Patent ID: 7709958

Claim:
An interconnect line structure having sidewalls and bottom interfaces, said interconnect line structure comprising: a metallic conductor embedded in at least one surrounding dielectric layer, said metallic conductor comprising a metal or alloy chosen from a group consisting of Cu, Ag, and alloys comprising one or more of these metals; one or more metallic barrier layers disposed between said metallic conductor and said at least one surrounding dielectric layer along the sidewalls and bottom interfaces; and a passivation layer disposed between said metallic conductor and said one or more metallic barrier layers along the sidewalls and bottom interfaces, said passivation layer comprising a material selected from the group consisting of copper sulfide, silver sulfide, copper selenide, silver selenide, copper telluride, silver telluride, and mixtures comprising two or more of these materials, wherein the copper sulfide refers to CuS X or Cu 2 S X , the silver sulfide refers to AgS X or Ag 2 S X , the copper selenide refers to CuSe X or Cu 2 Se X , and the copper telluride refers to CuTe X or Cu 2 Te X , and wherein 0.7≦X≦1.3.