HOSP(R) as a low dielectric material: comparative study against hydrogen silsesquioxane

Low-k candidate SOG material HOSP(R) is evaluated and compared to HSQ. Particularly, the chemical nature of the film and the effects of various processing steps were investigated using FTIR, TDS, oscilloscope and stress gauge. The water absorption upon various post etch treatments turned out to be a crucial factor affecting the dielectric properties of the film. HOSP(R) proved to be a dielectric with lower k value compared to the HSQ film but was more vulnerable to moisture uptake.