Effect of moisture on the Time Dependent Dielectric Breakdown (TDDB) behavior in an ultra-low-k (ULK) dielectric

Abstract

In a study of the TDDB performance of an ultra-low-k (ULK) dielectric (JSR 5537 k = 2.3) it was found that the presence of moisture significantly reduced the TDDB lifetime as well as increased leakage and capacitance. It was also observed that the field coefficient (γ) in an "E" TDDB lifetime model was significantly larger in "dry" samples than in "wet" samples. © 2005 IEEE.