Thickness dependent soft-breakdown phenomena of low dielectric constant thin films and corresponding activation energy

Thickness dependent dielectric soft-break-down and corresponding activation energy in low dielectric constant (low-k) thin films with thickness ranging from 48 to 1141 nm are investigated to evaluate the reliability of polymer integration on device wafers for the first time. It is found that the strength against soft-breakdown decreases and the leakage current increases with the decrease in low-k film thickness, In the regions both before and after soft-breakdown, the conduction activation energy increases with the increase in low-k film thickness. The conduction activation energy before soft-breakdown is smaller than that after soft-break-down. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.