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Laser Ultrasound: An Inspection Tool of Soft Porous Low-Dielectric Constant Films for Microelectronic Interconnect
Published
Author(s)
Colm Flannery, Donna C. Hurley
Abstract
The demand for miniaturization in the microelectronics industry requires that the RC (Resistance-Capacitance) factor be lowered to reduce interconnection delay, crosstalk and power loss. The most promising way to achieve this is by introducing porosity into the dielectric film material. We show that laser-generated surface acoustic waves can successfully and rapidly characterize porosity/density and stiffness of these films. Complementary measurements from X-ray reflectivity and Brillouin light scattering verify our results. We discuss why nanoindentation presents difficulties.
Proceedings Title
Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation | | Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation, Volume 22 | AIP
Flannery, C.
and Hurley, D.
(2003),
Laser Ultrasound: An Inspection Tool of Soft Porous Low-Dielectric Constant Films for Microelectronic Interconnect, Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation | | Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation, Volume 22 | AIP, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=851310
(Accessed October 14, 2025)