3. Many open questions

Metals are therefore omnipresent in microelectronics. However, the questions posed are not necessarily identical to those emerging in the more "classical" fields of structural applications. It is therefore important to clarify the specifics of the field in order to identify the "open questions" in the right way.

A constant feature of microelectronics is the presence of confined situations: thin films, channels and pads. Another characteristic is the forced coexistence of materials with very different behaviors: silicon and copper, silicon oxides, barrier intermetallics. And last but not least, the actual manufacturing processes, involving a sequence of deposits and heat treatments, lead to specific problems. Here again, we do not intend to be exhaustive, but simply to cite a few examples of fundamental problems that represent scientific obstacles to the future development...