title: Ultralow-k nanoporous organosilicate dielectric films imprinted with dendritic spheres.
abstract: Integrated circuits that have improved functionality and speed in a smaller package and that consume less power are desired by the microelectronics industry as well as by end users, to increase device performance and reduce costs. The fabrication of high-performance integrated circuits requires the availability of materials with low or ultralow dielectric constant (low-k: k <OR= 2.5; ultralow-k: k <OR= 2.0) because such dielectrics not only lower line-to-line noise in interconnect conductors, but also minimize power dissipation by reducing the capacitance between the interconnects. Here we describe the preparation of low- and ultralow-k nanoporous organosilicate dielectrics from blends of polymethylsilsesquioxane (PMSSQ) precursor with globular ethyl acrylate-terminated polypropylenimine dendrimers, which act as porogens. These dendrimers are found to mix well with the PMSSQ precursor and after their sacrificial thermal decompositions result in closed, spherical pores of <2.0 nm radius with a very narrow distribution even at high loading. This pore size and distribution are the smallest and the narrowest respectively ever achieved in porous spin-on dielectrics. The method therefore successfully delivers low- and ultralow-k PMSSQ dielectric films that should prove very useful in advanced integrated circuits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Center for Integrated Molecular Systems, Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Polymer Research Institute, and Division of Molecular and Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Byeongdu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Young-Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Yong-Taek
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Weontae
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Jinhwan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Moonhor
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ree