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PUBLICATIONS

Structure Characterization of Nanoporous Interlevel Dielectric Thin Films With X-Ray and Neutron Radiation

Published

Author(s)

Christopher L. Soles, Hae-Jeong Lee, B D. Vogt, Eric K. Lin, Wen-Li Wu

Abstract

The structure characterization of nanoporous interlevel dielectric (ILD) thin films is challenging because of the small sample volumes and nanometer dimensions of the pores. In this chapter, we review characterization methods for porous ILD materials using X-ray and neutron radiation sources. These methods include X-ray reflectivity (XR), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), small angle neutron scattering (SANS), and X-ray Porosimetry (XRP). XRP, in particular, shows promise as a general laboratory characterization method that provides detailed structural information of nanoporous ILD thin films. In XRP, changes in the critical angle for total X-ray reflectance provide a sensitive measure of mass uptake of a condensate into the film.Current porosimetry absorption/desorption models can then be used to determine structure parameters such as porosity and the distribution of pore sizes. Further, XRP data can be used to determine pore structure as a function of depth in non-uniform thin films. Detailed comparisons of XRP results with those from SANS are shown and discussed.
Citation
Structure Characterization of Nanoporous Interlevel Dielectric Thin Films With X-Ray and Neutron Radiation
Publisher Info
Dielectric Films for Advanced Microelectronics Book Chapter| John Wiley and Sons Publisher,
Pub Type
Books

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Keywords

interconnect, low-k dielectric, nanoporous thin film, porosimetry, small angle neutron scattering, x-ray porosimetry, x-ray relectivity
Semiconductors, Polymers and Nanometrology

Citation

Soles, C. , Lee, H. , Vogt, B. , Lin, E. and Wu, W. (2007), Structure Characterization of Nanoporous Interlevel Dielectric Thin Films With X-Ray and Neutron Radiation, Dielectric Films for Advanced Microelectronics Book Chapter| John Wiley and Sons Publisher, , [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=852526 (Accessed April 25, 2024)

Created March 6, 2007, Updated February 19, 2017