Previously, the fabrication of air-gap structures for electrical interconnections was demonstrated using a sacrificial polymer encapsulated in conventional dielectric materials. The air-gaps were formed by thermally decomposing the sacrificial polymer and allowing the by-products to diffuse through the encapsulating dielectric. The diffusivity of the polymer decomposition products is adequate at elevated temperatures to allow the formation of air-gaps. This process was extended to form low dielectric constant, porous silica from commercially available methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ) by the addition of the sacrificial polymer to the MSQ. The porous MSQ film was thermally cured followed by decomposition of the NB at temperatures above 400°C. The dielectric constant of the MSQ was lowered from 2.7 to 2.3 by creating 70 nm pores in the MSQ. The voids created in the MSQ appeared to exhibit a closed-pore structure.

Socially responsible behaviour is increasingly demanded of both individuals and organisations as ever more information on the negative side‐effects of economic activity emerges. The two main areas of concern are sustainability (environment) and social justice (accountability). Monitoring and influencing the behaviour or organisations and their managers requires access to sufficient, high‐quality information. Quality of information can be summed up in the degree of transparency it has, from clear to opaque. Accountancy is the profession most involved in the production of financial information. Information technology has had a profound effect on the accountancy profession and on the rules which determine how financial information is produced. The rules are already highly complex but they would need to be changed further to address the concerns of sustainability and social justice. Unless these concerns are addressed Socially Responsible Capitalism will elude us, with potentially disastrous consequences for us all. Even if the accountancy rules are expanded successfully, it will still be essential that individuals educate themselves so that they can successfully challenge organisations about their behaviour, and influence them to behave responsibly.

A fabrication process for compliant, copper chip-tosubstrate interconnections is described in this paper. Copper interconnect structures were produced through a copper electroplating step filling cavities inside photo-patterned hollow polymer molds. These polymer structures were fabricated on both the chip and the substrate. Copper pillar interconnects are useful as chip-to-substrate power distribution I/O and have been successfully fabricated and assembled. Finite element modeling by ANSYS was used to simulate the mechanics of the copper pillars connection from chip-to-board at elevated temperature conditions. The shear stress distribution was used to analyze the weak points along the pillar. The maximum allowed shear stress was then use to determine the required pillar dimensions (e.g. height and aspect ratio).