With the lowest resistivity of all metals, silver is an attractive
interconnect material for higher current densities and faster switching
speeds in integrated circuits. Over the past ten years, extensive
research has been conducted to address the thermal and electrical
stability issues and the processing issues that have prevented silver
from being used as an interconnect metal. Here is the first book to
discuss the current understanding of silver metallization and its
potential as a future interconnect material for integrated circuit
technology. The authors provide details on a wide range of experimental,
characterization, and analysis techniques. In addition, they discuss
novel approaches used to overcome the thermal and electrical stability
issues associated with silver metallization. The book is written for
students, scientists, engineers, and technologists in the fields of
integrated circuits and microelectronics research and development.