Change in resistivity of fine metal line by KrF excimer laser annealing

Regarding the resistance reduction in the fine metal line of the semiconductor device, the annealing effect by the excimer laser was confirmed. Excimer laser was irradiated to Cu and Ru as fine metal line materials, and the change in resistivity and the surface condition (change in the metal grain size) were confirmed. As a result, in Cu, the grain size doubled, and the resistivity decreased by about 20%. In Ru, the grain size expanded by about 1.2 times, and the resistivity decreased by about 10%. This experimental evaluation was performed by a KrF excimer laser with a pulse width of 82 ns and was found to have the lowest resistance just before the irradiation damage threshold (melting or ablation initiation value) in both cases.