Characterization of Carbon-Doped SiO[sub 2] Low k Thin Films: Preparation by Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition from Tetramethylsilane

Abstract

Carbon-doped SiO2 low k thin films were prepared by radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition at 400°C from polymerization of tetramethylsilane (4MS) and copolymerization of tetramethylsilane and silane false(SiH4false) precursor, with nitrous oxide as the oxidant gas. Copolymer thin films from 4MS and SiH4 precursor show much higher deposition rates than polymer thin films from 4MS, if all other parameters are kept the same. The addition of SiH4 can significantly promote the plasma polymerization of 4MS. The structure and composition of these films were characterized using Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The physical properties of the films have been investigated by dielectric constant, refractive index, and thermal stability measurements. The two kinds of films have similar chemical composition and structure. The film as prepared shows excellent thermal stability at temperatures as high as 400°C and a dielectric constant of about 3, which indicates that it has potential as a low k dielectric for advanced interconnect applications. © 2001 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.

Etching of porous SiOCH materials in fluorocarbon-based plasmas

“…The spectrum of the as deposited film exhibits a main absorption band at 1056 cm −1 corresponding to the Si-O-Si stretching vibration mode. [17][18][19][20] This is in good agreement with the surface composition determined by XPS (Table II) As shown in Fig. 15 Two additional peaks are also observed at 1275 and 2960 cm −1 , which are assigned to the Si-CH 3 and C -H 3 vibration mode, respectively.…”

“…15 Two additional peaks are also observed at 1275 and 2960 cm −1 , which are assigned to the Si-CH 3 and C -H 3 vibration mode, respectively. 17,19 Starting from the CF 4 baseline process, we have evaluated the Ar dilution and CH 2 F 2 addition effects on the variation of the Si-CH 3 content and also carbon content in the different porous SiOCH films. C-O stretching vibration bonds at 1000-1200 cm −1 cannot be distinguished due to an overlapping with the Si-O stretching bonds.…”

Low–Dielectric Constant Insulators for Future Integrated Circuits and Packages

“…A wide variety of organosilane precursors has been used to produce low-k SiCOH (4). In general, compounds with less than one oxygen atom per silicon in their structure (e.g., trimethylsilane, tetramethylsilane, dimethylphenylsilane, diphenylsilane, diphenylmethylsilane, and hexamethyldisiloxane), codeposited with an oxidant (e.g., N 2 O or O 2 ), are preferred (60,61). Radio frequency (13.56 MHz) plasma-assisted deposition of tetramethylsilane with N 2 O or O 2 produced the first thermally stable SiCOH material with a dielectric constant of 3.1 (60)(61)(62)(63).…”

Characterization of oxygen and nitrogen rapid thermal annealing processes for ultra-low-k SiCOH films

“…The reduction of CH x and Si-CH 3 peak intensity is considered as an evidence for the removal of the thermally unstable hydrocarbon fragments. 3,12,14 Up to 450°C, the reduction in the dielectric constant k is due mainly to hydrocarbon removal in the film. We believe that the higher k values of RTO films than in RTN films were due to the large O-H peak contained in the FTIR spectra.…”