Alfred Grill

Biography

The combined efforts of Daniel C. Edelstein, Alfred Grill, and C-K Hu in making the benefits of copper (Cu) interconnect technologies a feasible reality forever changed semiconductor manufacturing and allowed the continued scaling of microelectronics. Their pioneering work overcame the manufacturing and reliability challenges of introducing a new materials process to replace aluminum interconnects. Edelstein described a qualified and commercial Cu interconnect technology. His dual damascene structure yielded unique microstructures in electroplated Cu nanowires, making it possible to study effects of nanoscale surfaces and interfaces on electron resistivity and mass transport in Cu lines. Grill’s development of silicon-carbon-oxygen-hydrogen (SiCOH) dielectrics provided a unique class of low-k dielectrics with strong chemical bonds, offering a distinct molecular structure that strengthened the thermomechanical properties of porous low-k materials. Hu’s work on electromigration of Cu interconnects provided insights to understanding the basic scaling law for predicting the degradation of electromigration lifetime and development of new materials for future technology nodes.

Grill is an IBM Fellow Emeritus at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY, USA.