Air-Gap Through-Silicon Vias

• Published in: IEEE electron device letters Vol. 34; no. 3; pp. 441 - 443
• Main Authors: Huang, Cui, Chen, Qianwen, Wang, Zheyao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.03.2013; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Subjects: Air gaps; Applied sciences; Capacitance; Design. Technologies. Operation analysis. Testing; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Insulation; Integrated circuits; Microelectronic fabrication (materials and surfaces technology); Plugs; poly (propylene carbonate) (PPC); pyrolysis; reliability; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Silicon; Stress; Substrates; through-silicon via (TSV); Through-silicon vias; High performance; Pyrolysis; poly (propylene carbonate) (PPC); Dielectric materials; Micromachining; through-silicon via (TSV); IV-VI compound; Microelectronic fabrication; Three dimensional structure; Interconnection; Silicon oxides; Complementary MOS technology; Integrated circuit; Air gap; Capacitance; Leakage current; Silicon; Carbonates; Reliability; Current density; Via hole
• ISSN: 0741-3106; 1558-0563
• DOI: 10.1109/LED.2013.2239601

This letter reports for the first time the fabrication and characterization of through-silicon vias (TSVs) using air-gap insulators to enable high-performance 3-D integration. To address the challenge in fabricating extremely high-aspect-ratio air gaps, a CMOS-compatible sacrificial technology based on pyrolysis of poly (propylene carbonate) has been developed, upon which air-gap TSVs have been successfully achieved. The measured capacitance density and leakage current density of air-gap TSVs are 1.22 nF/cm 2 and 10 nA/cm 2 , respectively, about one order and two orders lower in magnitude than TSVs using SiO 2 insulators.