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Carbon‐Enriched Amorphous Hydrogenated Boron Carbide Films for Very‐Low‐ k Interlayer Dielectrics
Author(s) -
Nordell Bradley J.,
Nguyen Thuong D.,
Caruso Anthony N.,
Purohit Sudhaunshu S.,
Oyler Nathan A.,
Lanford William A.,
Gidley David W.,
Gaskins John T.,
Hopkins Patrick E.,
Henry Patrick,
King Sean W.,
Paquette Michelle M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced electronic materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.25
H-Index - 56
ISSN - 2199-160X
DOI - 10.1002/aelm.201700116
Subject(s) - materials science , dielectric , amorphous solid , chemical vapor deposition , amorphous carbon , analytical chemistry (journal) , boron carbide , plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , composite material , optoelectronics , crystallography , organic chemistry , chemistry , engineering
A longstanding challenge in ultralarge‐scale integration has been the continued improvement in low‐dielectric‐constant (low‐ k ) interlayer dielectric materials and other specialized layers in back‐end‐of‐the‐line interconnect fabrication. Modeled after the success of carbon‐containing organosilicate materials, carbon‐enriched amorphous hydrogenated boron carbide (a‐B x C:H y ) films are grown by plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition from ortho ‐carborane and methane. These films contain more extraicosahedral sp 3 hydrocarbon groups than nonenriched a‐B x C:H y films, as revealed by FTIR and NMR spectroscopy, and also exhibit lower dielectric constants than their nonenriched counterparts, notably due to low densities combined with a low distortion and orientation contribution to the total polarizability. Films with dielectric constant as low as 2.5 are reported with excellent electrical stability (leakage current of 10 −9 A cm −2 at 2 MV cm −1 and breakdown voltage of >6 MV cm −1 ), good thermal conductivity of 0.31 ± 0.03 W m −1 K −1 , and high projected Young's modulus of 12 ± 3 GPa. These properties rival those of leading SiOC:H materials, and position a‐B x C:H y as an important complement to traditional Si‐based materials to meet the complex needs of next‐generation interconnect fabrication.