Molecular dynamics simulation of structural change at metal/semiconductor interface induced by nanoindenter

The structures of the Si/Cu heterogenous interface impacted by a nanoindenter with different incident angles and depths are investigated in detail using molecular dynamics simulation. The simulation results suggest that for certain incident angles, the nanoindenter with increasing depth can firstly increase the stress of each atom at the interface and it then introduces more serious structural deformation of the Si/Cu heterogenous interface. A nanoindenter with increasing incident angle (absolute value) can increase the length of the Si or Cu extended atom layer. It is worth mentioning that when the incident angle of the nanoindenter is between −45° and 45°, these Si or Cu atoms near the nanoindenter reach a stable state, which has a lower stress and a shorter length of the Si or Cu extended atom layer than those of the other incident angles. This may give a direction to the planarizing process of very large scale integration circuits manufacture.