Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 February 2011
Thin films of Ultra-Low K materials such as Xerogel (K=1.76) and MSQ (K=2.2) were implanted with argon, neon, nitrogen, carbon and helium with 2 × 1015 cm−2 and 1 × 1016 cm−2 dose at energies varying from 20 to 50 keV at room temperature. In this work we showed that the surface hardness of the porous films is improved five times as compared to the as-deposited porous films sacrificing the dielectric constant up to 15% after implantation (e.g., from 1.76 to 2.0). The hardness persists after 450 °C annealing. It is also shown that implantation can prevent the penetration of chemical gases such as CVD precursors in the Ultra-Low K dielectrics during a CVD process.