Nanopore Formation in a Polyphenylene Low-k Dielectric

Published

April 1, 2005

Author(s)

M S. Silverstein, Michael Shach-Caplan, Barry J. Bauer, R C. Hedden, V. J. Lee, B G. Landes

Abstract

Nanometer-scale porosity is being introduced into low-k dielectrics in an attempt to achieve interlevel metal insulators with permittivities of less than 2.0. It has proven extremely difficult to describe pore formation and to characterize the porous structure. This research investigates pore formation in a polyphenylene low-k dielectric based on pyrolysis of a porogen (26 % by volume) in a polyphenylene matrix. One unique aspect of this research is the description of the nanoscale structure at various stages of pore formation through the use of a deuterated porogen. The combination of x-ray reflectivity (XRR) and small angle neutron scattering (SANS) was found to be a powerful technique for describing porogen degradation and pore formation in nanoporous materials.The average radius of the porogen domains was about 60 and the size distribution was relatively broad. The smaller porogen domains collapse during degradation, while the larger domains become stable pores. The collapse of the smaller domains yields a significant reduction in film thickness, a porosity that is significantly smaller than the porogen content, a relatively narrow pore size distribution and an average pore size of about 80 .

Citation

Macromolecules

Volume

38

Issue

No. 10

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

low-k, nanoporous, polyphenylene, porogen, SANS, XRR

Citation

Silverstein, M. , Shach-Caplan, M. , Bauer, B. , Hedden, R. , Lee, V. and Landes, B. (2005), Nanopore Formation in a Polyphenylene Low-k Dielectric, Macromolecules, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=852467 (Accessed November 8, 2024)