Adhesion Energy Measurements of Multilayer Low-K Dielectric Materials for ULSI Applications

1998 ◽  
Vol 511 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. O. Shaffer ◽  
M. E. Mills ◽  
D. Hawn ◽  
M. Van Gestel ◽  
A. Knorr ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCurrently, the IC industry is researching the integration of a variety of materials to meet the low dielectric constant requirement for improved back-end of line (BEOL) interconnect performance. One critical dimension for successful ntegration of these new materials is maintaining mechanical integrity through multilayer processes. This includes both cohesive and adhesive fracture resistance. The latter adds additional complexity in that adhesive toughness is a function of the adherend materials and the processes used to join them. Hence, many good dielectric materials may be rematurely eliminated from further research not because of inherently poor adhesion but because of the necessity to optimize processing strategies.In this paper, we use the modified Edge Liftoff Test (m-ELT) to quantify the mechanical adhesion of multilayer blanket coatings. A specific example is used to demonstrate the utility of combining the m-ELT with surface analysis to optimize the reliability of low-K dielectric resins for use in ULSI applications. The system studied consists of a Cyclotene™ 5021(BCB) low-K material integrated with CVD aluminum for single level, damascene structures. The effects of liner layer metallurgy and surface plasma treatments are measured. Surface analysis is done on the failed parts to understand the location of the failure. In this way recommendations for process optimization can be made.

2015 ◽  
Vol 1791 ◽  
pp. 15-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina B. Klepper ◽  
Ville Miikkulainen ◽  
Ola Nilsen ◽  
Helmer Fjellvåg ◽  
Ming Liu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe material properties of atomic layer deposited hybrid organic-inorganic aluminate thin films have been evaluated for potential low dielectric constant (i.e. low-k) applications. The hybrid aluminates were deposited using trimethyl aluminum and various linear and aromatic carboxylic acids. The observed electrical and mechanical properties for the hybrid aluminate films varied greatly depending on the selected organic acid with k values ranging from 2.5 to 5.1 and Young’s modulus ranging from 6 to 40 GPa. Leakage currents as low as 4 x 10-10 A/cm2 (at 2 MV/cm) were obtained for films grown using saturated linear carboxylic acids. These results suggest the potential of ALD hybrid aluminate thin films for low-k dielectric applications.


2011 ◽  
Vol 110-116 ◽  
pp. 5380-5383
Author(s):  
Tejas R. Naik ◽  
Veena R. Naik ◽  
Nisha P. Sarwade

Scaling down the integrated circuits has resulted in the arousal of number of problems like interaction between interconnect, crosstalk, time delay etc. These problems can be overcome by new designs and by use of corresponding novel materials, which may be a solution to these problems. In the present paper we try to put forward very recent development in the use of novel materials as interlayer dielectrics (ILDs) having low dielectric constant (k) for CMOS interconnects. The materials presented here are porous and hybrid organo-inorganic new generation interlayer dielectric materials possessing low dielectric constant and better processing properties.


Author(s):  
Michael C. Olewine ◽  
John F. DiGregorio ◽  
Gus J. Colovos ◽  
Kevin F. Saiz ◽  
Hongjiang Sun

Abstract Mechanical stress problems in integrated circuit devices are becoming more severe as the number of metal interconnect levels increases and new materials such as low-k dielectrics are introduced. We studied dielectric cracking in a four-level Al-Cu interconnect structure that uses hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ), a low dielectric constant (low-k) material. The cracks extended down through the passivation layers to the HSQ layer. For the first time we report on passivation dielectric cracks directly related to the level of residual fluorine in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reactor. It is shown that a silicon nitride pre-coat deposition removes fluorine (F) from the reactor ambient and prevents the dielectric cracks.


1999 ◽  
Vol 565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Morgen ◽  
Jie-Hua Zhao ◽  
Michael Hay ◽  
Taiheui Cho ◽  
Paul S. Ho

AbstractIn recent years there have been widespread efforts to identify low dielectric constant materials that can satisfy a number of diverse performance requirements necessary for successful integration into IC devices. This has led to extensive efforts to develop low k materials and the associated process integration. A particularly difficult challenge for material development has been to find the combination of low dielectric constant and good thermal and mechanical stability. In this paper recent characterization results for low k materials performed at the University of Texas will be reviewed, with an emphasis on the relationship of chemical structure to the aforementioned key material properties. For example, measurements showing the effect of film porosity on dielectric constant and thermal and mechanical properties is presented. This data, as well as that for other material types, demonstrates the tradeoffs between dielectric constant and thermomechanical properties that are often made during the course of material development.


1999 ◽  
Vol 565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Shimogaki ◽  
S. W. Lim ◽  
E. G. Loh ◽  
Y. Nakano ◽  
K. Tada ◽  
...  

AbstractLow dielectric constant F-doped silicon oxide films (SiO:F) can be prepared by adding fluorine source, like as CF4 to the conventional PECVD processes. We could obtain SiO:F films with dielectric constant as low as 2.6 from the reaction mixture of SiH4/N2 O/CF4. The structural changes of the oxides were sensitively detected by Raman spectroscopy. The three-fold ring and network structure of the silicon oxides were selectively decreased by adding fluorine into the film. These structural changes contribute to the decrease ionic polarization of the film, but it was not the major factor for the low dielectric constant. The addition of fluorine was very effective to eliminate the Si-OH in the film and the disappearance of the Si-OH was the key factor to obtain low dielectric constant. A kinetic analysis of the process was also performed to investigate the reaction mechanism. We focused on the effect of gas flow rate, i.e. the residence time of the precursors in the reactor, on growth rate and step coverage of SiO:F films. It revealed that there exists two species to form SiO:F films. One is the reactive species which contributes to increase the growth rate and the other one is the less reactive species which contributes to have uniform step coverage. The same approach was made on the PECVD process to produce low-k C:F films from C2F4, and we found ionic species is the main precursor to form C:F films.


2003 ◽  
Vol 766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Heong Yim ◽  
Jung-Bae Kim ◽  
Hyun-Dam Jeong ◽  
Yi-Yeoul Lyu ◽  
Sang Kook Mah ◽  
...  

AbstractPorous low dielectric films containing nano pores (∼20Å) with low dielectric constant (<2.2), have been prepared by using various kinds of cyclodextrin derivatives as porogenic materials. The pore structure such as pore size and interconnectivity can be controlled by changing functional groups of the cyclodextrin derivatives. We found that mechanical properties of porous low-k thin film prepared with mCSSQ (modified cyclic silsesquioxane) precursor and cyclodextrin derivatives were correlated with the pore interconnection length. The longer the interconnection length of nanopores in the thin film, the worse the mechanical properties of the thin film (such as hardness and modulus) even though the pore diameter of the films were microporous (∼2nm).


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (19) ◽  
pp. 3762-3768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Usman ◽  
Cheng-Hua Lee ◽  
Dung-Shing Hung ◽  
Shang-Fan Lee ◽  
Chih-Chieh Wang ◽  
...  

A Sr-based metal–organic framework exhibits an intrinsic low dielectric constant after removing the water molecules. A low dielectric constant and high thermal stability make this compound a candidate for use as a low-k material.


1999 ◽  
Vol 565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuan Hu ◽  
Michael Morgen ◽  
Paul S. Ho ◽  
Anurag Jain ◽  
William. N. Gill ◽  
...  

AbstractA quantitative characterization of the thermal properties is required to assess the thermal performance of low dielectric constant materials. Recently we have developed a technique based on the 3-omega method for measuring the thermal conductivity of porous dielectric thin films. In this paper we present the results on the measurements of thermal conductivity of thin porous films using this method. A finite element method analysis is used to evaluate the approximations used in the measurement. Two porosity-weighted thermal resistor models are proposed to interpret the results. By studying the dependence of the thermal conductivity on porosity, we are able to discuss the scaling rule of thermal conductivity. Additionally, a steady state layered heater model is used for evaluating the significance of introducing porous ILDs into an interconnect structure.


Coatings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Yi-Lung Cheng ◽  
Chih-Yen Lee ◽  
Wei-Fan Peng ◽  
Giin-Shan Chen ◽  
Jau-Shiung Fang

In this study, Cu-2.2 at. % Nd alloy films using a co-sputtering deposition method were directly deposited onto porous low-dielectric-constant (low-k) films (SiOCH). The effects of CuNd alloy film on the electrical properties and reliability of porous low-k dielectric films were studied. The electrical characteristics and reliability of the porous low-k dielectric film with CuNd alloy film were enhanced by annealing at 425 °C. The formation of self-forming barrier at the CuNd/SiOCH interface was responsible for this improvement. Therefore, integration with CuNd and porous low-k dielectric is a promising process for advanced Cu interconnects.


RSC Advances ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (82) ◽  
pp. 66511-66517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert S. Lee ◽  
Sung Yeoun Oh ◽  
Seung-Sock Choi ◽  
He Seung Lee ◽  
Seung Sang Hwang ◽  
...  

Low dielectric constant poly(methyl)silsesquioxane spin-on-glass resins incorporating a cyclic precursor exhibited exceptional mechanical properties to withstand CMP processes.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document