Use of AIN as cooper passivation layer and thermal conductor

An interconnect structure providing electrical connection in a semiconductor device, the interconnect structure comprising:

• a first conductive plug;
• a plurality of alternating second conductor plugs and passivation layers, the first conductive plug being electrically coupled to a first of the second conductor plugs;
• and
• a plurality of barrier layers, each one of the barrier layers formed between one of the second conductor plugs and either one of the passivation layers or the first conductive plug.

An integrated circuit containing a copper interconnect structure, the copper interconnect structure comprising:

• a conductive plug;
• a plurality of alternating copper layers and passivation layers, the conductive plug being electrically coupled to a first of the copper layers;
• and
• a plurality of barrier layers, each one of the barrier layers being formed between one of the copper layers and one of the passivation layers or the conductive plug, the barrier layers comprising a substantially continuous layer of aluminum nitride and being approximately 100 Å to approximately 1000 Å thick.

A system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising:
• a substrate,
• a transistor including a gate on the substrate and a source/drain region in the substrate disposed adjacent to the gate, and
• an interconnect structure providing electrical connection to at least one of the source/drain region, the interconnect structure comprising:
• a conductive plug connected to the source/drain region,
• a conductor plug provided over the conductive plug,
• a heat-radiating layer formed over the conductor plug, wherein the heat-radiating layer is formed to be from approximately 100 Å to about 1000 Å thick, and
• a barrier layer which substantially covers the conductive plug,
• wherein the heat-radiating layer is formed on at least a portion of the barrier layer and acts as a heat dissipation path for the conductor plug.