Effect of Moisture on Electrical and Reliability Characteristics for Dense and Porous Low-k Dielectrics

Abstract

The effect of absorbed moisture on the electrical and reliability characteristics of the low-k dielectrics was investigated in this study. The experimental results indicate that the porous low-k dielectrics would absorb more moisture as compared to the dense low-k dielectrics. This absorbed moisture degrades the electrical and reliability performance of the low-k dielectrics. A higher temperature anneals at 400 degrees C is needed to decompose physicallyadsorbed water, which is benefit to restore reliability performance. On the other hand, the chemically-adsorbed moisture seems to be difficult to be removed by a 400 degrees C annealing, causing a degraded TDDB performance.