Ash-induced modification of porous and dense SiCOH inter-level-dielectric (ILD) materials during damascene plasma processing

Abstract

Modification of low-k dielectric materials during photoresist plasma stripping was examined using a variety of analytical techniques. These techniques were initially applied to blanket wafers and were subsequently applied to both specially-designed test structures and product structures on patterned wafers. Results of these experiments are presented and analyzed.