Title :
Mechanical properties of Si-C-O-H low-k dielectrics prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition
Author :
Woytowitz, Peter ; Roham, Sassan ; Niu, Dong ; Fu, Haiying
Author_Institution :
Comput. Modeling, Novellus Syst., Inc., San Jose, CA, USA
Abstract :
Mechanical properties of low dielectric constant (low-k) materials are one of the key areas that need to be better understood in order to improve copper/low-k dual damascene integration. In this paper, mechanical properties of carbon doped oxide (CDO) films deposited using TMCTS and CO2 as precursors are reported. Differences in Young´s modulus, residual stress and fracture toughness for films prepared by two processes A and B have been observed and are correlated to carbon contents using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). For similar carbon content, process B films show higher modulus and toughness and lower stress than process A films. Fracture toughness calculated from critical thickness measurement indicates bimodal behaviors for process B films. Analysis of detailed chemical bonding structures is needed to further understand the mechanical properties of low k dielectrics. While this work was performed using a particular CDO formulation, the methodology and considerations are applicable to a range of nano materials. Therefore, these methods and results will prove to be useful to a wide range of industries interested in integrating nano-materials into complex structures.
Keywords :
Fourier transform spectra; Young´s modulus; carbon; dielectric materials; fracture toughness; infrared spectra; internal stresses; low-k dielectric thin films; permittivity; plasma CVD; silicon compounds; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; Si-O-C-H; Young´s modulus; bimodal behaviors; carbon contents; carbon doped oxide films; chemical bonding structures; copper-low-k dual damascene integration; critical thickness measurement; dielectric constant; fracture toughness; low-k dielectrics; mechanical properties; plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition; residual stress; tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane; Carbon; Chemicals; Films; Stress; Thickness measurement;
Conference_Titel :
Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference (ASMC), 2011 22nd Annual IEEE/SEMI
Conference_Location :
Saratoga Springs, NY
Print_ISBN :
978-1-61284-408-4
Electronic_ISBN :
1078-8743
DOI :
10.1109/ASMC.2011.5898181