Moisture resistance and thermal stability of fluorine-incorporation siloxane-based low-dielectric-constant material

The low dielectric constant (low-k) of organo-silica-glass (OSG) and fluorine-incorporated OSG (OFSG) materials produced from plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of trimethylsilane are thermally stable to greater than 600 degreesC. FTIR analysis indicates that Si-CH3 bonds and Si-F bonds remain intact to temperatures well above that normally encountered during integrated circuit manufacture, allowing these materials to maintain a low-k value. While OFSG materials proved to have less hydrolytic resistant than their non-fluorinated analogs during high pressure, high temperature water exposure (pressure cooker test), their leakage current was found to be lower than OSG films before and after wafer exposure. The measured properties of OFSG blanket films suggest that this material is sufficiently robust to ensure stability of reliability after the fabrication. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.