Water-related degradation of contacts in the multilevel MOS IC with spin-on glasses as interlevel dielectrics

The effect of using silicon-dioxide-based spin-on glasses as interlevel dielectrics in multilevel silicon integrated circuits is discussed. It was found that water in the spin-on glass leads to an open-circuit failure of contacts in small windows due to the outgassing of water during aluminum deposition. Although a 450 degrees C anneal can markedly improve the quality of the contacts, the process remains unreliable for manufacturing.<
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