AbstractFor over two years, intensive efforts at SEMATECH and elsewhere have focused on identifying low dielectric constant (low ε) materials which possess all of the required properties and processing characteristics needed for integration into standard IC fabrication lines. To date, no material candidate has been shown to satisfy this impressive list of requirements. For some candidates, drawbacks related to material properties such as poor thermal stability or electrical performance have been identified; in other cases, problems in process integration, for example difficulties in patterning have stalled progress.In this paper, most of the current leading candidates for the low ε IC IMC application are identified and discussed. An attempt is made to correlate structure/property relationships in these materials with their relative attributes and deficiencies as they relate to the IMD application. Key differences in chemistry and property/processing characteristics are contrasted for low c silicon-oxygen polymers and for purely organic polymers. Novel dielectrics such as porous organic and inorganic thin films are also discussed in terms of their properties and associated process integration challenges. Since the needs for global planarization and low c IMD are occurring within roughly the same generation of minimum feature size (˜ 0.25 μm), the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of low dielectric constant thin films and/or of SiO2 layers deposited above them is briefly discussed. Both subtractive metalization and damascene processes are included, and the required low dielectric constant film properties and processing characteristics are contrasted for each process. Finally, the author's views on future trends in low dielectric constant materials development are presented, with an emphasis on identifying the types of chemical structures which may prove viable for this most demanding of all polymer film applications.