Transport considerations in porous low k and metal interconnect systems approaching atomic dimensions

Integrated circuit technology's furious push for greater density and higher cost/performance has generally ignored the effect of feature size on material transport. This paper addresses transport issues in porous low k dielectric and metal systems as feature sizes approach atomic dimensions. One result of this analysis indicates that transport differences between open vs. closed pore low k dielectrics, in many process situations, is not at issue based on bulk material transport properties. This analysis has ramifications extending well into other interconnect materials areas.