claim 1 characterized in that the substrate is selected from a group including glass ceramics and organic materials. The metallic structure of one of the claims 1 to 2 characterized in that the zirconium layer has a thickness in the range between 3 and 200 nm, that the metal layer has a thickness in the range between 2 and 20 micrometers and that the reaction barrier layer has a thickness in the range between 0.5 to 3 micrometers.

Inventors: KIM, JUNGIHL, LANGE, WALTER FREDERICK, SHIH, DA-YUAN, WEN, SHEREE HSIAOU-RU
Applicants: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Application year: 1987
Main classification: H01L23
IPC codes: H01L23, H05K3, H05K1, H01L21