CHANGES IN STRUCTURE AND NATURE OF DEFECTS BY ANNEALING OF FLUORINATED AMORPHOUS-CARBON THIN-FILMS WITH LOW DIELECTRIC-CONSTANT

Thermal stability of fluorinated amorphous carbon (a-C:F) thin films w ith a low dielectric constant was investigated by electron spin resona nce (ESR), infrared (IR) absorption, optical absorption, and x-ray pho toelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as well as measurements of him thickness and dielectric constant. IR and XPS measurements suggested that the s trength of the CF3 and CF2 bonding configurations against annealing ar e weaker than that of the CF bonding configuration, ESR measurements r evealed that the dangling bond density decreased by one order of magni tude after annealing at 300 degrees C and increased after annealing at 400 degrees C. Furthermore, the g value and the linewidth of the ESR spectrum decreased with increasing annealing temperature. Based on the se results, the changes in structure and defect configuration are disc ussed. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.