The use of test structures to perform chip level characterisation studies of Ni and NiFe electrochemical deposition

This paper describes the first use of test structures designed to characterise the fundamental properties of nickel and nickel-iron alloy films deposited using electroplating. The structures are used to perform a chip-level investigation into the effects of electrolyte bath composition on the characteristics of deposited films. The advantage of this methodology is that each electrolyte change does not require the replacement of the large volume bath associated with wafer scale manufacturing investigations, thereby making the characterisation and optimisation of electroplating baths far less time consuming, and considerably more cost effective.