Thermomechanical properties and moisture uptake characteristics of hydrogen silsesquioxane submicron films

This letter describes measurement of the biaxial modulus, coefficient of th ermal expansion (CTE), and moisture uptake characteristics of hydrogen sils esquioxane (HSQ) thin films. The biaxial modulus and CTE were determined us ing a bending beam method, and moisture uptake was studied using a quartz c rystal microbalance method. The biaxial modulus and CTE of a 0.5 mu m HSQ f ilm were measured on Si and Ge substrates and found to be 7.07 GPa and 20.5 ppm/degrees C, respectively. The value determined for the diffusion consta nt of water in a 0.7-mu m-thick HSQ films is 3.61 X 10(-10) cm(2)/s at room temperature. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)02907- 1].