Effect of vacuum ultraviolet radiation on the gap fill properties of Teflon amorphous fluoropolymer film deposited by direct liquid injection

In this work, the roles of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photons in improving the gap fill properties of a low dielectric constant (K) material (Teflon amorphous fluoropolymer, K=1.93) deposited by direct liquid injection assisted rapid photothermal chemical vapor deposition technique are discussed. A qualitative explanation is presented wherein it is proposed that high-energy photons provide photoexcitation of the species involved in the deposition of Teflon AF/sup TM/, thereby lowering the activation energy and migrational enthalpy required for surface diffusion leading to a higher molecular mobility on the patterned surface.