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Indentation fracture of low-dielectric constant films: Part I. Experiments and observations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Dylan J. Morris  and
Robert F. Cook
Dylan J. Morris*
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-8520
Robert F. Cook
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-8520
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: dylan.morris@nist.gov
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Abstract

Advanced microelectronic interconnection structures will need dielectrics of low permittivity to reduce capacitive delays and crosstalk, but this reduction in permittivity typically necessitates an increase in the porosity of the material, which is frequently accompanied by reduced mechanical reliability. Failure by brittle fracture remains a typical manufacturing and reliability hurdle for this class of materials. Part I of this two-part work explores the instrumented indentation and indentation fracture responses of a variety of organosilicate low-dielectric constant (low-κ) films. Three different chemical varieties of low-κ material were tested. The influence of film thickness on the fracture response is also explored systematically. Correlations are made between instrumented indentation responses and differing modes of fracture. It is demonstrated that the elastic response of the composite film + substrate systems can be simply tied to the fraction of the total indentation strain energy in the film. These results are then used in the companion paper, Part II [D.J. Morris and R.F. Cook, J. Mater. Res.23, 2443 (2008)], to derive and use a fracture mechanics model to measure fracture properties of low-κ films.

Keywords

FractureThin filmToughness
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 23 , Issue 9 , September 2008 , pp. 2429 - 2442
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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