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Correlations Between Structural Characteristics and Process Conditions of HSQ Based Porous Low-k Thin Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2011

Hae-Jeong Lee ,
Eric K. Lin ,
Howard Wang ,
Wen-Li Wu ,
Wei Chen  and
Thomas A. Deis
Hae-Jeong Lee
Affiliation:
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Polymers Division, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA
Eric K. Lin
Affiliation:
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Polymers Division, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA
Howard Wang
Affiliation:
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Polymers Division, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA
Wen-Li Wu
Affiliation:
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Polymers Division, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA
Wei Chen
Affiliation:
Semiconductor Fabrication Materials KCI, Dow Corning, Midland, MI, USA
Thomas A. Deis
Affiliation:
Semiconductor Fabrication Materials KCI, Dow Corning, Midland, MI, USA
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Abstract

A novel methodology using a combination of ion scattering, x-ray reflectivity (SXR), and small angle neutron scattering was used to characterize the structure and properties of a hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) based porous low-k dielectric films after varying process conditions. The dielectric constant and the remaining Si-H fraction (degree of cure) of the samples were varied from 1.5 to 2.2 and from 30 % to 52 %, respectively, by controlling the mass ratio of the solvent and the HSQ resin in the initial solutions and the wet ammonia treatment time. We determined the density depth profile, average mass density, wall density, porosity, average pore size, average wall thickness, pore connectivity and atomic composition. The chemical bond structures were also measured using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The density profile of each porous low-k film was uniform and only two layers were required to fit the experimental SXR data. Higher dielectric constant films show significantly higher wall densities and lower porosities and pore sizes. The measured increases in the wall density with lower Si-H fractions are consistent with the FTIR results.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 714: Symposium – Materials, Technology and Reliability for Advanced Interconnects and Low-k Dielectrics II , 2001 , L7.11.1
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2001

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References

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