Low Dielectric Constant Nanocomposite Thin Films Based on Silica Nanoparticle and Organic Thermosets

Published

October 12, 2021

Author(s)

Q Lin, Stephen Cohen, Lynne Gignac, Brian Herbst, David Klaus, Eva Simonyi, Jeffrey Hedrick, John Warlaumont, Hae-Jeong Lee, Wen-Li Wu

Abstract

Low dielectric constant (low-k) nanocomposite thin films have been prepared by spin coating and thermal cure of solution mixtures of two organic low-k thermoset pre-polymers and a silica nanoparticle with an average diameter of about 8nm. The electrical, the mechanical, and the thermo-mechanical properties of these low-k nanocomposite thin films have been characterized with 4-point probe electrical measurements, nanoindentation measurements with an atomic force microscope (AFM), and specular X-ray reflectivity. Addition of the silica nanoparticle to the low-k organic thermosets enhances both the modulus and the hardness and reduces the coefficient of thermal expansion of the resultant nanocomposites.The enhancements in the modulus of the nanocomposites are less than those predicted by the Halphin-Tsai equations presumably due to the relatively poor interfacial adhesion and/or the aggregation of the hydrophilic silica nanoparticles in the hydrophobic organic thermoset matrices. The addition of the silica nanoparticle to the low-k organic thermoset matrices does not alter significantly the dielectric constant of the resultant nanocomposite thin films at lower concentrations of the silica nanoparticle. Its addition, however, increases the dielectric constant of the resultant nanocomposite thin films at higher concentrations of the silica nanoparticle. The dielectric constant of the nanocomposite thin films has been found to agree fairly well with an additive formula based on the Debye equation.

Citation

Journal Of Polymer Science

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

electrical properties, low dielectric constant nanocomposite, mechanical properties, structure-property relationship, thin film

Citation

Lin, Q. , Cohen, S. , Gignac, L. , Herbst, B. , Klaus, D. , Simonyi, E. , Hedrick, J. , Warlaumont, J. , Lee, H. and Wu, W. (2021), Low Dielectric Constant Nanocomposite Thin Films Based on Silica Nanoparticle and Organic Thermosets, Journal Of Polymer Science (Accessed October 10, 2025)