The reliability challenge: New materials in the new millennium - Moore's Law drives a discontinuity

Nowhere is the pace of change so rapid or so dramatic as in the semiconductor industry. For any industry to sustain 15 percent growth per year over a 40-year period is remarkable. But in the next few years, that growth rate is expected to accelerate, creating an industry that rivals historically dominant industries such as automotive and steel for share of the global economy. Moore's Law has proven remarkably successful in characterizing the growth of the semiconductor industry for the past three decades. During that period, the core microelectronic materials - silicon substrate, SiO2-based dielectrics, and aluminum metallization - have undergone relatively minor perturbations. Now, however, a discontinuity in basic semiconductor materials will be necessary for the industry to continue on the curve described by Moore's Law. The materials on which we have based our careers are giving way to new gate and interlevel dielectrics, and copper metallization is replacing aluminum-alloy metallization. Given the size of our industry and its impact on the global economy, an accelerated understanding of the reliability physics of these new materials is essential. This paper deals with the work environment, skills and methods required for the reliability scientist to prepare the semiconductor industry for the new millennium.