Strain and texture in Al-interconnect wires measured by x-ray microbeam diffraction

The local strain and texture in Al interconnect wires have been investigated using white and monochromatic x-ray microbeams on the MHATTCAT undulator beam line at the Advanced Photon Source. Intergrain and intragrain orientations were obtained with ∼0.01° sensitivity using white beam measurements on wide Al pads (∼100 μm) and thin (2 μm) AI wires. Orientation changes of up to 1° were found within individual grains of the (111) textured Al interconnects. Deviatoric strain measurements indicate small intragranular strain variations, but intergranular strain variations were found to be quite large.