We are proud to announce that a recently published paper in the Advancing Open Science - Special Issue Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Nanomaterials, titled "A Comprehensive Microstructure-Aware Electromigration Modeling Framework; Investigation of the Impact of Trench Dimensions in Damascene Copper Interconnects" has been selected as an Editor's Pick.

This paper presents a comprehensive simulation framework to investigate electromigration in nano-interconnects, emphasizing the role of microstructure. The study considers diffusion heterogeneity through metal texture and interfaces, allowing for the analysis of atomic flux and stress distribution. A novel approach to generating conductor metal microstructures is introduced, incorporating grain size distributions from experimental analyses, making the model predictive without continuous calibration. The framework simulates all stages of electromigration, including stress evolution, void nucleation, and void dynamics. The model is used to study the impact of trench dimensions on dual damascene copper texture and its effect on electromigration aging, with findings validated against experimental data.

This work has been performed in cooperation with imec and KU Leuven Belgium, and contribution from our colleague Hajdin Ceric.