 |
| Main Menu | News By Date | News By Supplier | News By Category | About Us |
|
NEW PROCESS ELIMINATES PREVIOUS IMPLEMENTATION BARRIERS WITH POROUS, SPIN-ON DIELECTRIC APPROACHES
Shipley Company, L.L.C., today announced a major breakthrough in the integration of its ZIRKON low-k dielectric materials. The new processing scheme created by Shipley researchers allows for the solid phase processing of its spin-on porous low-k materials, overcoming the issues of barrier layer integrity, mechanical polishing, process-induced k value increases and other important integration concerns that have delayed porous low-k implementation. "We have been refining this approach for some time now," stated Leo Linehan, Director, Global Microelectronics R&D at Shipley. "The recent customer interest to evaluate the SOLID FIRST integrated circuit fabrication process confirms our belief in the advantages it provides over conventional process flows. Shipley can now offer an integrated system with the process benefits of a solid film and the performance benefits of a stable, ultra-low-k, dielectric material." The SOLID FIRST process uses ZIRKON LK dielectric materials, a tough, uniform spin-on dielectric film, in a "non-porous" state, that withstands the demanding processing steps associated with advanced interconnect fabrication. The problematic processing steps of etching, polymeric residue removal and chemical mechanical polishing can now be accomplished on a robust "solid" film. The use of ZIRKON low-k materials, including the ZIRKON spin-on hard mask and etch stop materials, with the SOLID FIRST process allows for the use of conventional interconnect processing without the added concern of increased copper resistivity and CMP-induced delamination. As part of the SOLID FIRST process, uniformly distributed, 2.5 nanometer diameter pores are formed during a curing step following CMP. Additional details of the SOLID FIRST process will be featured at the Shipley booth, Stand #450, Hall B1, at this year's Semicon Europa.
|
| ©2008 New Materials International |