PROPERTIES OF A-SIOX-H THIN-FILMS DEPOSITED FROM HYDROGEN SILSESQUIOXANE RESINS

Ultralarge sale integrated circuit designs require multiple metal wiri ng layers for the formation of the device interconnections. Surface pl anarization and the deposition of high quality insulating films are cr itical fabrication steps related to the manufacture of these circuits. Planarization and dielectric deposition can be accomplished simultane ously using a spin-on process with hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) resin to deposit amorphous SiO:H dielectric films. The use of this material in device manufacturing has increased as a result of the material's g ood planarization properties, eliminating the need for etchback proced ures. More recently, it has been observed that HSQ-based films also pr ovide the added benefit of relative permittivity less than SiO2, which helps to minimize electrical delay In order to obtain optimum propert ies from this material, tight process control and knowledge of the mat erial's chemical behavior are necessary. Studies of the precursor mate rial, film formation, and film properties have been performed. Also it is found that structural and compositional changes in the precursor d uring the film forming process play an important role in establishing the beneficial properties observed in HSQ-based dielectric films.