Porous low dielectric constant materials for microelectronics

• Published in: Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences Vol. 364; no. 1838; pp. 201 - 215
• Main Authors: Baklanov, Mikhail R, Maex, Karen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London The Royal Society 15.01.2006
• Subjects: Dielectric materials; Electric Conductivity; Electronics - instrumentation; Equipment Design; Interconnect Technology; Low Dielectric Constant (low; low dielectric constant (low-k) materials; Material films; Materials; Microelectronics; Micropores; Miniaturization; Molecular Conformation; Nanostructures - chemistry; Nanostructures - ultrastructure; Permittivity; Polymers - chemistry; Porosity; Porous materials; Semiconductors; Skeleton; Thin films; Transducers; Xerogels
• ISSN: 1364-503X; 1471-2962
• DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2005.1679

Materials with a low dielectric constant are required as interlayer dielectrics for the on-chip interconnection of ultra-large-scale integration devices to provide high speed, low dynamic power dissipation and low cross-talk noise. The selection of chemical compounds with low polarizability and the introduction of porosity result in a reduced dielectric constant. Integration of such materials into microelectronic circuits, however, poses a number of challenges, as the materials must meet strict requirements in terms of properties and reliability. These issues are the subject of the present paper.