Etching of spin-on-glass films by synchrotron radiation

Summary form only given. As device feature size is reduced, minimizing power dissipation, crosstalk noise and propagation delay due to resistance-capacitance (RC) coupling becomes significant because of increased wiring capacitance, in particular, interline capacitance between metal lines on the same metal level. In order to mitigate the problem of RC delay and crosstalk, interlayer dielectrics (ILDs) with low-dielectric-constant (low-k) are required. Many kinds of low-k dielectrics can be obtained either organic or inorganic materials, dense or porous, and can be deposited by either chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or spin-on techniques. In addition, good electrical, chemical and thermal properties are required for these materials. To improve these properties, plasma treatment and dry etching of low-k dielectrics, plasma oxidation of porous ILDs and electron-beam curing of low-k dielectrics to prevent water absorption have been reported. However, synchrotron radiation (SR) etching has not been reported. Therefore, we carried out the SR exposure of SOG and successfully obtained photoexcited etching of SOG for the first time.