The requirement of reduced RC delay and cross-talk for multilevel interconnect ULSI applications has enthusiastically driven process development for seeking suitable low dielectric constant materials with sufficient k...The requirement of reduced RC delay and cross-talk for multilevel interconnect ULSI applications has enthusiastically driven process development for seeking suitable low dielectric constant materials with sufficient k value. The replacement of HDP FSG(k-3.5-3.6) with conventional SiO2 as a manufacturable intermetal dielectric layer (IMD) has achieved 0.18μm ULSI interconnect technology. The electrical test result, via resislance as well as multilevel CMOS transistor characteristics (such as plasma damage, device degradation, hot carrier, etc.) are basically compatible to those conventional oxide as IMD. Assessment of metal line-to-line capacitance reduction using comb capacitors yields values of reduction range 10%-14% comparing FSG to convention oxide. The effectiveness of low-k FSG in circuit performance is also demonstrated. Comparisons of ring-oscillator speed performance for metal runners with various width and space show speed improvement approximately 10% for the FSG. Impact of FSG on reliability is evaluated and results show manufacturing compatibility to conventional SiO2.展开更多
文摘The requirement of reduced RC delay and cross-talk for multilevel interconnect ULSI applications has enthusiastically driven process development for seeking suitable low dielectric constant materials with sufficient k value. The replacement of HDP FSG(k-3.5-3.6) with conventional SiO2 as a manufacturable intermetal dielectric layer (IMD) has achieved 0.18μm ULSI interconnect technology. The electrical test result, via resislance as well as multilevel CMOS transistor characteristics (such as plasma damage, device degradation, hot carrier, etc.) are basically compatible to those conventional oxide as IMD. Assessment of metal line-to-line capacitance reduction using comb capacitors yields values of reduction range 10%-14% comparing FSG to convention oxide. The effectiveness of low-k FSG in circuit performance is also demonstrated. Comparisons of ring-oscillator speed performance for metal runners with various width and space show speed improvement approximately 10% for the FSG. Impact of FSG on reliability is evaluated and results show manufacturing compatibility to conventional SiO2.