Damage-Free Low-k Treatment Verified by a Novel Microwave Measurement

Author

Tsai, J.S. ; Liang, M.C. ; Lee, T.L. ; Chen, L.C. ; Shieh, J.H. ; Lee, J.J. ; Hwang, R.L. ; Jang, S.M. ; Liang, M.S.

Author_Institution

Adv. Module Technol. Div., Taiwan Semicond. Manuf. Co., Hsinchu

fYear

2006

fDate

5-7 June 2006

Firstpage

75

Lastpage

77

Abstract

We demonstrate that after a fine-tuned ashing process the damage behavior of extra low-k material (ELK, k=2.5) is continued at the surface and the thickness of the damaged layer can be kept under control. Therefore, damaged-free treatment can be achieved by process optimization. Finally, we prove the effectiveness of this treatment by using a novel near-field scanned microwave probe to perform microwave capacitance measurements on a well-designed test vehicle. It is the first implementation of this methodology to monitor low-k damage in patterned low-k structures

Keywords

capacitance measurement; etching; low-k dielectric thin films; materials testing; ashing process; damage behavior; damage-free low-k treatment; damaged-free treatment; extra low-k material; low-k structure; microwave capacitance measurement; microwave measurement; near-field scanned microwave probe; process optimization; Ash; Dielectric constant; Dielectric measurements; Discrete Fourier transforms; Microwave measurements; Optical films; Optical surface waves; Probes; Semiconductor device manufacture; Surface treatment;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Interconnect Technology Conference, 2006 International

Conference_Location

Burlingame, CA

Print_ISBN

1-4244-0104-6

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IITC.2006.1648650

Filename

1648650