AbstractLow dielectric fluoro-containing poly(silsesquioxanes) (PSSQs) have been synthesized using trifluoropropyl trimethoxysilane (TFPTMS), methyl trimethoxysilane (MTMS), and 2, 4, 6, 8-tetramethyl-2, 4, 6, 8-tetra(trimethoxysilylethyl) cyclotetrasiloxane. The properties of fluorocontaining PSSQs based thin films were studied by electrical, mechanical, and structural characterization. Film was spun on a silicon substrate, baked at 150°C and 250°C for 1 minute, respectively, and cured in the furnace at 420°C for 1 hour under vacuum condition. Thermally decomposable trifluoropropyl groups of the fluoro-containing PSSQ were served as a pore generator and partially contributed to lower a dielectric constant. â-cyclodextrin (CD) was also employed as a pore generator. The concentration of the pore generator in the film was varied from 0 to 30 %. The dielectric constants of the porous PSSQ films were found to be in the range of 2.7 – 1.9 (at 100 kHz). Hardness and Young's modulus of the films were measured by nano-indentation. The elastic modulus and hardness of the porous films were well correlated with the concentration of the pore generators. Positronium Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS) was employed to characterize a pore size of the porous fluoro-containing PSSQ film. The pore size of the film was less than 2.2 nm. The nanoporous films showed quite promising properties for commercial application.
Depth-profiling plasma-induced densification of porous low-k thin films using positronium annihilation lifetime spectroscopy
