Low thermal budget processing of organic dielectrics

Low dielectric constant organic materials are ideal for use as interconnect dielectrics for integrated circuits (ICs) to reduce power dissipation, crosstalk and RC delays. For high performance and reliability of ICs, reduced thermal and intrinsic stress is highly desirable. Low thermal budget rapid isothermal processing (RIP) can provide materials with lower stress. In this paper, we demonstrate the role of photoeffects in the curing of polyimide films using a rapid isothermal processor as a source of optical and thermal energy. The availability of large a number of ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet photons on the film surface allowed a lower curing temperature and also resulted in the lowest leakage current and film stress. We demonstrate a direct one-to-one correlation between electrical, mechanical, and structural properties of the organic dielectrics.