Reaction mechanisms of oxygen plasma interaction with organosilicate low-k materials containing organic crosslinking groups

Integration of low dielectric constant (k) materials such as organosilicate glasses (OSG) into microelectronic processing demands a better of understanding the plasma/OSG interactions during plasma etching and ashing of these materials, based on which low-k materials with higher radiation resistance and better mechanical behaviors can be developed and optimized plasma processing conditions can be introduced to ensure continued miniaturization of semiconductor devices. Introducing organic crosslinking (e.g., –CH2–) in OSG has been shown to be an effective measure to improve the mechanical properties but their effect on plasma interaction is still not fully understood. In this paper, ab initio based molecular dynamics simulations have been employed to investigate the effect of the oxygen plasma on the carbon-bridged silicate networks in the OSG material. The results show that organic crosslinking in the Si–O–Si network leads to lower energy reaction pathways with atomic oxygen radicals that result in breaka...

[1]  J. Kelber,et al.  He plasma pretreatment effects on oxygen plasma-induced carbon loss and surface roughening in an ultralow-k organosilicate glass film , 2011 .

[2]  Jincheng Du,et al.  Reaction mechanisms of thermal atomic oxygen interaction with organosilicate low k dielectric materials from ab initio molecular dynamics simulations , 2011 .

[3]  E. Kaxiras,et al.  Stiffening of organosilicate glasses by organic cross-linking , 2011 .

[4]  Jincheng Du,et al.  Fundamental mechanisms of oxygen plasma-induced damage of ultralow-k organosilicate materials: The role of thermal P3 atomic oxygen , 2009 .

[5]  P. Brault,et al.  Molecular dynamics for low temperature plasma–surface interaction studies , 2009, 0902.2695.

[6]  L. Interrante,et al.  Ultra Low‐k Films Derived from Hyperbranched Polycarbosilanes (HBPCS) , 2008 .

[7]  J. Vlassak,et al.  PECVD low-permittivity organosilicate glass coatings: Adhesion, fracture and mechanical properties , 2008 .

[8]  Zhenjiang Cui,et al.  Effects of UV cure on glass structure and fracture properties of nanoporous carbon-doped oxide thin films , 2008 .

[9]  R. Dauskardt,et al.  Superior mechanical properties of dense and porous organic/inorganic hybrid thin films , 2008 .

[10]  P. Ho,et al.  Mechanistic study of plasma damage of low k dielectric surfaces , 2008 .

[11]  R. Dauskardt,et al.  Molecular Network Reinforcement of Sol–Gel Glasses , 2007 .

[12]  S. Kondo,et al.  Carbon-Doped Silicon Oxide Films with Hydrocarbon Network Bonds for Low-k Dielectrics: Theoretical Investigations , 2007 .

[13]  G. Beyer,et al.  Thermomechanical properties of thin organosilicate glass films treated with ultraviolet-assisted cure , 2007 .

[14]  Karen Maex,et al.  Short-ranged structural rearrangement and enhancement of mechanical properties of organosilicate glasses induced by ultraviolet radiation , 2006 .

[15]  R. Cook,et al.  Organosilicate Spin-on Glasses I. Effect of Chemical Modification on Mechanical Properties , 2004 .

[16]  Karen Maex,et al.  Low dielectric constant materials for microelectronics , 2003 .

[17]  Paul S. Ho,et al.  Low Dielectric Constant Materials for ULSI Interconnects , 2000 .

[18]  Yoon-Hae Kim,et al.  Low-k Si–O–C–H composite films prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using bis-trimethylsilylmethane precursor , 2000 .

[19]  Burke,et al.  Generalized Gradient Approximation Made Simple. , 1996, Physical review letters.

[20]  Kresse,et al.  Efficient iterative schemes for ab initio total-energy calculations using a plane-wave basis set. , 1996, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[21]  G. Kresse,et al.  Efficiency of ab-initio total energy calculations for metals and semiconductors using a plane-wave basis set , 1996 .