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Exactly. The name of the game is process control.

Posted by Leisure7 (A) on June 30, 2003 at 11:34:46

In Reply to: Re: I thought Intel was going to start copper conductor traces in VLSI posted by Dan Banquer on June 30, 2003 at 05:51:20:

Thank you. I hoped to get some real-world, analog-experience-based replies to my inquiry. There is nothing wrong with trailing-edge technology if it is managed properly. Reliability physicists have been studying the aluminum-silicon-copper alloy metallization system for integrated circuits since the early 1970s and its limits are thoroughly understood (see the annual volumes of the papers presented at the International Reliability Physics Symposium).

The published photos appear to be part of a study of electromigration of some version of this system. The blotchy appearance of the current density makes it clear that even slight loss of control of how the metal is deposited and processed should make major differences in the actual performance and mechanical stability of individual chips. I don't know if this microscopic detail has anything to do with sonic properties of linear integrated circuits made with this kind of metal, but it might be a place to start looking if someone observed significant unit-to-unit variation in sonic properties. I would expect much less variation in basic transistor structure.

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Kimber Kable

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